Dark Age Ahead, by Jane Jacobs

Loss of memory equates to loss of culture. Culture transferred by word of mouth, by demonstration, rather than by writing or recordings.

The automobile as an agent of cultural destruction, loneliness, sprawl. The demise of the trollies at the hands of GM.

p.17:
Cultural xenophobia is a frequent sequel to a society's decline from cultural vigor.

shift from faith in logos to mythos

...conservatism that looks backward to fundamentalist beliefs for guidance and a worldview...

p. 31  "The miracle of money growing on houses operates even more potently in the [US]..."

p. 34 "The most serious and widespread increase was the need for an automobile"

p. 35 ...probably the most important: speaking relationships among neighbors and acquaintances...

p. 37  automobile -- chief destroyer of American communities

p. 38-39

destruction of elec. street car systems GM, Robert Moses, Fiorello La Guardia
interesting notes on this topic p. 186-188  see also www.almankoff.com

p.98  Americans...don't ... think that any place outside the United States is totally real; their curiosity about Canada seems almost nonexistent