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The KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler Paperback – November 15, 2011

by Duncan Crary (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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James Howard Kunstler has been described as "one of the most outrageous commentators on the American built environment." An outspoken critic of suburban sprawl, Kunstler is often controversial and always provocative. The KunstlerCast is based on the popular weekly podcast of the same name, which features Kunstler in dialogue with author Duncan Crary, offering a personal window into Kunstler's world view.

Presented as a long-form conversational interview, The KunstlerCast revisits and updates all the major ideas contained in Kunstler's body of work, including:
  • The need to rethink current sources of transportation and energy
  • The failure of urban planning, architecture, and industrial society
  • America's plastic, dysfunctional culture
  • The reality of Peak Oil
Whether sitting in the studio, strolling city streets, visiting a suburban mall, or even "happy motoring", Kunstler's grim predictions Kunstler makes about America's prospects are leavened by his signature sharp wit and humor. This book is rounded out by commentary, footnotes, and supplemental vignettes told from the perspective of an "embedded" reporter on the Kunstler beat.

Readers may or may not agree with the more dystopian of Kunstler's visions. Regardless, The KunstlerCast is bound to inspire a great deal of thought, laugher, and, hopefully, action.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New Society Publishers
  4. Publication date
    November 15, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0865716935
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0865716933
  8. See all details
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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  • Scott D. Mittelsteadt
    5.0 out of 5 stars A book from a podcast?? Yep....it works brilliantly!!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2012
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    I have been following James Howard Kunstler since a friend of mine suggested The Geography of Nowhere back in the mid-90's. By the time the podcast appeared, I was already a veteran of Kunstler books and his way of seeing things....a way that I could easily identify with and appreciate. When the podcast first appeared, I tuned in at the premier and have listened to each and every episode. That's a lot of podcasts.

    I thought a book about the podcast was a great idea, but as a long-time fan, I wasn't sure I'd find it useful. However, I feel strongly about supporting the efforts of people like Duncan Crary and JHK, so I decided to read it anyways. And I'm glad I did. Its amazing how much you forget over time, and how much more you retain and appreciate when you read it again.

    If you listen to the podcast, you will most definitely benefit from reading the book. I found myself better able to understand the topics when I could digest them a bit and let the words float around my brain for a little while.

    If you are new to the podcast or unfamiliar with it, you will definitely be educated and entertained by JHK's unique take on the built environment, the state of the state, and a future few seem to see or understand, but one that is likely to become reality regardless.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Skully
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening & Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2012
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    This book really captured the spirit of the KunstlerCast and JHK's acerbic wit while providing plenty of insights into the destructive suburbanization of America. Those who say JHK has "no solutions" are either not thinking about what he says or not listening to him. I have lived in a city that fulfills pretty much all Jim's solutions, Hamburg Germany, and it is a wonderful place without a fat person in sight. You can walk and bike everywhere, take a bus, underground, train or even a ship for peanuts. Cars are not only unnecessary, but annoying in Hamburg, and parks are everywhere with kids running and playing safe as can be.

    Thank you Jim for opening up my mind so that I could appreciate my experiences in Hamburg so much more. And JHK's insights inspired me to seek a reasonable place to live in Southern California where I can walk to most everything (miracle eh?).

    Well done Duncan!
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  • Peter Cacioppi
    1.0 out of 5 stars Who's the ostrich here
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012
    As North America breaks records for total energy extraction, as the price of natural gas drops so low that they're practically giving it away, as the Rust Belt re-industrializes on top of a flood of cheap industrial energy .... it seems reasonable to ask who has their heads stuck in the samd? The scientists who say there is a century's worth of fossil fuels on US soil, or the Peak Energy folks like Kunstler and Cary.

    At some point within a few years there will likely be drilling rigs and oil workers within a stones throw of Kunstlers upstate New York home. Perhaps this will be enough of a reality check for him to realize that we're not running out of energy, and he can find a new hobby horse.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Shannon B.
    4.0 out of 5 stars a stimulating read for sure
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2011
    Ten years ago, I discovered James Howard Kunstler's "Geography of Nowhere" and it changed everything about the way I saw my life going forward. To this day, although I drive to work, I live in a walkable, urban area - a true mixed-use neighborhood of multi-families, corner stores, coffee houses and farmer's markets. I don't remember why I picked it up - only that I then read every book written by J.H. Kunstler (aside from his fiction). Now, ten years older, and a bit more critical, I am reading the KunstlerCast, covering much of the same topics. I am no longer the starry-eyed twenty five year old, but now more well-read, older, having lived more and seen more ... I have a more critical eye.

    Fair disclosure - Mr. Crary himself sent me the book for review, which I thank him for here. But you should know that it has no effect on my review here.

    As a book of interviews, I will tell you that it's a lot more readable than a lot of non-fiction out there. Kunstler's sense of humor really comes through. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between the Crary and Kunstler develop. Crary's introduction, explaining his first encounter with Kunstler, brought back memories for me of my own discovery of the man's work. I love the format of this book - interviews and occasionally callouts of particularly interesting or funny thoughts. I hate to say this but you could probably skip the books and just read this, if you were short on time.

    Reading this book reminded me of what most of America is like, because as even JHK admits, Massachusetts and Boston are somewhat special, having been so heavily settled in the early centuries after the Europeans arrived, there was little room to add sprawl. On a day to day basis, I do not see the kind of sprawl discussed in this book. And within my own town, people are fairly conscious of waste, always recycling, composting, bringing their own canvas bags, buying food that was grown or raised locally. I'm sorta living in a bubble.

    One thought, and I don't think this ever came up in the books, was on the Internet. About how humans are hard-wired to explore, and suddenly you have this giant virtual place to explore. I thought that was a very interesting thought, yet the discussion continues to go in a strange place. I guess we'll have to disagree that the Internet is one giant distraction - rather than an augmentation to reality. Rather than distracting us from what is going on in our world, I see it as connecting us to what is going on in our world. I was able to read tweets from Egyptian protesters, and see a live feed of OccupyBoston on youtube. On Facebook, I learned of what was really going on during Iran's electoral protests. And, it is through the Internet that I was most easily able to coordinate and advertise my annual holiday show (which is a live, in-person event). We'll have to differ there! I started to wonder - is Kunstler actually a Luddite?

    Of course, I have my critiques. Mr. Kunstler and Mr. Crary both live in relatively small cities, by their own choice. However, it results in a somewhat limited point of view. It doesn't sound like there is a lot of diversity in upstate New York! Certainly, Kunstler's attitude about tattoos is a bit retrograde. Sometimes I just wanted to say - hey, live and let live, buddy. Well, I'm sure he wouldn't say it to my face. Also, my tattoos are awesome, and unlike a "consumer item", I invented the idea for mine and had it designed just for me. So in that way, it was more like commissioning a painting. Anyway...I'll try to let it go. But be forewarned that if you are committed to your tattoos, you might want to skip pages 156 to 157.

    And I don't even know what to say about his opinions on "Poor People" in the section called "Reinvesting in Small Cities". It's offensive, to say the least. He talks about the fear of "section 8" people moving into small towns. He basically says that rather than poor people, you need competent people who can take care of themselves...and then goes on to say that in the future, it will be more than poor people moving to small cities, it will be educated people. Someone should let James know that there are working poor, educated poor, and there are plenty of poor people in America today who desperately want to work, who probably are quite competent - in whatever it was they did before the downturn - but America has a widening income disparity that is pushing out the middle class. THAT is not a helpless underclass. I would have liked it if the author had challenged JHK from time to time on some of his more out-there, and downright offensive and ignorant, statements. In a way, not saying anything makes you complicit. It was this paragraph that finally made me say - Wow, you arrogant, privileged jerk. Then of course I found out that in his post-apocalyptic novel, women serve men and the world is populated only by Anglo-saxons. And then I remembered why I stopped recommending Kunstler to my friends. While I may enjoy some of his thoughts on urban sprawl and his wicked sense of humor, I do not necessarily wholeheartedly recommend it because of these things. That's where I go back to ye old Jane Jacobs as my personal favorite writer on urban life.

    Now ... why did I write SO much about Kunstler, who is not even the author of the book? For the same reason that Duncan Crary explained that it felt strange writing a book consisting almost entirely of someone else's thoughts. The book is really about Kunstler - and it's direct quotes from him.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Stephan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great distillation of some of the best moments from Kunstler Cast
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2011
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    This book is a definite must-have for anyone who is even remotely interested in Urban renewal, post-peak Urban planning and possible scenarios regarding the future of our cheap-oil driven world. Even stripped of the entertaining vocal intonations of Duncan and Jim, their dialogue in-camera sustains an enlightening and engaging discourse even for the most casual of readers. In a nation surrounded by mundane, aggressive "violent clowns" barreling their massive SUVs down the road while simultaneously itching their newly embossed neck tattoos, you really can't afford to be without this humorous and quite unique take on the real-life dynamics that Jim refers to as the Tragic Comedy of Suburban Sprawl. -Stephan (RVideo)
    2 people found this helpful
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  • F. Estremera
    5.0 out of 5 stars Some great topics discussed that everyone should hear about
    Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2013
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    If you've listed to the Kunstler Cast, then this is just a refresher of most topics James Howard Kunstler talks about...But regardless, a great read!
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