Lou
I was assigned a chapter of this book in university, loved it, and only now got around to actually reading the book it came from. This is one of those nonfiction books that explains why the modern world is the way it is in a way that just rings true. A bit dry at times, sure, but on the whole this book is accessibly written for an academic text, while also being impressively precise in its argument (ie. the author doesn't make logical leaps to impose his worldview on the reader or to apply it to broader contexts, but there is room left for readers to do that themselves). I'll add that this was basically my whole urban studies degree in a nutshell. Clearly multiple of my professors were very influenced by James Scott's work. I think that everybody should read this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.
I was assigned a chapter of this book in university, loved it, and only now got around to actually reading the book it came from. This is one of those nonfiction books that explains why the modern world is the way it is in a way that just rings true. A bit dry at times, sure, but on the whole this book is accessibly written for an academic text, while also being impressively precise in its argument (ie. the author doesn't make logical leaps to impose his worldview on the reader or to apply it to broader contexts, but there is room left for readers to do that themselves). I'll add that this was basically my whole urban studies degree in a nutshell. Clearly multiple of my professors were very influenced by James Scott's work. I think that everybody should read this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.