Two Books on the Anthropocene
THEY WARNED US about this. In California, the future has arrived in the form of desiccated land, 100-degree autumn days, and freakish fires that burned more than 300,000 acres in 2015.
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Review of 'Giving Up Baby,' by Laury Oaks
Originally published September/October 2015 in Pacific Standard
On Christmas Eve, 2007, a blond woman in her late 30s arrived at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, with a crying newborn in her arms. The woman had given birth alone at homeĀ and tied off the umbilical cord with a rubber band.
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Review of 'Leaving Orbit,' by Margaret Lazarus Dean
Originally published May 22, 2015 in Los Angeles Times
In 1969, the moon landing brought together a nation, millions slack-jawed in the glow of their televisions. In 1986, the explosion of the Challenger became a defining moment for a generation of schoolchildren.
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In our era of ultrapersonalized viewing, why do we still allow TVs to infiltrate our public spaces?
Originally published February 1, 2015 in Slate
Not long ago, I arrived at an Amtrak station near my home in Southern California and was struck by its pleasant atmosphere: high ceilings, a spare design, a clean and airy waiting room with light streaming in the windows.
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Review of 'Shanghai Future,' by Anna Greenspan
AT THE 2010 Shanghai World Expo, audience members strapped themselves into moving seats to watch a 360-degree screen. The scene on display was a quixotic vision of the city in 2030.
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