The Well-Tempered City
What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life

A work on how humans and the world we live in interact. When do we come into the state of 'Well-Tempered Well-Being', if ever? A cross between anthropology and urbanism with insights into neuroplasticity and neuropsychology. Evolutionary pressures, environment, A list of sweeping excursions into hist......more

I love the subtitle of this book, “What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life.” As an environmental engineer, I am fascinated on the topic of infrastructure. A little over ten years ago, I took a fascinating urban planning class at Marquette U......more

A complex tapestry of ideas woven together to create a veneer of understanding of the world, the book lacks real depth. New concepts are introduced every few pages, as if the profundity of it all would be self-evident. Not a bad book by any means, but not for stimulating deep contemplative pondering......more

I’ve never written a review on here before, but this book annoyed me enough to do so. There is a new section header on every 1-2 pages, and that reflects the lack of flow or organization in this book. You’ll get whiplash when the author turns to a totally new subject every 1-2 pages, with little coh......more

I thought that the topic was very interesting but I felt that the connection the well-tempered clavier was not carried well throughout the book. I also don't think it was the right metaphor to use and in many cases just lost connection to it. The book was also too long for the topic. Many of the cha......more