Elena Prette Prette থেকে Greenland, Barbados
I had issue with this book. It's focus was primarily on the future of American cities in the coming 40 years, hypothesizing the existence of a few "Superstar" cities working in tandem with formerly rural areas that have been urbanized to support the growing population of the United States. This future population Kotkin speaks of is 400 Million. While I'm not arguing with his theses pertaining to how America's positive growth rate could be the one thing that saves the country from potential decline, as Europe and Japan are faced with negative rates and China teeters on potential disaster due to the combination of the One Child policy in tandem with a disproportionate number of males to females. What I'm arguing with is his belief that the American suburb will reinvent itself in a way that doesn't deal with cars. The idea that Middle America will suddenly become a land of flourishing cities, reliant on cars with minimal emphasis on mass transit, is highly unlikely. Had Kotkin brought this issue up instead of brushing it aside in a single paragraph, I'd have ranked this book higher. It's discusion of the ethnic forecasts for the country in the next 40 years were insightful, as were his discussion on trends in age and cultural attitudes. I just couldn't get past the idea of a major city in the middle of North Dakota. (That's not to say that the 52x income disparity in my beloved NYC isn't criminal)