Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation

Humes (Garbology) explores the U.S. transportation dilemma and what can be done to solve it. From describing traffic congestion to international ports to truck deliveries, the first half of the book examines the high cost—both in terms of dollars and on the actual infrastructure—of everything from cans of seltzer water to smartphones. These chapters are as entertaining as they are informative, offering a fascinating look at how consumers acquire goods and the realistic price of that process. Later sections focus more explicitly on ports, especially motor vehicles, and the problems that these pose to the overall transportation issues throughout the country. At this point, Humes's tone devolves to polemic territory. The solutions offered seem very specific to densely populated parts of the country; few practical answers are given for exurban and rural citizens.