Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says about Us) » (Bargain)

Tom Vanderbilt writes about design, technology, science and culture for Wired, Slate, The New York Times and other publications. He lives in Brooklyn and drives a 2001 Volvo V40.

www.howwedrive.com

"Fresh and timely . . . Vanderbilt investigates how human nature has shaped traffic, and vice versa, finally answering drivers' most familiar and frustrating questions." --Publishers Weekly

"Fluently written and oddly entertaining, full of points to ponder while stuck at the on-ramp meter or an endless red light."--Kirkus Reviews

"This may be the most insightful and comprehensive study ever done of driving behavior and how it reveals truths about the types of people we are." --Booklist

"Fascinating . . . Could not come at a better time." --Library Journal

The Barnes & Noble Review

From the moment I heard about it, I couldn t wait to get my hands on Tom Vanderbilt s new book about traffic. I m sure I wasn t the only one. Haven t we all pondered the mysteries of traffic endlessly (at least, it feels endless when you're stuck in it)? After all, traffic is as pervasive as the common cold, except bigger, more relevant. Even the sickliest among us comes down with colds only intermittently.

Prologue: Why I Became a Late Merger (and Why You Should Too)

Ch. 1 Why Does the Other Lane Always Seem Faster? How Traffic Messes with Our Heads

Ch. 2 Why You're Not as Good a Driver as You Think You Are

Ch. 3 How Our Eyes and Minds Betray Us on the Road

Ch. 4 Why Ants Don't Get into Traffic Jams (and Humans Do): On Cooperation as a Cure for Congestion

Ch. 5 Why Women Cause More Congestion Than Men (and Other Secrets of Traffic)

Ch. 6 Why More Roads Lead to More Traffic (and What to Do About It)

Ch. 7 When Dangerous Roads Are Safer

Ch. 8 How Traffic Explains the World: On Driving with a Local Accent

Ch. 9 Why You Shouldn't Drive with a Beer-Drinking Divorced Doctor Named Fred on Super Bowl Sunday in a Pickup Truck in Rural Montana: What's Risky on the Road and Why

Epilogue: Driving Lessons

Acknowledgments

Notes