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The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design Kindle Edition
by
Roman Mars
(Author),
Kurt Kohlstedt
(Author),
99% Invisible
(Author)
&
0
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Format: Kindle Edition
Roman Mars
(Author)
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Kurt Kohlstedt
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Length: 490 pages | Word Wise: Enabled | Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled |
Page Flip: Enabled |
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Language: English |
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Product description
Review
The ideal companion for city buffs, who'll come away seeing the streets in an entirely different light. - Kirkus
Here is a field guide, a boon, a bible, for the urban curious. Your city's secret anatomy laid bare -- a hundred things you look at but don't see, see but don't know. Each entry is a compact, surprising story, a thought piece, an invitation to marvel. Together, they are almost transformative. To know why things are as they are adds a satisfying richness to daily existence. This book is terrific, just terrific. - Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Grunt
I can hear Roman's dulcet tones as I read through this book. It's absolutely fascinating to get an in depth look at the city through their eyes, my walks will never be the same again. 100% brilliant. - Roma Agrawal, author of Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures
We usually define cities in terms of their bigness, so it's easy to forget that our daily experience of any city is made up of countless tiny, intimate encounters. Just as Jane Jacobs did fifty years ago, Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt provide a new way of seeing urban life, finding secrets and surprises behind every sewer grate, storefront, and street sign. - Michael Bierut, design critic and author of How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World
Conversational, bite-size entries [and] beautiful tricolor illustrations . . . A field guide for anywhere. - Booklist
The 99% Invisible City brings into view the fascinating but often unnoticed worlds we walk and drive through every day, and to read it is to feel newly alive and aware of your place in the world. This book made me laugh, and it made me cry, and it reminded me to always read the plaque.' - John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All The Way Down
[A] diverse and enlightening book . . . The 99% Invisible City is altogether fresh and imaginative when it comes to thinking about urban spaces. - The New York Times Book Review
'The Invisible City is not a book, but a pair of magic glasses that transform the mundane city around you into a vibrant museum of human ingenuity.' - Justin McElroy, podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Adventure Zone --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Here is a field guide, a boon, a bible, for the urban curious. Your city's secret anatomy laid bare -- a hundred things you look at but don't see, see but don't know. Each entry is a compact, surprising story, a thought piece, an invitation to marvel. Together, they are almost transformative. To know why things are as they are adds a satisfying richness to daily existence. This book is terrific, just terrific. - Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Grunt
I can hear Roman's dulcet tones as I read through this book. It's absolutely fascinating to get an in depth look at the city through their eyes, my walks will never be the same again. 100% brilliant. - Roma Agrawal, author of Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures
We usually define cities in terms of their bigness, so it's easy to forget that our daily experience of any city is made up of countless tiny, intimate encounters. Just as Jane Jacobs did fifty years ago, Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt provide a new way of seeing urban life, finding secrets and surprises behind every sewer grate, storefront, and street sign. - Michael Bierut, design critic and author of How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World
Conversational, bite-size entries [and] beautiful tricolor illustrations . . . A field guide for anywhere. - Booklist
The 99% Invisible City brings into view the fascinating but often unnoticed worlds we walk and drive through every day, and to read it is to feel newly alive and aware of your place in the world. This book made me laugh, and it made me cry, and it reminded me to always read the plaque.' - John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All The Way Down
[A] diverse and enlightening book . . . The 99% Invisible City is altogether fresh and imaginative when it comes to thinking about urban spaces. - The New York Times Book Review
'The Invisible City is not a book, but a pair of magic glasses that transform the mundane city around you into a vibrant museum of human ingenuity.' - Justin McElroy, podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Adventure Zone --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
From the Publisher
Roman Mars (Author) Roman Mars is creator and host of 99% Invisible, the wildly popular podcast exploring architecture and design, for which he produced the most successful crowdfunding campaigns for a podcast in Kickstarter history. Fast Company named Mars one of the 100 Most Creative People in 2013 and he was a TED main stage speaker in 2015.Kurt Kohlstedt (Author) Kurt Kohlstedt has written about design and built environments for over a decade, since founding the online magazine WebUrbanist in 2007. He is digital director and producer of 99% Invisible.99% Invisible (Author) 99% Invisible is a podcast about all the thought that goes into the things we don't think about - the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With nearly 300 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. It has won a Third Coast Festival award for Best Documentary, two Podcast Academy awards, and two Webby Awards for Best Podcast and Best Host.
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Book Description
An alternative guide to the hidden everyday objects in a city, from the hugely successful podcast 99% Invisible
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Roman Mars is creator and host of 99% Invisible, the wildly popular podcast exploring architecture and design, for which he produced the most successful crowdfunding campaigns for a podcast in Kickstarter history. Fast Company named Mars one of the 100 Most Creative People in 2013 and he was a TED main stage speaker in 2015.
Kurt Kohlstedt has written about design and built environments for over a decade, since founding the online magazine WebUrbanist in 2007. He is digital director and producer of 99% Invisible.
99% Invisible is a podcast about all the thought that goes into the things we don't think about - the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With nearly 300 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. It has won a Third Coast Festival award for Best Documentary, two Podcast Academy awards, and two Webby Awards for Best Podcast and Best Host. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Kurt Kohlstedt has written about design and built environments for over a decade, since founding the online magazine WebUrbanist in 2007. He is digital director and producer of 99% Invisible.
99% Invisible is a podcast about all the thought that goes into the things we don't think about - the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With nearly 300 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. It has won a Third Coast Festival award for Best Documentary, two Podcast Academy awards, and two Webby Awards for Best Podcast and Best Host. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B084D9ZCP6
- Publisher : Hodder & Stoughton; 1st edition (6 October 2020)
- Language: : English
- File size : 40068 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 490 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 75,399 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,451 global ratings
How are ratings calculated?
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Top reviews
Top reviews from Australia
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Reviewed in Australia on 16 January 2021
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Verified Purchase
My late father taught me to have a small pocket size notebook on hand at all times and make note of words, phrases and objects that I may observe during my daily travels. When I arrived home in the evening, settle down with a small glass of scotch and access to my reference books (dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopaedia etc) and try and make sense of my notes... the internet and smart phones now make this task very easy, but the principles remain the same... to learn something new every single day. The original podcast of "99% Invisible" dropped into my lap one day a few years back and look forward to each new episode. I laughed at the irony of having a book based on the original podcasts and I could not wait to get my hands on a copy asap. An absolute delight, complete with illustrations and diagrammes.
Helpful
Reviewed in Australia on 5 December 2020
Verified Purchase
Love your work.
Top reviews from other countries

Robby Green
3.0 out of 5 stars
There are NO pictures, just some vague illustrations.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020Verified Purchase
Good book, the content is interesting and informative. The illustrations are just ok. I feel as if I really want to see the things being described, the way I do when I listen to the podcast and the illustrations are just vague sketches with no real detail. I believe the book has missed the opportunity to give listeners what they would ultimately like, a photograph of what is being described. I would have loved to have a book with less words and more pictures, diagrams and arrows with captions.

3.0 out of 5 stars
There are NO pictures, just some vague illustrations.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020
Good book, the content is interesting and informative. The illustrations are just ok. I feel as if I really want to see the things being described, the way I do when I listen to the podcast and the illustrations are just vague sketches with no real detail. I believe the book has missed the opportunity to give listeners what they would ultimately like, a photograph of what is being described. I would have loved to have a book with less words and more pictures, diagrams and arrows with captions.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020
Images in this review





19 people found this helpful
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Rhys
3.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible Ebook, OK Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2020Verified Purchase
As a 99pi listener, many of the topics have been covered before, so this was a little bit repetative, however unlike the podcast where the tiniest of details are laboured over, the book rushed over things quickly, leaving you wanting more. Most "items" are a page long, leaving you with more questions than anything. There are more informative sections which are longer, and are by far the best parts of the book, but there aren't enough of them.
In addition, the "images" in the book are more like hand drawn illistrations that don't really help with information or added effect. They could have been left out.
Over all, its an OK book, and worth a read, but if you're really interested in this stuff, listen to the podcast instead.
Finally, I first purchased the ebook, which was formatted in a TERRIBLE way. It was simply unreadable thanks to forced fonts, a light grey background on everything and then slightly darker, but still pretty light grey font color. I then went out to buy the actual book. If you intend to get this; don't get the ebook.
In addition, the "images" in the book are more like hand drawn illistrations that don't really help with information or added effect. They could have been left out.
Over all, its an OK book, and worth a read, but if you're really interested in this stuff, listen to the podcast instead.
Finally, I first purchased the ebook, which was formatted in a TERRIBLE way. It was simply unreadable thanks to forced fonts, a light grey background on everything and then slightly darker, but still pretty light grey font color. I then went out to buy the actual book. If you intend to get this; don't get the ebook.
9 people found this helpful
Report abuse

Retro Scendence
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle version difficult to read, or maybe user error?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020Verified Purchase
The text in the Kindle version is light grey making it hard to read. I have checked the settings on my device and compared to other books and it only seems to be an issue with this book. You can see the 'book progress' text in the picture is the normal blackness in contrast to the lighter body text.
I will be happy to amend or remove this review if it's a case of user error.
I'm a big fan of the podcast and I'm sure the book will be fantastic once I am able to read it.
I will be happy to amend or remove this review if it's a case of user error.
I'm a big fan of the podcast and I'm sure the book will be fantastic once I am able to read it.

4.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle version difficult to read, or maybe user error?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020
The text in the Kindle version is light grey making it hard to read. I have checked the settings on my device and compared to other books and it only seems to be an issue with this book. You can see the 'book progress' text in the picture is the normal blackness in contrast to the lighter body text.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020
I will be happy to amend or remove this review if it's a case of user error.
I'm a big fan of the podcast and I'm sure the book will be fantastic once I am able to read it.
Images in this review

10 people found this helpful
Report abuse

Yet Another Alias
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book, from the king of the beautiful nerds. Buy it. NOW.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2020Verified Purchase
If you're listened to the 99% Invisible podcast, then you already know what you're getting. If you haven't, then you really, really ought to.
Physically, the book is absolutely gorgeous to look at and to hold. Roman has, of course, a keen eye for design - and it shows in every aspect. The paper, the layout, the illustrations... everything. It's truly exquisite work.
The content is fascinating. So many things that are "that way for a reason" that you probably never thought - or even noticed. (Unless, of course, you're a 99pi listener - we DO think about these things)
Buy it. Buy it now. And buy copies for everyone you love.
And remember.... #AlwaysReadThePlaque
(Footnote: my photos show the book along with the challenge coin that was available to those that pre-ordered)
Physically, the book is absolutely gorgeous to look at and to hold. Roman has, of course, a keen eye for design - and it shows in every aspect. The paper, the layout, the illustrations... everything. It's truly exquisite work.
The content is fascinating. So many things that are "that way for a reason" that you probably never thought - or even noticed. (Unless, of course, you're a 99pi listener - we DO think about these things)
Buy it. Buy it now. And buy copies for everyone you love.
And remember.... #AlwaysReadThePlaque
(Footnote: my photos show the book along with the challenge coin that was available to those that pre-ordered)

5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book, from the king of the beautiful nerds. Buy it. NOW.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2020
If you're listened to the 99% Invisible podcast, then you already know what you're getting. If you haven't, then you really, really ought to.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2020
Physically, the book is absolutely gorgeous to look at and to hold. Roman has, of course, a keen eye for design - and it shows in every aspect. The paper, the layout, the illustrations... everything. It's truly exquisite work.
The content is fascinating. So many things that are "that way for a reason" that you probably never thought - or even noticed. (Unless, of course, you're a 99pi listener - we DO think about these things)
Buy it. Buy it now. And buy copies for everyone you love.
And remember.... #AlwaysReadThePlaque
(Footnote: my photos show the book along with the challenge coin that was available to those that pre-ordered)
Images in this review


One person found this helpful
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G. Crook
5.0 out of 5 stars
Prepare to have your eyes opened to the wonder that surrounds us all.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2020Verified Purchase
I’d normally sing a books praises, once I’d reached the end. There’s no need with The 99% Invisible City, it’s clear right from the start that it’s a bit special.
I’m barely 20 pages in before falling in love. The gorgeous illustrations, the perfectly crafted stories of hidden details all around us. Even the size and weight of it had a reassuring presence.
If you know and love the 99% Invisible Podcast this is a must and if you don’t, this is a wonderful introduction.
I’m barely 20 pages in before falling in love. The gorgeous illustrations, the perfectly crafted stories of hidden details all around us. Even the size and weight of it had a reassuring presence.
If you know and love the 99% Invisible Podcast this is a must and if you don’t, this is a wonderful introduction.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Prepare to have your eyes opened to the wonder that surrounds us all.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2020
I’d normally sing a books praises, once I’d reached the end. There’s no need with The 99% Invisible City, it’s clear right from the start that it’s a bit special.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2020
I’m barely 20 pages in before falling in love. The gorgeous illustrations, the perfectly crafted stories of hidden details all around us. Even the size and weight of it had a reassuring presence.
If you know and love the 99% Invisible Podcast this is a must and if you don’t, this is a wonderful introduction.
Images in this review



One person found this helpful
Report abuse
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