Título: Traffic: Why we drive the way we do
Autor: Tom Vanderbilt
Sinopse: Would you be surprised that road rage can be good for society? Or that most crashes happen on sunny, dry days? That our minds can trick us into thinking the next lane is moving faster? Or that you can gauge a nation’s driving behavior by its levels of corruption? These are only a few of the remarkable dynamics that Tom Vanderbilt explores in this fascinating tour through the mysteries of the road. Based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, Traffic gets under the hood of the everyday activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological, and technical factors that explain how traffic works, why we drive the way we do, and what our driving says about us. Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He shows how roundabouts, which can feel dangerous and chaotic, actually make roads safer—and reduce traffic in the bargain. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots. The car has long been a central part of American life; whether we see it as a symbol of freedom or a symptom of sprawl, we define ourselves by what and how we drive. As Vanderbilt shows, driving is a provocatively revealing prism for examining how our minds work and the ways in which we interact with one another. Ultimately, Traffic is about more than driving: it’s about human nature. This book will change the way we see ourselves and the world around us. And who knows? It may even make us better drivers.
Contexto da obra
Quando a classificação é mais ampla, o contexto do livro costuma depender ainda mais de autoria, tema e edição. “Traffic: Why we drive the way we do”, de Tom Vanderbilt, publicado pela editora Alfred A. Knopf, em 2008 e com 406 páginas, integra a categoria Livros Variados. Por isso, autoria, edição e tema acabam tendo ainda mais peso na forma de apresentar o livro.
Editora: Alfred A. Knopf
Páginas: 406
Ano: 2008
Edição: 1
Linguagem: inglês
ISBN: 0307264785
ISBN13: 9780307264787
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Alfred A. Knopf apresentam uma variedade de narrativas que exploram intensamente as relações humanas e os dilemas pessoais, muitas vezes em cenários marcados por tensões sociais ou culturais. A experiência de leitura costuma ser densa, com um tom que varia entre o introspectivo e o dramático, e personagens que enfrentam conflitos profundos, seja em ambientes urbanos contemporâneos ou em contextos históricos detalhados. O catálogo sugere obras que transitam entre o literário e o reflexivo, com histórias que valorizam o desenvolvimento psicológico e a complexidade moral, além de incluir conversas sobre arte e criação, que ampliam o olhar para processos criativos e culturais. Essa diversidade indica que Alfred A. Knopf publica tanto narrativas ficcionais quanto textos que dialogam com o cinema, a música e outras formas de expressão artística.
