Monday, February 14, 2011

Advance Praise for Aerotropolis:


“Thanks to the manifold effects of modern aviation, earth and sky are merging in our world faster and more thoroughly than most people know. But you won’t be most people after reading Aerotropolis. Throw out your old atlas. The new version is here.” — Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air.

“Very few people realize how profoundly air transport is changing our cities, our economies, our social systems, and our systems of governance. If you want to be way ahead of the curve in understanding one of the most important drivers of change for the 21st century, read this book.” - Paul Romer, Senior Fellow Stanford Insitute for Economic Policy Research; founder of Charter Cities.

Aerotropolis redraws the world map, using air routes to trace the new connections and competition between mega-regions that will shape the geography of the Great Reset. This lively, thought-provoking book is must reading for anyone interested in how and where we will live and work in a truly global era.” - Richard Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto and author of The Great Reset.

“A fascinating window into the complex emergent urban future. This book is an extremely sophisticated, often devastatingly witty and ironic, interpretation of what is possible over the next two decades. It is not science fiction. It is science and technology in action. The authors have one foot firmly planted in the possible and foreseeable.” — Saskia Sassen, Professor, Columbia University, author of Territory, Authority, Rights.

“A wheels-up, clear-eyed, as-it-happens dispatch of the world being remapped by our just-in-time, frequent-flying, what-time-is-this-place society.  An essential guide to the 21st century.” — Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).

Aerotropolis presents a radical, futuristic vision of a world where we build our cities around airports rather than the reverse. This book ties together urbanism, global economics, international relations, sociology, and insights from adventures in places that aren’t even on the map yet to present a plausible new paradigm for understanding how we relate to the skies. Perhaps the most compelling book on globalization in years.” - Parag Khanna, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation, and author of How to Run the World.

Aerotropolis comprehensively explains the enormous effects modern aviation has on cities and countries around the world. It is a unique resource.” - Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO, FedEx Corporation.

“The closest thing to a real-world vision to rival that of [H. G.] Wells… a mind-expanding ride that reminds us, once again, that humanity needs no apocalypse to reinvent itself and its surroundings.” - Thomas P.M. Barnett, author of Great Powers: America and the World After Bush. (Read the full review here)

“Fascinating… their case studies of failures, successes and known unknowns are music to a logistician’s ears: Why, for instance, should so much air traffic now pass through the Persian Gulf? Because the emirates are blank slates for the experiment, and, as one Abu Dhabi–based technologist says, “because we can fly nineteen hours nonstop now, we’re able to reach any city in the world from here.” The brave new world is on the way, and it’s coming in by air.” - Kirkus Reviews. (Full review available for subscribers here)

“The inevitability of an airborne future rests on economic but also human imperatives… But our increasing dependence on air travel is real enough, and this is an eye-opening picture of that trend.” - Publishers Weekly. (Read the full review here)

This thoughtful study of the aviation-centric city plan and its impact on city planning, globalization, and world trade, among other factors, should be read by business students and faculty, practitioners, and interested lay readers. Highly recommended.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY for Library Journal. (Read the full review here)

Greg Lindsay and I are very excited about the release of the book and hope you all will give it a read and let us know what you think.

Want your copy? Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart are offering pre-orders for the March 1, 2011 release date.