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Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice
Knute "Skip" Berger is one of the most recognized commentators on politics, culture, business, and life in the Pacific Northwest. He’s the Mike Royko/Jimmy Breslin of this part of the country. As Timothy Egan describes him in the Foreword to Pugetopolis, he is the region’s "crank with a conscience…a contrarian" thinker who calls out the folly and hubris of mayors, governors, presidents, and gazillionaires. In his signature Mossback column, which ran for years in the Seattle Weekly and now on Crosscut.com, Knute Berger comments on politics (the 50-year odyssey of mass transit), cultural matters (we got art out here in the provinces), the big natural world (what’s left of it), enterprise (as in the Microsoft-Starbucks Industrial Complex), and odd local behavior (car-less living that allows mooching rides). As a third-generation Seattle native, he has the perspective to take the long view, so he knows there was a life without jackasses on jet ski, bear attacks in the suburbs, and not so many millionaires. Gathered in Pugetopolis are Knute Berger’s best commentaries that provide grist for anyone’s mental mill who wants to understand why the Pacific Northwest is a quirky place that is sometimes too liberal for its own good; strangely conservative at other times; blindly does the bidding of the richest guy around so he can make even more money; and is able to jump on the bandwagon of one dumb pubic-works fiasco after another. And then we complain about the rain like it’s some new form of insult. You gotta love this place—warts and all. Berger shows you how with this sharp-witted and observant book.
- GenresNonfictionEssaysHistory
304 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 19, 2009
Meh. I didn't love it.
Because it's a collection of essays written over several years, there is a lot of repetition. By the halfway point, I was thinking, "Wait - didn't I already read this one?"
There were a handful of enjoyable essays, but the overwhelming theme throughout was to long for the good old days before so many people moved here, destroyed the natural environment, and messed up the small-town way of life. It got a little old to me. I get the sense that original Seattleites - or at least people who have been here since the 60s/70s - would enjoy this book more than me.
Side note: While I was reading this book, I saw the author standing at the bus stop at 3rd and Pike. Doesn't that seem like something that would only happen in a small town? Like the kind of small town that the author laments is gone? Is that ironic, or am I stretching here? Fine, I'm stretching it. I'll get back to work now.
Because it's a collection of essays written over several years, there is a lot of repetition. By the halfway point, I was thinking, "Wait - didn't I already read this one?"
There were a handful of enjoyable essays, but the overwhelming theme throughout was to long for the good old days before so many people moved here, destroyed the natural environment, and messed up the small-town way of life. It got a little old to me. I get the sense that original Seattleites - or at least people who have been here since the 60s/70s - would enjoy this book more than me.
Side note: While I was reading this book, I saw the author standing at the bus stop at 3rd and Pike. Doesn't that seem like something that would only happen in a small town? Like the kind of small town that the author laments is gone? Is that ironic, or am I stretching here? Fine, I'm stretching it. I'll get back to work now.
April 29, 2009
I can assure the readers of this book with a catchy headline that:
Every city has people similar to Mr. Berger who makes a living playing the role as that city's "old guardian."
These old guardians and their fans will never leave their host cities and yet want others (i.e. the "newbies" or the "new wave") to either move back or to remain in places the old guardians and their fans would never reside much less even visit (e.g. North Dakota, Iowa and other "depopulating" areas).
This aversion of the old guards to the newcomers applies only to those newcomers who are native-born white folks. Exception is made for immigrants.
What the "old guards" advocate is completely impractical as no one - especially the old guards - wants to move to areas without sufficient employment or the economic or cultural incentives that make living in hostile conditions (e.g. bone-chilling arctic winds, no high culture within a 200 mile radius) seem worthwhile.
I take up living, travel and work space in more than one city and in more than one state. And I notice there are many others like me. And this hints at another Northwest myth - that its Ecotopian people reside or work in just one city or state. I really wanted to like this book because I like social commentaries especially humorous self-reflection about the place and culture of where I live. Unfortunately, it became page after page of rants about Seattle's growth, its influx of yuppies and its loss of what it once was. The book's chapters are primarily cobbled together from columns he has written in Seattle Weekly over the years some of which are no longer relevant.
If you're a fan of such Pugetopolis old guards you probably will like this book as it will validates resentments to change and longings for the "good old days." By the way, it's 2009.
Every city has people similar to Mr. Berger who makes a living playing the role as that city's "old guardian."
These old guardians and their fans will never leave their host cities and yet want others (i.e. the "newbies" or the "new wave") to either move back or to remain in places the old guardians and their fans would never reside much less even visit (e.g. North Dakota, Iowa and other "depopulating" areas).
This aversion of the old guards to the newcomers applies only to those newcomers who are native-born white folks. Exception is made for immigrants.
What the "old guards" advocate is completely impractical as no one - especially the old guards - wants to move to areas without sufficient employment or the economic or cultural incentives that make living in hostile conditions (e.g. bone-chilling arctic winds, no high culture within a 200 mile radius) seem worthwhile.
I take up living, travel and work space in more than one city and in more than one state. And I notice there are many others like me. And this hints at another Northwest myth - that its Ecotopian people reside or work in just one city or state. I really wanted to like this book because I like social commentaries especially humorous self-reflection about the place and culture of where I live. Unfortunately, it became page after page of rants about Seattle's growth, its influx of yuppies and its loss of what it once was. The book's chapters are primarily cobbled together from columns he has written in Seattle Weekly over the years some of which are no longer relevant.
If you're a fan of such Pugetopolis old guards you probably will like this book as it will validates resentments to change and longings for the "good old days." By the way, it's 2009.
March 8, 2009
Berger really is right on the money when he bills this as “A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice.” Just by looking at his hoary visage on the back page of this, his first collection of articles formerly published elsewhere from the 90s up to today, you know you’re in for a rollickin’ good ride of snarkiness -- Pacific Northwest-style.
Berger’s critical eye reminds me of a liberal Rush Limbaugh. Over-bloated, sharp-witted, and often down-right obnoxiously funny (in spite of himself, more often than not), Berger is more than happy to be a thorn in the side of developers (worse than dyed-in-the-wool Communists in former decades), fundamentalists of all stripes and persuasions, the Establishment (whatever and wherever that may be), Tim Eyman and the monkey-wrench initiative-style of Washingtonian populism, Seattle’s process-oriented politics (long on talk, and frequently short on action), Greg Nickel’s phony “Mr. Nice Guy” style of management, and – a favorite of xenophobic natives for many years now – Californians who migrate here to our neck of the rainy woods.
Annoyed by our increasingly dense city? Lamenting the loss of urban green space? Sick of Seattle politics where we talk about things to death – without ever really doing something tangible about it? Knute Berger is the man for you. By the end of Pugetopolis, you will no doubt reach out to grab the latest issue of Seattle Weekly, or even to turn the dial to KUOW to hear his latest rant and rave. Huzzah for the quintessential Northwest Mossback!
Berger’s critical eye reminds me of a liberal Rush Limbaugh. Over-bloated, sharp-witted, and often down-right obnoxiously funny (in spite of himself, more often than not), Berger is more than happy to be a thorn in the side of developers (worse than dyed-in-the-wool Communists in former decades), fundamentalists of all stripes and persuasions, the Establishment (whatever and wherever that may be), Tim Eyman and the monkey-wrench initiative-style of Washingtonian populism, Seattle’s process-oriented politics (long on talk, and frequently short on action), Greg Nickel’s phony “Mr. Nice Guy” style of management, and – a favorite of xenophobic natives for many years now – Californians who migrate here to our neck of the rainy woods.
Annoyed by our increasingly dense city? Lamenting the loss of urban green space? Sick of Seattle politics where we talk about things to death – without ever really doing something tangible about it? Knute Berger is the man for you. By the end of Pugetopolis, you will no doubt reach out to grab the latest issue of Seattle Weekly, or even to turn the dial to KUOW to hear his latest rant and rave. Huzzah for the quintessential Northwest Mossback!
March 23, 2009
The book is an anthology of articles from the Mossback column from Crosscut. Some of the articles are really funny, and most of them do hit pretty close to home. However, his reputation as a curmudgeonly old man is well deserved and well illustrated here. He longs for the better, more simple times of yesteryear and I got tired of that view of life. That time is over, get on with it. This is the time and place that we live now, if you don't like it, either come up with a better suggestion, or move!
The really nice thing about this book is that each article was only a couple of minutes of reading, so they were great to read right before bed, or to pick up when you only had a few minutes.
The really nice thing about this book is that each article was only a couple of minutes of reading, so they were great to read right before bed, or to pick up when you only had a few minutes.
September 2, 2012
Quintessential reading for a Seattleite!
Whatever your political persuasion, Skip is 100% localist. He's a free-thinker with an appetite for home. I loved this collection.
I recommend following it up with Emmett Watson's, "Once Upon a Time in Seattle", Kurt Hoelting's, "The Circumference of Home", or David Williams', "The Street-smart Naturalist:Field Notes from Seattle".
Whatever your political persuasion, Skip is 100% localist. He's a free-thinker with an appetite for home. I loved this collection.
I recommend following it up with Emmett Watson's, "Once Upon a Time in Seattle", Kurt Hoelting's, "The Circumference of Home", or David Williams', "The Street-smart Naturalist:Field Notes from Seattle".
February 8, 2024
Pretty nice collection of opinion pieces from Mr. Berger set against the backdrop of 90s and early 2000s Seattle -- he covers a wide variety of topics, such as real estate development, conservation efforts, the effects of tourism on the city, the departure of Boeing, etc. Direct, no-nonsense style that I liked. Wouldn't really call this a good intro book to Seattle (see Tim Egan's The Good Rain for that) but it's decently entertaining commentary from a city local.
Medium read, finished over a couple of months while reading it very intermittently.
Medium read, finished over a couple of months while reading it very intermittently.
July 29, 2024
A selection of Berger columns, mostly from the first decade of the millennium. Not all have aged well. He's a little too focused on some big ideas that failed, like the monorail.
Great introductory essay by Tim Egan. Worth reading to get some curmudgeonly history of Seattle if you need some of that.
Great introductory essay by Tim Egan. Worth reading to get some curmudgeonly history of Seattle if you need some of that.
June 1, 2015
I read this book in preparation for moving to Seattle and just finally got around to reading the last few chapters and reviewing it after living in Seattle for six months. There were some essays that were quite good. But, as a newcomer to Seattle, I had to overcome the hurtle of being one of Knute Berger's targets. Apparently newcomers are despoiling the city in his eyes of 'third generation' Seattleites like Knute, who lament the growth of his city. Moreover, since I now hear him on KUOW and see his newly minted articles on Crosscut.com, I can't help but notice how out of touch he is sometimes. The article that particularly got me was when he was complaining about the loss of parking and issuing a doomsday forecast that public parking would go extinct in Seattle. Basically if Knute can't find parking in one minute or less downtown without having to fork over for a ramp spot, it's a municipal emergency. Basically, it feels like he can never pass up a good rant and basically has no cogent agenda to drive besides snarkiness for snarkiness sake. And I like snark. But for someone who brags about being in Seattle for three generations, he's long of nostalgia and short on effective policy ideas.
September 14, 2015
I wanted to like this book a lot more. In this collection of articles from the last decade, Berger slings a few really poignant zingers at his favorite targets: politicians, developers, and outsiders. Thus my problem: I'm one of that third group. It's the fault of me and people like me that Seattle sucks now.
It's hard not to take that personally, especially when my move to the Northwest was filled with bright-eyed optimism and the best of intentions. I'm not a Californian and I'm not here at the behest of Boeing or a tech firm. I'm a public servant working for the public library. I feel like I have something to contribute here.
All the stuff that Berger complains about that's happening here? Rampant development, a complete disregard for the sustainability of the region, the fecklessness of politicians? That's the song that was playing in the background as I left Arizona. Maybe it's still the newness of the experience, but despite what I read within these pages, the Northwest still feels like paradise to me.
I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Knute Berger probably doesn't like me.
It's hard not to take that personally, especially when my move to the Northwest was filled with bright-eyed optimism and the best of intentions. I'm not a Californian and I'm not here at the behest of Boeing or a tech firm. I'm a public servant working for the public library. I feel like I have something to contribute here.
All the stuff that Berger complains about that's happening here? Rampant development, a complete disregard for the sustainability of the region, the fecklessness of politicians? That's the song that was playing in the background as I left Arizona. Maybe it's still the newness of the experience, but despite what I read within these pages, the Northwest still feels like paradise to me.
I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Knute Berger probably doesn't like me.
February 24, 2011
I've always been waiting for that nugget piece by Knute Berger, where he brings together the various strings of thought and shows me exactly where he is coming from. Fred Moody did this in Seattle and the Demons of Ambition. Even though Moody stole liberally from his previous work, Demons of Ambition stands on its own as a personal and regional history. And, it makes a cogent argument about where we are headed as a region.
This is what I expected from Berger in Pugetopolis, but what it is really is a simple collection of essays and newspaper columns already published. He does organize them by topic and adds a postscript when necessary. So maybe in 20 years when Berger is no longer an active writer, this book will serve a purpose. But, now its an excuse to "write" a book.
It doesn't help that I disagree with Berger, but this book was really hard to get through.
This is what I expected from Berger in Pugetopolis, but what it is really is a simple collection of essays and newspaper columns already published. He does organize them by topic and adds a postscript when necessary. So maybe in 20 years when Berger is no longer an active writer, this book will serve a purpose. But, now its an excuse to "write" a book.
It doesn't help that I disagree with Berger, but this book was really hard to get through.
January 14, 2013
An engaging collection of essays from one of the region's regular columnists. It's good to have background about this new place, to have some history of the political battles, and to be challenged about some of my views.
Yet the book reminds me of the differences between columns and books; the former is time and place sensitive, a quick reaction to make sense (or opinion) of today's news, to add a voice to a community dialogue. The latter is for more reflection, and that's what the book generally fails to do (though he includes short paragraphs updating what's happened since he wrote the column).
As the book was published in 2009, I believe, it's dated. But glad to have read it.
Yet the book reminds me of the differences between columns and books; the former is time and place sensitive, a quick reaction to make sense (or opinion) of today's news, to add a voice to a community dialogue. The latter is for more reflection, and that's what the book generally fails to do (though he includes short paragraphs updating what's happened since he wrote the column).
As the book was published in 2009, I believe, it's dated. But glad to have read it.
August 14, 2009
Sometimes it's fun to read a book about a city you don't live in. Sure, they've got their problems, perhaps similar to your own, but at the end of a long day it is sometimes nice to read about another city and leave, if temporarily, your own one behind. In this case I used to live in Seattle so I am familiar with some of the issues and personalities, it's just I'll never vote on them or for them again. Told with Berger's sharp wit and irascible sense of himself and environment, this is a fun read best enjoyed in small pieces.
June 27, 2011
It was fun to read Knute Berger's collection of writing in one place. I got it on a sale table and read it in an afternoon, great fun to read his take on things and catch up on those I had missed previously. Certainly he could be channeling Emmett Watson and for NW natives this is a comfort to keep this "F&N" look at the PNW alive. I don't think he's as grumpy as other readers have said, but perhaps I am used to hearing his outlook on things. I can't say I read every single piece collected here but I did read most and it was a glimpse back into the recent past.
August 6, 2013
Yes, it's snarky. I only read the first third, and while I did enjoy the perspective of a Seattlite who has lived through decades of changes in our iconic city, I could only tolerate the attitude in small doses. I thought the essay on race was spot-on, however, and it was worth picking up the collection just for that one.
September 8, 2009
Interesting to learn more about this place I'm calling home. Didn't care for some of his "Eek! Change!" pieces, but then I guess I'm part of the change he doesn't care for, so I guess that's to be expected.
November 3, 2009
I couldn't get through this book, so it went back to the library, perhaps to be read later. It had some potentially interesting insight into the development of Seattle and Puget Sound, but it rambled around too much to keep me interested.
June 25, 2012
Berger sounds like a guy that needs to move to someplace sunny and warm to change his attitude. I read this in hopes of learning more about my new home and it was, like the weather is sometimes here, dreary and depressing!
January 21, 2013
A collection of essays from the 1990s to 2008 that cover a lot of the side of Seattle you don't see in the tourist description. Quick read, good insights into what you'd be diving into if you moved to the Puget Sound.
July 21, 2009
Although it contained some interesting tidbits about Seattle history and politics, this mostly felt like a rant.
April 9, 2009
Knute Berger sucks. How does this guy still have a job?
April 19, 2009
Just a bunch of rants, but they're about where I live now, so that helped. And he says it how he feels it, which I all enjoyed.
June 15, 2010
Gave up. He's too cranky and I'm too impatient. A match made in Seattle?
March 8, 2010
Good for anyone who wants to understand this region, including local politics
May 19, 2011
Great read - compilation of Seattle new articles - was like revisiting of my history with the city.
May 8, 2012
I read it beacausea Greener wrote it. And he does live up to the "crank" of the book jacket.
November 27, 2012
A refreshing, humorous and accurate perception of Seattle's unique culture. This would be a great primer for Seattle newcomers.
December 19, 2013
Ugh. A collection of newspaper rants by a curmudgeonly 'third generation' Nordic Seattleite. Doesn't get much worse than this...
October 21, 2015
As a 7 year Puget sound native I was excited to read this book. I just couldn't get into it. Did not finish.
January 27, 2016
Dated columns from Knute Berger
May 13, 2017
Nothing groundbreaking, but this was an often funny, good-enough primer on the area's culture, even for someone like me who's been here 12 years. Some of the situations chronicled inside are too specific to their era, but many of the situations, especially regarding development, are perennial. Some readers characterize Berger as a "cranky old man," but I don't think he takes himself seriously enough to deserve the slur.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews