James Howard Kunstler, the author of Home from Nowhere is a native of the 'city' of Saratoga Springs, which certainly is a classy old-style 'mainstreet' town. Being sort of a local, he can kind of understand upstate New York, unlike some out of towners.

A Fair, But Anti-Modernist Perspective

Being a book about geography, from 1996, you can probably guess it's bias to green design, and against modernist design—yet unlike many books from this period, he substanates his argument, and gives an alternative that can exist, without going back in history.

He adovacates efficent 2 story buildings like in old cities, that provide many of lifes resources within a close reach, something that people in the suburbs and country totally miss. The traditional design of city makes resources avalible, even without polluting cars, and too much traffic and people in one area.

Evils of Government

He notes the evils of our tax structure and zoneing laws; which cause sprawl, but he does not spend a lot of time harping on them. His chapter on taxes is short, as is his mention of the problems of zoning, and it's encouraging of sprawl.

His chapter on property tax, and it's encouragement of properties to fall down or in the case of farms, be sold to suburban housing. Elimating the tax on buildings, and reducing property tax in general would help encourage urban growth.

Conclusion

It's a good book, worth a borrow, or at least a read. You may not agree with everything he says, or his implementation, but it's good to understand the differences of opinion and ideology.