A New Scientist, Globe and Mail, and Eater Best Book of 2023In the tradition of Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain, and Mark Bittman, “a surprising, flavorsome tour of ancient cuisines” (Kirkus, STARRED)****—from Neolithic bread to ancient Roman fish sauce—and why reviving the foods of the past is the key to saving the future.“A fascinating look at the people who are keeping these ancient food traditions ali...

Taras Grescoe rides the rails all over the world and makes an elegant and impassioned case for the imminent end of car culture and the coming transportation revolution"I am proud to call myself a straphanger," writes Taras Grescoe. The perception of public transportation in America is often unflattering—a squalid last resort for those with one too many drunk-driving charges, too poor to afford insurance, or too decrepit to get behind the wheel of a car. Indeed, a ce...

The true story of a British aristocrat, an American flapper, and a Chinese poet trapped in an unlikely love triangle amid the decadence of Jazz Age Shanghai.On the eve of World War II, the foreign-controlled port of Shanghai was the rendezvous for the twentieth century's most outlandish adventurers, all under the watchful eye of the fabulously wealthy Sir Victor Sassoon.Emily "Mickey" Hahn was a legendary New Yorker journalist whose vivid writing p...

Strong social and political relevance: Possess the Air is a story of resistance against political fascism, profiling acts of political dissidence. Appeal to socially conscious and politically engaged readers, as well as WWII history buffs.The author of seven previous books of nonfiction, Grescoe has contributed to New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Gourmet, and Wall Street Journal.

The world can't sustain the way we eat today. Whether it’s ultra-processed oils, factoryfarmed meat, or monoculture wheat, industrial agriculture has increasingly dire consequences for the vibrancy of our plates, health, and planet. While some look to high tech solutions, likelab-grown meat or transgenic produce, Taras Grescoe argues that the future of our food lies in the diversity of the past.In The Lost Supper, Grescoe searches for the fascinating flavors, many forgotten ...

Like a modern-day Jane Jacobs, Janette Sadik-Khan transformed New York City's streets to make room for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, and green spaces. Describing the battles she fought to enact change, Streetfight imparts wisdom and practical advice that other cities can follow to make their own streets safer and more vibrant.As New York City’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan managed the seemingly impossible and transformed the streets of o...

One of the world's foremost urban designers shares his passion and methods for rejuvenating neglected cities and argues passionately for the importance and possibilities of their renewal.From a youth spent in the boroughs of New York City and other great cities of the world, to his beginnings as an architect in Toronto, Ken Greenberg has long recognized that cities at their best provide much of what we seek in a place to call home. Community, places of culture and business that we ...

Since 2010, Toronto's headlines have been consumed by the outrageous personal foibles and government-slashing, anti-urbanist policies of Mayor Rob Ford. But the heated debate at City Hall has obscured a bigger, decade-long narrative of Toronto's ascendance as a mature global city. Some Great Idea traces how post-amalgamation, and under three very different mayors, Toronto managed to so quickly oscillate from one extreme to another, and how the city might proceed from here. Some Great Idea ...

Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability.The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban core. But in the typical American city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place that's easy to drive to but often not worth arriving at.Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exac...

Following widespread news that Toronto Police are in possession of the alleged Rob Ford crack cocaine video, there has never been a better time to read the essential backgrounder to Rob Ford's increasingly wild and erratic mayoralty.When people talk about recalling politicians, it's usually because the politician delivered something other than what they advertised, and the voters voted for--lies, frauds and infidelities. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, however, is exactly what the voters e...

Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion and economic development as well as climate change. But while many people support transit in the abstract, it's often hard to channel that support into good transit investments. Part of the problem is that transit debates attract many kinds of experts, who often talk past each other. Ordinary people listen to a little of this and decide that transit is impossible to figure out....

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis“One of [Erik Larson’s] best books yet . . . perfectly timed for the moment.”—Time • “A bravura performance by one of America’s greatest storytellers.”—NPR