The Hardest, Longest Race by Eric Moskowitz

THE HARDEST, LONGEST RACE by Eric Moskowitz takes place in 1909 and describes “Henry Ford and the Cross-Country Contest That Changed America.” Through daily accounts of the Ocean-to-Ocean Automobile Endurance Contest, Moskowitz transports readers back to time when automobile was a novelty and paved roads and signage did not exist widely. It was amazing to imagine having to traverse the continental US (a daunting three week and 4,106-mile trek from New York to Seattle) while needing local human guides because maps and directions were so incomplete. Ford entered two cars in the race and had an obvious advantage (how was that fair?) due to his nationwide network of dealers and his company further flaunts the rules, resulting in a scandal. The other three contestants were the Shawmut Roundabout, Acme, and Itala, names we no longer associate with automobiles. At that time, there were roughly 250 companies vying for car sales to early adopters. For perspective, about one in 500 Americans owned a car; in 1909, over 18,000 Model Ts had been registered and the $850 cost (compared to $4000 for some luxury brands) was equivalent to about $30,000 today. Moskowitz, a former columnist at The Boston Globe, does his best to intersperse personal details about the drivers and navigators in this story, using primary sources like their letters and contemporary newspaper accounts (an extensive list is acknowledged in Notes). Still, I found it helpful to read THE HARDEST, LONGEST RACE in parts as it is difficult to maintain excitement and interest in a literal “slog” (oh, the mud!) from point A to point B. There were many, many people involved, and Moskowitz includes an Epilogue to explain what happened to them. A helpful Index is also provided.

City Limits by Megan Kimble

CITY LIMITS by Megan Kimble is an excellent exploration of “Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways.” Kimble, an investigative journalist and former executive editor at The Texas Observer, employs numerous relevant examples (e.g., I-35 in Austin, I-45 near Houston), and writes knowledgeably about this topic and its complexity.  One of her key points concerns the progress that was promised with highway development sixty or more years ago. Instead, she points to how neighborhoods were separated or demolished and how highways themselves paradoxically led to longer commutes and more and more traffic. One case study that Kimble profiles is replacing the Inner Loop in Rochester, New York; she writes about community organizations, more parks and promises of revitalization. The epilogue, too, is a hopeful one, full of comments about the foresight of those who led the development of the mixed-income, mixed-use area that until 1999 was Austin’s Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Kimble herself lives there now on “a street full of elementary school teachers and hospital nurses and social workers.” She is unwavering in her quest to encourage readers and planners to envision a different future that is less car-centric with fewer highways. Extensive notes comprise over twenty percent of this text. CITY LIMITS received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

A Brief History of Motion by Tom Standage

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MOTION by Tom Standage is being released this month; it is subtitled “From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next.” We have several other texts by Standage including A History of the World in 6 Glasses, An Edible History of Humanity, and Writing on the Wall. His latest has chapters ranging from “Wheels in the Ancient World” to “From Horseless to Driverless.” Along the way, he provides an insightful discussion of the development of suburbia and devotes another chapter to “Car Culture.” As in his other works, Standage employs statistics and humor to describe trends as well as benefits (here, paved roads, more independence, and so on) and consequences (like increased pollution, congestion, more fatalities, etc.). Of particular interest to our students will likely be the places where he looks to the future, discussing options like electric cars and integrated transit systems. Look for a copy on our shelves soon. Wall Street Journal review is here.