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taketwolu's review against another edition
This non-fiction explores the history of malls. Emerging as a foundation to bridge various shops and be a place of commerce to suburban areas, the mall was born. Though dry at times, it was interesting to know about the architecture, racialized history (originally catering to white communities), community building, and the fall of malls due financial crisises, the pandemic, online shopping, etc. There was as a lot of nostalgia as Lange revisits past stores, going to the mall as a teenager, and also mall tours like the Twilight cast did?? Overall, this was an interesting read that evoked a lot of memories while exploring the idea of malls.
honorsenglishdropout's review
3.0
"I would argue that the shopping mall was ever thus, a corporate takeover of what should by rights be public space, and that the privatization of what were once communal places and activities is at the heart of the original postwar American dream."
overbooked_va's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5
An informative look at that bastion of American culture, the shopping mall. I was expecting more of a cultural rumination, and while that is present to some degree, it’s a more academic take on architectural history, trends, and zoning. Oh so much zoning. I found it repetitive at times, often thinking I’m certain I just read this bit of information a few paragraphs ago. But all in all, I enjoyed the material even if it was much drier than I anticipated.