Arriving on the music scene in 2003; the Kings of Leon embarked on a sex; drug and booze-fuelled rampage through the London music and fashion scene; never afraid to reveal all to the press and somehow surviving to tell the tale. Joel McIvers new book; the first ever Kings of Leon biography; digs deep into their history to reveal a band like no other.
#1175104 in eBooks 2010-04-15 2010-04-15File Name: B0041OTAAW
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Cold War Architecture BookBy William H.If you are looking for a Lonely Planet Guide to atomic and cold war sites. this is not it. This book is about the cold war’s influence upon architecture. The writer frequently quotes individuals that few outside of the small world of urban planning and architecture will know. If you are interested in urban planning and architecture. go for it. You will enjoy it. Others will find themselves googling names that are not identified. The writer does visit a few sites and blows up a discontinued missile silo. but the book’s interesting sections are buried and scattered. Also. the first page of the book is numbered page 6. Odd2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Book For The Cold War History BuffBy JCThe "Ruins" of the Cold War are fading fast. Time. weather. and mans inattention to preserving history are everyday factors leading to the eventual disappearance of the relics of the cold war infastructure. Survival City is a facinating look at some of these relics and how and why they were developed. It is a very interesting journey and I really enjoyed reading this book because like the author. I too enjoy looking for. and finding these cold war artifacts. Thank you for a facinating and interesting journey into Atomic America.30 of 30 people found the following review helpful. Heady stuff. very smartly writtenBy Martian BachelorIm usually a rather tough grader. but this is the best book Ive read in quite some time. Vanderbilt takes us on a lively and diverse tour of cold war Americas remaining architectural artifacts (the interstate highway system. bomb shelters. missile silos. misc. military installations - some still in use. nuclear waste sites. etc.) and weaves an analysis of same into an interesting and often surprising commentary on the historical period and the society which gave rise to these structures. For me. the novel perspective of looking at things from an architectural standpoint worked quite well at making the history and those times come alive.The style is part documentary. part story-telling. part travelogue. part cultural anthropology. and part essay on topics in architecture (generally) which I previously would not have thought about. or thought I had any reason to think about. The approach was successful enough that I found myself frequently being simply and skillfully led to surprising and profound insights. which were a delight. I came away from the book thinking Vanderbilt was an excellent writer with many new and important ideas on the fascinating subject of nuclear weapons. the cold war. and national security generally -- subjects which can easily be made drole. heavy. boring and/or tedious. For many. the so-called atomic era seems long gone and forgotten (and slightly silly in many aspects). but Vanderbilt makes the issues faced then seem relevant to many similar problems facing us today by placing them in a context of continuity. Highly recommended to a broad audience.
