Publication

2004 - H. Holt, New York, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

76,250 words, Guess

Page Count

305 pages

Identifiers

and 3 more
  • Library of Congress Control Number2003067612
  • Goodreads167356
  • LibraryThing615739

Classifications

  • DDC387.7/36
  • LCCTL725 .G647 2004

Description

This book is an original history of a long-neglected yet central creation of modern reality and imagination. Since its origins in the muddy fields of flying machines, the airport has become one of the defining institutions of modern life. In this book, critic Gordon ranges from global geopolitics to action movies to the daily commute, showing how airports have changed our sense of time, distance, style, and even the way cities are built and business is done. He introduces the people who shaped this place: pilots like Charles Lindbergh, architects like Eero Saarinen, politicians like Fiorello La Guardia. He describes the airport's contributions, such as credit cards, and charts its shift in popular perception, from glamorous to infuriating. Finally, he analyzes the airport's function in war and peace--its gatekeeper role controlling immigration, its appeal to revolutionaries since the hijackings of the 1960s, and its new frontline position in the struggle against terror.--From publisher description.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Naked airport: a cultural history of the world's most revolutionary structureH. Holt2004-01-01

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