End of the road : the world car crisis and how we can solve it /

A researcher for the Paris-based nonprofit institute EcoPlan International here examines ways to decrease pollution caused by excessive dependence on automobiles. Urging that we support other forms of transit, the author offers a plan for redesigning the world's transportation systems--and the layouts of cities and suburbs--to encourage reliance on buses, trains, trams and nonmotorized transport. Other proposed solutions include developing automobiles less damaging to the environment and raising consciousness on this issue through education. While Zuckerman's brief is compelling and many of his suggestions worthy, his call for national and even global social reorganization requires considerably more government intervention than seems plausible. His ideas might have been better presented in a concise magazine article. Illustrations not seen by PW . ( Dec. ) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This is a far-reaching and forward-thinking attempt to answer every argument that can be made for owning and operating an automobile. Zuckerman, a Paris-based consultant, writes in an engaging and soothing style and has gathered some prodigious research to bolster his twin theses that the automobile is a fundamental cause of environmental, social, and economic difficulties and that comprehensive change is the only responsible solution. With well-documented chapters on everything from speed bumps to hitchhiking to the 100-mile-per-gallon carburetor, this book is an excellent compendium of heretofore unheard-of and hard-to-find examples, good and bad, of our relationship with the car. Although the author advocates a global effort to deal with the car crisis, the book contains plenty of good advice for small steps as well. Excellent for policymakers, planners, and strategists, but accessible to literate readers of all stripes.-- Mark L. Shelton, Athens, Ohio (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.