Traffic

"A surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings behind the steering wheels.... Jammed with delicious you've-got-to-be kidding moments.... Required reading for anyone applying for a driver's license." --"The New York Times Book Review" "Fascinating, surprising . . . Vanderbilt's book will be a revelation not just to us drivers but also, one might guess, to our policy makers." "-"Alan Moores, "The Seattle Times" "Traffic gets about as close to the heart of modern existence as any book could get . . . Engagingly written, meticulously researched, endlessly interesting and informative, [it] is one of those rare books that comes out of the depths of nowhere." "-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World" "An engaging, informative, psychologically savvy account of the conscious and unconscious assumptions of individual drivers.... Full of fascinating facts and provocative propositions." "--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" """An engrossing tour through the neuroscience of highway illusions, the psychology of late merging, and other existential driving dilemmas." "--Discover" ""Manages to be downright fun."" "--Road and Track" "Smart and comprehensive . . . A shrewd tour of the much-experienced but little-understood world of driving . . . A balanced and instructive discussion on how to improve our policies toward the inexorable car . . . Vanderbilt's book is likely to remain relevant well into the new century." "-"Edward L. Glaeser, T"he New Republic" "A delightful tour through the mysteries and manners of driving.""-Tony Dokoupil, Newsweek" "A breezy . . . well-researched . . . examination of the strange interaction ofhumanity and multiton metal boxes that can roar along at . . . 60 m.p.h. or sit for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic." "-"Patrick T. Reardon, "Chicago Tribune" "Traffic will definitely change the way you think about driving, which also means changing the way you think about being human." -Michael Agger," Slate" "[A] joyride in the often surprising landscape of traffic science and psychology." "-"Abigail Tucker, "Smithsonian Magazine" """Tom Vanderbilt is one of our best and most interesting writers, with an extraordinary knack for looking at everyday life and explaining, in wonderful and entertaining detail, how it really works. That's never been more true than with Traffic, where he takes a subject that we all deal with (and worry about), and lets us see it through new eyes. In the process, he helps us understand better not just the highway, but the world. It doesn't matter whether you drive or take the bus--you're going to want to read this book."" " "--James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds" "A great, deep, multidisciplinary investigation of the dynamics and the psychology of traffic jams. It is fun to read. Anyone who spends more than 19 minutes a day in traffic should read this book." "--Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black Swan" "Fascinating, illuminating, and endlessly entertaining as well. Vanderbilt shows how a sophisticated understanding of human behavior can illuminate one of the modern world's most basic and most mysterious endeavors. You'll learn a lot; and the life you save may be your own." "--Cass R. Sunstein, coauthor of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness" "Everyone who drives--and manypeople who don't--should read this book. It is a psychology book, a popular science book, and a how-to-save-your-life manual, all rolled into one. I found it gripping and fascinating from the very beginning to the very end." "--Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist&quo

Tom Vanderbilt writes on design, technology, science, and culture for many publications, including Wired, Slate, The London Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, Artforum, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine and Popular Science. He is contributing editor to award-winning design magazines I.D. and Print, contributing editor to Business Week Online, and contributing writer of the popular blog Design Observer. He is the author of two previous books: Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America and The Sneaker Book.