The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life

Book Description

The national bestseller that defines a new economic class and shows how it is key to the future of our cities.

The Washington Monthly 2002 Annual Political Book Award Winner

The Rise of the Creative Class gives us a provocative new way to think about why we live as we do today-and where we might be headed. Weaving storytelling with masses of new and updated research, Richard Florida traces the fundamental theme that runs through a host of seemingly unrelated changes in American society: the growing role of creativity in our economy.

Just as William Whyte's 1956 classic The Organization Man showed how the organizational ethos of that age permeated every aspect of life, Florida describes a society in which the creative ethos is increasingly dominant. Millions of us are beginning to work and live much as creative types like artists and scientists always have-with the result that our values and tastes, our personal relationships, our choices of where to live, and even our sense and use of time are changing. Leading the shift are the nearly 38 million Americans in many diverse fields who create for a living--the Creative Class.

The Rise of the Creative Class chronicles the ongoing sea of change in people's choices and attitudes, and shows not only what's happening but also how it stems from a fundamental economic change. The Creative Class now comprises more than thirty percent of the entire workforce. Their choices have already had a huge economic impact. In the future they will determine how the workplace is organized, what companies will prosper or go bankrupt, and even which cities will thrive or wither.

Customer Reviews:

The signs have been posted........2007-08-10

This is a warning that while Europe is too liberal the U.S. is too conservative. The path to success is some where in the middle. We shouls stop being reactive and start being proactive.

Hopeful rise needs a libertarian push.......2007-04-11

"If America continues to make it harder for some of the world's most talented students and workers to come here, they'll go to other countries eager to tap into their creative capabilities--as will American citizens fed up with what they view as an increasingly repressive environment."
-- Dr. Richard Florida, The Flight of the Creative Class

From this quote from his second Creatve book you can see immediately the sort of society Dr. Florida wants. Me, too. What's puzzling is he doesn't explicitly attach his shiny new cart of creativity to the thoroughbred of peace and political liberty.

In particular, you'd expect him to lambaste the Neocon Usurpers for launching expensive wars for isolated benefit of the Carlyle Group. Is he pulling his punches so Rush Bimbaugh won't accuse him of Bush-bashing? In general, why doesn't Florida boldly oppose the bonecrushing machinery of government per se?

That's my 900-pound-gorilla reservation about The Creative books. Otherwise, they provide a nice boost to the kinds of people we want to cultivate in society... or even want to be.

It appears many in public office, more semi-comatose Democrats than fully rabid Republicans, are interested in developing and retaining creative communities.

But are they willing to do what it takes?

The more political power they wield the less willing they are.

Rise shows that what Dr. Florida calls the three Ts of creative-class communities--Talent, Technology, and Tolerance--occur rarely. And when they do, it's more from the tolerance angle.

Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Burlington (VT), Boston, the highest American cities on the creative-class list, achieve their vaunted status by spontaneous order. When governments catch up to what's going on and want to push people around, it's too late.

Tolerance is also another word for freedom. We can easily argue that liberty is fundamentally what the creative havenots have not. Talent and technology gravitate toward communities naturally when political leaders see their mission as preserving a natural order based on civil liberties.

They accomplish that mission mainly by removing government obstacles and keeping the infrastructure efficient.

Government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. -- Thoreau

Libertarians need no writer from the halls of the Carnegie Mellon Institute to tell us this dear Hamlet. But it's nice that in Rise Dr. Florida makes such a good statistical case for what creativity is, where it lives, and how we can nurture it. He also makes us aware that we, too, are paid-up members of the CC.

...

For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]

Brian Wright
Copyright 2007

Phenomenal!.......2007-01-25

Phenomenal! I heard a lot of talk about this book and thought it was all about arts and culture. After 10 pages I realized it had nothing to do with arts and culture and everything to do with fundamental shifts in our society and economy and how it is impacting our communities. Very insightful and thoughtful.

The Rise of the Creative Class.......2007-01-16

Reads like a professor's text. A very interesting concept (I heard the author speak on a TV show which is why I bought the book) but the book is loaded with statistics and how he came up with his hypothesis and is a drag to read. My book club read it on my advice and very few bothered to finish it. I made myself finish it and even though I bought the second book, it lays on my self unread.

Lots of data, not much focus.......2006-11-27

The key concept of this book is the existence of a new Creative Class. Richard throws into the Creative Class almost everybody and groups them in two categories: the Super Creative Core and the "creative professionals". These two groups include: scientists, professors, poets, novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, architects, non-fiction writers, editors, cultural figures, researchers, analysts, programmers, engineers, filmmakers, financial services, legal and health care professionals, business management and the list goes on. The problem is that the definition of this class is so loose. Even Richard admits that the definition is not really clear, but he goes on discarding the importance of rigour. A class must have political alignment as an expression of a common ground in the way wealth is created and distributed. It should be reflected in the way people vote; otherwise the class does not make sense. It is difficult to convince anyone that you can put these people in the same class: engineers and artists, accountants and actors.

The book uses shocking statistics and quotes and then follows through with flashy language to wrap up a nicely packaged chapter. The problem is that the book has enough time to loose the reader after seemingly never ending debates. This book has so much information and so little structure. All those tables are useless because they do not support a coherent system of principles or story. The writing is difficult to read and very repetitive. After the first fifty pages the same arguments are being rotated again and again: creativity is important, the time of agriculture has passed, the heavy industry is not important for global leadership, there is tension between individual freedom and corporation rigidity, etc.

In describing the new class, Richard Florida observes that "Fewer than one-quarter of all Americans (23.5 percent) accounted for by the 2000 Census lived in a 'conventional' nuclear family, down from 45 percent in 1960. This is social group is mentioned many times in the book. By contrast, the family social group is almost completely ignored. I have the impression that this is actually the creative class and all these indexes (Bohemian, Single, Gay, etc) match quite well the group's dynamics.

I gave this book a two stars rating purely on style and clarity and overall coherence of the book. I think that regardless of the political affiliation, the reader will have genuine difficulty in following the book from the beginning to the end. For instance, in discussing the transformations of every day life, in a polemic with other authors Richard says:

"Juxtaposed to this view are those who believe technology and unbridled market forces are making us work harder and faster, leaving us less time to enjoy each other and out interests, destroying human connections and damaging our neighbourhoods and communities. If the techno-utopians romanticize the future, these techno pessimists glorify the past. Unfettered hypercapitalism is leading to the end of work and the demise of high paying, secure jobs, according to social critics like Jeremy Rifkin. Worse yet, the elimination of such jobs destroy an important source of social stability, argues Richard Sennett, casting people adrift, corroding our collective character and damaging the very fibre of society. The workplace is evolving into an increasingly stressful and dehumanizing "white-collar sweatshop" in Fill Fraser's view, beset by long hours and chronic overwork. In the eyes of cultural critic Tom Frank, business has become an all-powerful and hegemonic cultural force, as entities like MTV and The Gap turn alternative-culture symbols into money making devices. Neighbourhoods, cities and society as a whole are losing the strong sense of community and civic-minded spirit that were the source of our prosperity, argues Robert Putnam. In his nostalgia for a bygone era of VFW halls, bowling leagues, Cub Scout troops and Little League, Putnam contends that the demise of these repositories of `social capital' is the source of virtually all of our woes..."

If you were able to read the text above without losing your concentration and you remembered what started it, then you might be able to read the book and even like it. Otherwise you will probably find that after you read page after page you realise your thoughts were wondering somewhere else. You come back, re-read those pages, only to find you lost your thoughts again.

The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life

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The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
Richard Florida
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K6ISL2

Economic growth.(The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life)(Book Review) (book review): An article ... Journal of the American Planning Association

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Economic growth.(The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life)(Book Review) (book review): An article ... Journal of the American Planning Association
David Sawicki
Manufacturer: American Planning Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of the American Planning Association, published by American Planning Association on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1179 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Economic growth.(The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life)(Book Review) (book review)
Author: David Sawicki
Publication: Journal of the American Planning Association (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: 69 Issue: 1 Page: 90(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Here is a vital new source of "need-to-know" information for cotton industry professionals. Unlike other references that focus solely on growing the crop, this book also emphasizes the cotton industry as a whole, and includes material on the nature of cotton fibers and their processing; cotton standards and classification; and marketing strategies.

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Paving the way for the Art

Great research; fascinating read

SPADA II: An Anthology of Swordsmanship

Manufacturer: Chivalry Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Martial Arts | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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Medieval Sword & Shield: The Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33

The Art of Dueling: 17th Century Rapier as Taught by Salvatore Fabris

ASIN: 1891448358

Product Description

The relatively young field of historical swordsmanship relies on research into the great historical fencing masters and the many fencing treatises they left behind for posterity. The first edition of SPADA, published in 2003 showcased the very best research by some of the best people in the field. SPADA II continues this, with articles on a wide range of different swordsmanship topics from some of the best known writers and teachers as well as some exciting new authors. Edited by Stephen Hand, author of Medieval Sword and Shield and the upcoming English Swordsmanship, SPADA II also includes work by Tom Leoni, the author of Art of Duelling, Paul Wagner, author of Medieval Sword and Shield, Master of Defence and Highland Broadsword, Chris Thompson, author of Lannairreachd: Gaelic Swordsmanship and Linda McCollum, the editor of the Society of American Fight Directors magazine, The Fight Master. The articles in SPADA II cover a wide range of topics, with something for everyone interested in the theory or practice of historical swordsmanship. Richard Swinney and Scott Crawford - Medical Reality of Historical Wounds Linda Carlyle McCollum - Dispelling Myths About the Early History of Rapier Fencing in England Tom Leoni - Finding the sword or stringere Stephen Hand - Further Thoughts on the Mechanics of Combat with Large Shields Mary Dill Curtis and R.E. Puck Curtis - The Circle and the Sword: A Focus on Carranza and Pacheco de Narváez in Renaissance Spain Gary Chelak- Italian Circle Theory: A Study of the Applied Geometry of the Italian Renaissance Stephen Hand - Re-interpretation of some aspects of the sword and buckler system of manuscript I.33 Paul Wagner and Chris Thompson - The Words Claymore and Broadsword Tom Leoni - The Forgotten Weapon: The Partisan in Italy In the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Whether you are interested in rapier fencing, sword and shield, the Highland Broadsword or just want to know what a sword can do if it hits you, you won?t want to miss out on the latest cutting edge research from some of the finest researchers in historical swordsmanship.

Customer Reviews:

Paving the way for the Art.......2007-01-03

This anthology, SPADA, is a collection of very fine articles. I confess a bias in that I have met most of the authors and am generally enchanted with Western Martial Arts (WMA) aka Historical European Swordsmanship (HES).

Although these fighting arts have been without a living tradition for centuries, the magnificent work of the people contributing to SPADA is laying a foundation which can be build upon by researchers, historians and martial artists.

Every article in here is subject to critical peer review. Research is constant, and interpretations of the historical material are changing all the time, but the reliance on the original material does not. I cannot recommend SPADA highly enough.

Great research; fascinating read.......2005-12-07

I did historical reenactment armored combat in groups like the SCA and ROC for about fifteen years before deciding to focus solely on traditional Asian martial arts yet I still have a keen interest in the art of European swordsmanship. Editor Stephen Hand has gathered together some extraordinary historians and medieval/renaissance fight experts to create this fascinating collection. Authors include Gary Chelak, Tom Leoni, Linda McCollum, Paul Wagner, and more. The book covers everything from the medical implications of historical wounds to realistic sword/shield combat to fencing and even broadsword work. Very well researched, interestingly written, and nicely done. A worthy follow-up to the original SPADA anthology that should be appreciated by reenacters, fencers, and martial artists alike. Huzzah!

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

Book Description

Langenscheidt Compact Dictionary French-English/English-French: Over 80,000 references *Modern vocabulary *Full pronunciation and grammar details *French conjugation tables *Common Abbreviations, Weights and Measures *The comprehensive reference work in a convenient size

Customer Reviews:

Wrong publication year........2007-03-31

The pub. year 2003, cited by Amazon, is wrong (I've submitted a correction). The dictionary was published first in hardcover in Germany in 1989. This unrevised paperback edition was issued for the U.S. market in 2005. If you can do without updates to the vocabulary reflecting changes for the last 15 or so years, it's still a fine dictionary. Otherwise, wait for the new edition which is actually in preparation, according to the publisher.

Like duct tape.......2006-09-07

The signature yellow LANGENSCHEIDT dictionaries are like duct tape for students and others who need to have a tough, mobile, dependable bilingual dictionary that sticks to the basics without being primitive.

It meets the need in French as well as it does in German and other mainstream academic languages.

You don't want the compact LANGENSCHEIDT for home or office use, but it's perfect for taking to class, on the train, etc.

LANGENSCHEIDT quality speaks for itself, and is consistent across the range of languages its dictionaries cover.

You can't get a better compact bilingual dictionary.

The Best FL Dictionaries.......2006-06-28

The Langenscheidt foreign language dictionaries are the best I know of. I bought this one for my granddaughter who was on her way to France. She agrees with me.

super little dictionary.......2003-07-22

For a small French English dictionary, this is clearly the best. It has the same content as the slightly larger "standard" version, but is easier to flip through because of its pliable, high quality, soft cover (not plastic). The paper is much better than you will find in the other dictionaries of this type. The definitions are clearly superior in detail than those offered by Collins/Robert, Larousse, and Oxford Hachette, and are particularly useful for those with an interest in 19th century literature.

I have most of the major French-English dictionaries (mult-volume large and small). For practical everyday use, trudging through a French novel without having to guess at the meaning of a word, this is my recommendation.

NOTE: the print is very small and may not be appropriate for some readers. There I recommend the "standard" version.

super little dictionary.......2003-07-22

Book Description

A convenient reference for writers, students, and businesspeople; anyone who needs the right word at the right time.

Customer Reviews:

simply the best.......1999-09-18

This small dictionary provides definitions for most words encountered in ordinary French writing, although naturally more obscure older terms are not provided. The best thing about the book is the lack of a UK bias, evident in nearly all such bilingual dictionaries, so that the definition for pare-brise is windshield, not wind-screen. I rarely use any other dictionary.

Customer Reviews:

Great book that will make you want to read them all........1999-02-03

Another beautiful and exciting Choose Your Own Adventure. These books should be campaigned and advertised, they are so wonderful and turned me to a love of reading 10 years ago. After you read this book you feel as if you traveled to these places. Don't miss out!

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The Search for Aladdin's Lamp

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9991582371

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