{"product_id":"the-story-of-utopias-100th-anniversary-edition-9781614720492","title":"The Story of Utopias: 100th Anniversary Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis survey of utopias, which spans from Plato to the twentieth century, was Lewis Mumford's first success. He was particularly interested in what he calls utopias of reconstruction, models for reshaping an imperfect world. Beginning with a survey of famous utopian ideas and writings, he moves from Plato's \u003cem\u003eRepublic\u003c\/em\u003e, More's \u003cem\u003eUtopia\u003c\/em\u003e, Andre 's \u003cem\u003eChristianopolis\u003c\/em\u003e, Bacon's \u003cem\u003eNew Atlantis\u003c\/em\u003e, Campanella's \u003cem\u003eCity of the Sun\u003c\/em\u003e, Fourier's phalanxes, Cabet's Icaria, Bellamy's \u003cem\u003eLooking Backward\u003c\/em\u003e, Morris's \u003cem\u003eNews from Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e, and finally on to H.G. Wells's utopian fiction. He then produces the essence of a checklist for assessing how closely a society comes to utopian ideals, looking at work and standards of living, housing, democratic (or not) governance, sex and marriage, the raising of children, our relationship with nature, and the importance of the arts and creativity. A century later, the book stands not only as an introduction to the work of a maverick scholar who had worldwide influence, but also suggests ways to approach a future even more challenging than that faced by Mumford's post-war generation. Mumford delves into issues that remain relevant today: social equity in his chapter on the country house, for example, and the relationship between science and the arts in his concluding chapter about how we can find, or build, utopia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMumford was thinking, as many of us are, about the practical lessons offered by imagined utopias. He posits that there are utopias of escape and utopias of \"reconstruction,\" and was particularly interested in these utopias of reconstruction, models for reshaping an imperfect world: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe utopia of reconstruction is what its name implies: a vision of a reconstituted environment which is better adapted to the nature and aims of the human beings who dwell within it than the actual one; and not merely better adapted to their actual nature, but better fitted to their possible developments. If the first utopia [of escape] leads backward into the utopian's ego, the second leads outward-outward into the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn contrast with \u003cem\u003eThe Waste Land\u003c\/em\u003e by T. S. Eliot, also published in 1922 by Boni \u0026amp; Liveright and republished by Berkshire Publishing Group in 2022, \u003cem\u003eThe Story of Utopias\u003c\/em\u003e is largely about this idea of reconstruction, rather than the disillusion that Eliot's poem so powerfully captures. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-10487272\"\u003eLewis Mumford\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Berkshire Publishing Group LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/26\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 324\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.73d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781614720492\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1614720495\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-ARC\"\u003eArchitecture\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-ARC000000\"\u003eGeneral\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC026040\"\u003eSociology | Social Theory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-POL\"\u003ePolitical Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-POL040020\"\u003eWorld | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Berkshire Publishing Group LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44446748606701,"sku":"9781614720492","price":39.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_b9636102-b4e9-4e55-ab54-f31615e21bde.jpg?v=1700284431","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-story-of-utopias-100th-anniversary-edition-9781614720492","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}