Down the Asphalt Path: The Automobile and the American City

Columbia History of Urban Life

by Clay McShane

Examines the relationship between the automobile and urbanization at the turn of the nineteenth century

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Transport

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[Lauren Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Nature’s Metropolis but damn a depressing ending.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed and interesting at times, boring and full of minutia at others. It reads more like a collection of essays strung together than a coherent work. The tone of the chapters is also uneven. Some seem to be aimed at a popular audience and some are more didactic. Add this to your list if interested in streets and transportation to 1920.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

im still not a fan of nonfiction but if you like history and cars and roads then this book isnt bad

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written book about why the Automobile was, for all intense purposes, invented at least 50 years earlier in 1840s-1850s, but could not find relevance until early 20th Century. Very well researched.