{"product_id":"asphalt-9781496222077","title":"Asphalt","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAsphalt: A History demonstrates that roads, parking lots, and civilian and military runways constitute the central arteries of our environment. Kenneth O'Reilly argues that although asphalt creates our environment, it eventually threatens it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It turns out that the story of asphalt is closely linked to the story of modernity—the smooth ride of our cars across the pavement ties into everything from the climate crisis to the racism inherent in tearing up our central cities for highways. A fascinating story that will reshape your sense of what binds the world together.”—Bill McKibben, author of \u003ci\u003eFalter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Kenneth O’Reilly’s wide-ranging story of seduction and threat is rich in iridescent detail and full of surprising twists.”—Graeme Wynn, past president of the American Society for Environmental History\u003cbr\u003e“Full of forceful characters from Nebuchadnezzar to the Koch brothers and ranging from the Dead Sea’s asphalt seeps to Alberta’s oil sands, this carefully researched book tells the story of one of the key substances shaping our world.”—J. R. McNeill, past president of the American Historical Association\u003cbr\u003e“Both a blessing and a curse, the progenitor of peace and the facilitator of violence, asphalt must be considered central to our understanding of modern history, and Kenneth O’Reilly convincingly explains why.”—Darren Dochuk, author of \u003ci\u003eAnointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As the best histories do, \u003ci\u003eAsphalt\u003c\/i\u003e uses the past to change our view of the present and, hopefully, the possibilities for our future. Read this book, step outside, and see our world anew.”—Paul Bogard, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ground Beneath Us\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“O’Reilly chronicles how asphalt enabled suburbanization and urban decay, segregation, warfare, and environmental degradation. Brimming with a range of colorful characters, \u003ci\u003eAsphalt\u003c\/i\u003e takes us to the far corners of the world, in the process providing a fresh perspective on some of the central themes of modern global history.”—Sven Beckert, author of \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Cotton: A Global History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e Introduction: Power, Culture, Space\u003cbr\u003e Part 1. Before Blacktop\u003cbr\u003e 1. Nature: Tar Pits and Asphalt Volcanoes\u003cbr\u003e 2. Use: Fired Bricks and Mummy Wars\u003cbr\u003e 3. Faith: Asphalt’s Dark Ages\u003cbr\u003e Part 2. Coming to America\u003cbr\u003e 4. Triumph: The Blacktop Dawn\u003cbr\u003e 5. Duty: Conquering Poverty and Mud, Reich and Rising Sun\u003cbr\u003e 6. Crusades: Asphalt in the Cold War\u003cbr\u003e 7. Angles: Terrorists, Tricksters, Tea Partiers\u003cbr\u003e 8. Overburden: The Oil-Sand Century\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: The Other Black Hole\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e  ","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409231913303,"sku":"9781496222077","price":22.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781496222077.jpg?v=1730506063","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/asphalt-9781496222077","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}