From the Publisher
Driving is a fact of life. We are all spending more and more time
on the road, and traffic is an issue we face everyday. This book
will make you think about it in a whole new light.
We have always had a passion for cars and driving. Now
Traffic offers us an exceptionally rich
understanding of that passion. Vanderbilt explains why traffic jams
form, outlines the unintended consequences of our attempts to
engineer safety and even identifies the most common mistakes
drivers make in parking lots. Based on exhaustive research and
interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the
globe, Traffic gets under the hood of the
quotidian activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex
web of physical, psychological and technical factors that explain
how traffic works.
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Jacket
"If any of you have teenagers who are about to get their license -
I urge you to urge them to read Vanderbilt."
- The Daily Telegraph
"A terrific investigation into why we drive the way we do, and why
many of our beliefs about driving are just wrong."
- The Globe and Mail
"A surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings
behind the steering wheels. . . . Traffic is
jammed with these delicious you've-got-to-be-kidding moments."
- The New York Times Book Review
"Tom Vanderbilt is one of our best and most interesting writers,
with an extraordinary knack for looking at everyday life and
explaining, in wonderful and entertaining detail, how it really
works. That's never been more true than with
Traffic, where he takes a subject that we all deal
with (and worry about), and lets us see it through new eyes. In the
process, he helps us understand better not just the highway, but
the world. It doesn't matter whether you drive or take the
bus--you're going to want to read this book."
- James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of
Crowds
"A great, deep, multidisciplinary investigation of the
dynamics and the psychology of traffic jams. It is fun to read.
Anyone who spends more than 19 minutes a day in traffic should read
this book."
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black
Swan
"Fascinating, illuminating, and endlessly entertaining as
well. Vanderbilt shows how a sophisticated understanding of human
behavior can illuminate one of the modern world's most basic and
most mysterious endeavors. You'll learn a lot; and the life you
save may be your own."
- Cass R. Sunstein, coauthor of Nudge: Improving Decisions
About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
"Everyone who drives--and many people who don't--should read
this book. It is a psychology book, a popular science book, and a
how-to-save-your-life manual, all rolled into one. I found it
gripping and fascinating from the very beginning to the very
end."
- Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner
Economist
"Fresh and timely . . . Vanderbilt investigates how human
nature has shaped traffic, and vice versa, finally answering
drivers' most familiar and frustrating questions."
- Publishers Weekly
"Fluently written and oddly entertaining, full of points to
ponder while stuck at the on-ramp meter or an endless red
light."
- Kirkus
"This may be the most insightful and comprehensive study ever
done of driving behavior and how it reveals truths about the types
of people we are."
- Booklist
"Tom Vanderbilt uncovers a raft of counterintuitive facts
about what happens when we get behind the wheel, and why."
- BusinessWeek
"Fascinating . . . Could not come at a better time."
- Library Journal
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Tom Vanderbilt writes about design, technology, science and culture
for Wired, Slate, The New York Times and
other publications. He lives in Brooklyn and drives a 2001 Volvo
V40.
From the Hardcover edition.
Trade Paperback
416 Pages, 5.17 x 7.95 x 0.88 in
August 11, 2009
Knopf Canada
English
0307397734
9780307397737