The Death and Life of Great American Cities - by Jane Jacobs             This is pretty much an essential read if you live in, love, and appreciate cities.  Today it seems people mostly forget why cities can be so good - not because some foney scene you're a part of congregates there, not because you get to treat the sidewalk like a fashion runway to exhibit your over-priced clothing or contrived thirft-store outfit, not because it's good place to work, etc. Cities are worth living in because of the human presense within them, and because of the knowledge, wisdom, and friendship that can be gained from living in them. Cities are rich, diverse pots full of exercises in the human condition.  And this book re-enforces that belief. Jane Jacobs explains why cities function the way they do, how they function, what constitutes a healthy city with a healthy "street life" and what constitutes a sterile, boring shithole. I suggest you read this book, you will come to appreciate interactions on your block in a new way. The Art of Loving -  by Erich Fromm Grand Central Winter - by Lee Stringer      So how does a man, utterly addicted to crack and living in a forgotten-about tunnel in the depths of New York's Grand Central Terminal, teach himself to write (and this man can FUCKING WRITE) while at the same time surviving and finding and recording a gold mine of rich experiences, anecdotes and insight about humanity in late 1980's New York City? You just gotta read this thing and find out. The Texas Stories - by Nelson Algren            Nelson Algren is from Chicago, and his writing represents a Chicago lost years ago. This book is a departure from his usual subject matter (that being hookers, thieves, conmen and junkies of 1940's and 50's Chicago) and instead focuses on a one year "vacation" (six months of it being an unplanned vacation in a texas prison for stealing a typewriter) he took to the american southwest via the L and N railroad. This book is comprised of short stories based on his experiences there (with hobos, racists, southern cops, etc.). The racism,  brutality, and plain-out fucked-uped ness of texas during this time period pretty much blew him away, it seems, and thus gave him good fuel for writing this book. It's excellent writing and an enjoyable read. The Geography of Nowhere - by James Howard Kunstler      More Essential reading about cities and suburbs. This is an engaging, entertaining book and the author is a smartass, so that helps. He pretty much lays it out on the table for a country of fat, convenience-craving, automobile-addicted slobs why suburbs blow ass, the sleazy back-room deals that were negotiated for suburbs to come into existence and for humanity to move away from condensed, sidewalk-suitable living and urban planning. He also points out that this way of life we've gotten ourselves addicted to in the past fifty or sixty years is not sustainable and CAN NOT LAST. Boomer - by Linda Niemann      Yet another badass. A lady who went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Watsonville, CA. in the 1980's, and then ended up travelling all over the SP system and working in various well-known yards such as Tucson, LA (taylor yard) and Houston (the deadly strang yard). Written good as shit and recounting some of the inner workings of the railroad (and loopholes jumped through) as well as the shit-headedness and beautiful humanity of some of the workers she meets. This book is insightful as hell and a most enjoyable read. Tales of an American H. - by Charles Elmer Fox      This book is on University of Iowa press, was written thirty years ago, and is going to be hard to find unless you go to a library. It's worth it, though. Ninety or so SHORT (one page) stories and anecdotes of a sweet old man reminiscing about things he encountered during his fifteen year life riding trains through early 20th Century America. This guy is well aware of how shitty the world can be and how things work, but he's not jaded at all - he came out on top. This is one of my favorite books. Most large public libraries will have a copy. Journey to Nowhere : The Saga of the New Underclass - by Dale Maharidge Earth: An Intimate History - by Richard Fortey DIVISION STREET AMERICA - by Studs Terkel