Autophobia

From the Model T to the SUV, "Autophobia" reveals that our vexed relationship with the automobile is nothing new - in fact, debates over whether cars are forces of good or evil in our world have raged for over a century now, ever since the automobile was invented. According to Brian Ladd, this love-hate relationship with our cars is the defining quality of the automotive age. And everyone has an opinion about them, from the industry shills, oil barons, and radical libertarians who offer cars blithe paeans and deny their ill effects, to the technophobes, tree huggers, and killjoys who curse cars, ignoring the very real freedoms and benefits they provide us. Focusing in particular on the automotive transformation of our world's cities, and spanning settings as varied as Belle Epoque Paris, Nazi Germany, postwar London, Los Angeles, New York, and the smoggy Shanghai of today, Ladd explores this conundrum, acknowledging adherents and detractors of the automobile alike.