Category: Bookshelf

  • We Are Traffic

    I’ve just finished reading Tom Vanderbilt’s Traffic. The key takeaway for me is that safety is not simply a function of engineering, but rather includes a very healthy dose of psychology and behavior, often in very non-intuitive ways. Perhaps most perverse is the idea that as we add safety features to our roads and vehicles,…

  • Bumper Year for Bridge Books

    Not long ago we had a new edition of the Portland Bridge Book. Now we’re greeted by a new book about our bridges, Bridges of Portland, by Ray Bottenberg. Link to book at Amazon.com Link to book at Powell’s Link to book at Multnomah County Library List Price: This book is a very much photo-oriented,…

  • Third Edition of Portland Bridge Book

    “Parents” Sharon Wood Wortman and Ed Wortman, after several years gestation, announce the third edition of The Portland Bridge Book printed by Bridgetown Printers. Published by Urban Adventure Press, Portland, Oregon November 20, 2006 Prominent features: 100 contemporary photographs, 50 historic photographs, 26 illustrations, New chapter on the Sauvie Island Bridge New chapter How and…

  • Bookshelf: How to Live Well Without Owning a Car

    OK, I caught up on my reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author takes us through not just the financial investment we put in our cars, but also the time, energy and angst we put in to maintaining them, and convincingly makes the case that we’re better off without.

  • Bookshelf: The Box

    Link to book at Amazon.com Link to book at Powell’s Link to book at Multnomah County Library List Price: Simple ideas make for big changes. I just finished reading “The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger”. The simple idea is to seemlessly move freight from truck to…