Carjacked: Have we been taken for a ride?

I went to the library the other day and while perusing the new books section struck upon a book that was up my alley, Carjacked: The culture of the Automobile and Its Effect On Our Lives by Catherine Lutz and Anne Lutz Fernandez. One an executive, the other an Anthropology professor at Brown. I have only started the book but have been amazed at the plethora of facts about the role of automobiles in American society and how it took such a central part of our lives. The suburban sprawl was not a result of market forces but a deliberate set of choices that we are now all locked into.

The collection of statistics is mind boggling. I'll try to share some notes as I go through the book. Things like the Drive Through, parking lots, cul de sacs etc are direct manifestations of cars. This book looks like it's going to look at the flip side of car culture and bring to the surface the externalities that are inherent in our way of life. Good reading.