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The 99% Invisible City
- A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
- Narrated by: Roman Mars
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A beautifully designed guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities, from the creators of the wildly popular 99% Invisible podcast
Have you ever wondered what those bright, squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean?
Or stopped to consider why you don't see metal fire escapes on new buildings?
Or pondered the story behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships?
99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.
Now, in The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to Hidden World of Everyday Design, host Roman Mars and coauthor Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work, exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs. With deeply researched entries and beautiful line drawings throughout, The 99% Invisible City will captivate devoted fans of the show and anyone curious about design, urban environments, and the unsung marvels of the world around them.
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What listeners say about The 99% Invisible City
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- Louise Schraa
- 01-09-21
The 99% Invisible City
This is a really interesting book, very well presented and read. I have no complaints except that it really requires pictures! These exist in the hard copy of the book. Listening without visual reference can be confusing.
60 people found this helpful
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- Athenatl
- 11-30-20
Disappointed
Could not finish evening with Roman Mars' voice.
He sounded bored...
Likely better in written format!
26 people found this helpful
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- jaga
- 01-12-21
Things will never look the same!
So many questions about “ why is that thing the way it is?” or “I always wondered about that” are answered in this book, which is based on a popular podcast. I’ve never listened to the podcast, but the book is an expansive collection of snippets about urban planning, architecture, geography, transportation, technology, wildlife, history and many other aspects of design and planning in, and relating to, our physical environment. From the inverted stoplight in Syracuse, NY to the development of municipal seating concepts, this book has an amazing collection of the weird and wonderful. The audio version includes an interview at the end where the authors describe how they curated the many many potential essays they have for the book. I truly hope they will produce a volume 2!
24 people found this helpful
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- Jeanne
- 10-17-20
gonna but the physical book!
bought the audiobook because I enjoy the podcast. now I'm gonna go buy a bunch of the physical book to give as gifts because I kept thinking "this is fascinating! so-and-so would love this"!
15 people found this helpful
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- ariel stanley
- 10-08-20
Absolutely amazing
I love 99pi and this audio book is just amazing I’m so glad Roman Mars narrates it.
15 people found this helpful
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- Josh
- 01-05-21
I loved every bit of this book!
Every few minutes I found myself saying, "Wow! That is neat!" The book is full of all sorts of facts and stories you never knew you needed to know.
11 people found this helpful
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- Christopher Aparicio
- 10-06-20
CMONEYWET APPROVES
Thank you. Incredible listen. I Would definitely recommend to anyone that loves to learn! YEE
7 people found this helpful
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- TruthInAdvertising
- 02-15-21
A Fantastic Compendium of Civic Items
This is an excellent suite of bite-sized entries covering just about every conceivable city subject.
5 people found this helpful
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- Ethan Geiszler
- 03-16-21
Excellent
Would highly suggest a listen! Super interesting and we done! Adam Savage suggested this as a read and I definitely wasn't let down.
4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-22-21
the ins and outs of cities
I enjoyed the book thoroughly and wood recommended to anyone with a curious mind and such
4 people found this helpful