The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1000 Brooks to Read)

Here is my comment about Jane Jacobs in my review of The Power Broker: Volume 2 & 3. I didn't realize there was a book by her in my list! I would have read them concurrently and not four years apart! 

She was the mover and shaker behind Robert Moses' development in New York. She was a hero. I was excited, but this book is REALLY TEDIOUS to get through. The initial excitement and insight into community at the beginning was quelled by too many details and outdated data toward the end. Life's too short. I would not recommend it. 

Here is why James Mustich thinks it should be one of the 1000 Books You Read Before You Die:

James Mustich

Jul 28, 2018

Published in 1961, The Death and Life of Great American Cities would prove to be one of the most influential books on urban planning and policy ever written. Just as important for readers, its author’s powers of perception are allied to considerable literary gifts, and so its pages are animated with descriptions of city life as vivid as any ever penned. Moreover, the book’s influence has extended far beyond the strictly urban beat, for Jacobs’s insights into the way cities work—from the uses of sidewalks to the nature and nurture of neighborhoods—have much to tell us about the way we live networked lives.