A well-crafted, creative rumination on methods of viewing sustainability.
Szoradi uses drawings and anecdotes to promote sustainability in this debut work of nonfiction.
The concept of sustainability operates on many levels—sustainable homes, businesses and jobs, energy usage—all of which can improve the long-term health of the economy. Szoradi contends that the key to reaching these goals begins with the simple act of observation. As the author explains, “Active observation can fuel critical thinking, which is often a key driver of innovation. In turn, innovation can support sustainable design that is cost-effective and practical.” The book is built around ink-on-paper drawings based on observations that the author made over the course of his travels. They often depict homes or home features that exemplify some innovative method of working with—rather than against—the natural world. It isn’t all solar panels and waterless urinals, however. An architect, inventor, and the founder of an energy-intelligent lighting company, Szoradi is a modern-day polymath with ideas on just about everything. His insights frequently return to his own life experiences, including the house he built in suburban Philadelphia that was named by Cisco Systems as one of the “most ecofriendly homes in America.” Though the frequent drawings are ostensibly the raison d'être of this volume, the vast majority of space is given over to prose, and it’s in the text that the author’s ideas are most clearly expressed. Szoradi’s expertise and facility with stats are impressive, and he says something truly thought-provoking every page or so (as when he describes how he planted shade-providing trees to the east of his house and wind-shielding trees to the north). However, frequent allusions to his own successes and his attempts to coin buzzwords like “perspectiventure” (perspective plus venture) may irk some. Readers may be as inspired to action as Szoradi insists they will, and there are some undeniably intriguing ideas here that should interest people of all stripes.
A well-crafted, creative rumination on methods of viewing sustainability.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5320-1155-9
Page Count: 396
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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