A stunningly beautiful backdrop where cultures meet, meld, and thrive, the U.S.–Mexico borderlands is one of the most dynamic regions in the Americas. On the Border explores little-known corners of this fascinating area of the world in a rich collection of essays. Beginning with an exploration of mining and the rise of Tijuana, the book examines a number of aspects of the region's social and cultural history, including urban growth and housing, the mysterious underworld of border-town nightlife, a film noir treatment of the Peteet family suicides, borderlands cuisine, the life of squatters, and popular religion. As stimulating as it is lively, On the Border will spark a new appreciation for the range of social and cultural experiences in the borderlands.

Reproduction of the original: Greater Britain by Charles Wentworth Dilke

For more than thirty years, journalist and author Martin J. Smith has traveled the American West, chasing offbeat stories that often are bizarre, always compelling, and at times profound. His journey through that oft-idealized and misunderstood landscape has made him a witness to some of the West’s most interesting places, people, and events, from his Valentine’s Day at Nevada’s Mustang Ranch brothel to the deathbed of a man who spent three decades building two 150-ton concrete dinosaurs in the desert; from the eviction of a fading rock star from his mansion to the guitar king’s improbable resurrection more than a decade later; from the final rampage of an unlikely Colorado martyr to his marathon stint watching the driver’s ed snuff films of the California Highway Patrol. He spent a lot of time in the only pet cemetery in idyllic Orange County, Calif. This collection of essays, often told with the wisdom and perspective of a writer looking back, chronicles in vivid detail the heroes, heels, and cultural spasms of an endlessly fascinating frontier. Smith hits the road with marginalized astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, and dives into the middle of a corporate and existential crisis at Sea World, where friendly mascot Shamu had just drowned its trainer. He tests open water swimming with a Southern California woman who eventually swam to Antarctica. He exposes the huckster behind the worldwide Whaling Wall fraud, tours L.A. with a tireless band of Japanese honeymooners, visits the factory where the world’s finest fake rocks are made, and retrieves balls for the seventysomething podiatrist who holds the world record for basketball freethrow shooting.

In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As nodes of public dialogue, they serve as platforms for dissenting views about the future and past of Berlin. In this book, Daniela Sandler introduces the concept of counterpreservation as a way to understand this intentional appropriation of decrepitude. The embrace of decay is a sign of Berlin's iconoclastic rebelliousness, but it has also been incorporated into the mainstream economy of tourism and development as part of the city's countercultural cachet. Sandler presents the possibilities and shortcomings of counterpreservation as a dynamic force in Berlin and as a potential concept for other cities. Counterpreservation is part of Berlin's fabric: in the city's famed Hausprojekte (living projects) such as the Køpi, Tuntenhaus, and KA 86; in cultural centers such as the Haus Schwarzenberg, the Schokoladen, and the legendary, now defunct Tacheles; in memorials and museums; and even in commerce and residences. The appropriation of ruins is a way of carving out affordable spaces for housing, work, and cultural activities. It is also a visual statement against gentrification, and a complex representation of history, with the marks of different periods—the nineteenth century, World War II, postwar division, unification—on display for all to see. Counterpreservation exemplifies an everyday urbanism in which citizens shape private and public spaces with their own hands, but it also influences more formal designs, such as the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, and Daniel Libeskind's unbuilt redevelopment proposal for a site peppered with ruins of Nazi barracks. By featuring these examples, Sandler questions conventional notions of architectural authorship and points toward the value of participatory environments.

Dreams + Disillusions explores the plethora of ideas and ideologies that have shaped and reshaped cities in profound ways. However, unlike a conventional title on the history of urbanism and architecture, its research fluctuates between the world of concrete reality and the multiple universes that exist in lucid prose, poetic visions, and the outrageous imaginations of history’s greatest and most (in)famous minds. In their thoughts are the foundations for political trends and new civilisations, alternative mappings and unlikely phenomena. The six chapters reveal dreams that were fundamental to the origin of great cities, underpinning the stories of the many lives within; and how, through circumstance or manipulation, fortunate coincidence or planned perfection, desires are sometimes left defeated and disillusioned. Myth and belief. Tradition and logic. Revolution and marginalisation. Ignorance and hubris. Sins and excess. Seasons and climate. Continuously interacting, shifting to enlighten and to enrage, these themes combine critical thinking with deep-rooted influences and new agencies that are a true sign of the times. The 18 illustrated speculations provide an abundance of curious imaginings, diverse provocations and satirical criticism. While there are distinctions between dreams and disillusions, could virtues be made of sins, or sensitivity be borne from hubris? Could progress advocate tradition, or should we re-attempt revolutions formerly experienced as disillusionments? Whether by bold gestures or by subtle attrition, cities are continually re-written crucibles for the human condition. In this book, we develop a better understanding of the discourse of cities tailored to the determining factors of climate, resources, and humanity’s idiosyncrasies to address a world in crisis.