My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this new look at something that once was everywhere, streets, outside buildings, planned by designers, and now like so much we once took for granted, has been taken away, as a way inconvenience people, and of course to make money.

I live in New England, and a few weeks ago my nephews were visiting my Mom who lives in a colonial two-story that is surrounded by trees. Being New England it was close to eighty degrees, as I type this weeks later it is closer to fifty. That is weather standard weather here. Always changing. The youngest loves to ask questions, and being his uncle I love to try and answer. He kept asking why it was so much cooler up here and I told him well its probably the shade. Go out on the driveway its going to be hot, like crossing the streets in New York close to the trees its going to be warmer. He sat on the grass, looked at me, and said "Brooklyn needs more shade." I wish I had read this book then so I could give him better reasons. I know he would have loved learning. Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource by Sam Bloch is a look at something that we have always taken for granted, one that as cars have more rights than people, data farms need more water, and the Earth gets hotter, might be the solutions to a lot of problems many in power fear to face.

The book opens in Los Angeles at a bus stop. The street is exposed to the sun, a sun that is getting hotter and hotter as the climate changes. People taking the bus can't afford cars, and are basically prisoners of public transportation. In an effect to punish those who live on the streets, the answer is to remove seating and take away shade, so all must suffer in the sun. Attempts by local businesses to create shade, are met with fines, thought most of the community found the shade rewarding. As the Earth gets warmer heat will continue to be a problem. Most areas are ill-equipped to deal with this kind of heat, but shade might be the answer. Bloch goes into the history of urban design that included shade, from square where people could meet, or even be educated, to tree lined boulevards, that had to be cut down as cars became more important than people. Bloch looks at what shade does, lowering temperatures in the area, helping things grow, helping animals, and people. Also Block looks at how governments punish low-income areas with a lack of shade, causing businesses to fail, crime to go up, and people to not care anymore.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and learning far more than I thought. Bloch uses science, observation, plans and interviews to tell a story about something that seems so simple and easy to incorporate, but one that seems to be easily ignored also. Bloch talks to designers and scientists, and even more to people who have to work out in the sun, or just wait for a bus. Bloch is a good writer, able to make complex facts easy to understand and interesting to share with others. The book is well-written and has a nice pace to it, flowing well and never getting bogged down.

This is the kind of book I enjoy. Taking something that seems simple and making it not only interesting but important, far more important than people might think. I enjoyed this a lot, and can't wait to share some facts with my nephew.