[4 1/2 stars]
I was amazed at how interesting and readable I found this book about public transport. It's as much a social history as one focused on transport technology, and the author elegantly demonstrates how deeply enmeshed urban planning is (and has always been) with commercial interests, often to a city's detriment. He adopts a compare-and-contrast approach, examining the public and private transport systems of a variety of cities around the world (such as New York, Moscow, Copenhagen, Tokyo, etc), while at the same time conveying a real feel for the character of each city and its people. While he makes no bones about being a proponent of public transport, he attempts to be even-handed and present many sides to the argument, and maintains a moderate, wry tone throughout.
Straphanger was of particular interest to me because I live in a city with almost unregulated sprawl and horribly congested motorways; now that the city is finally attempting to address this properly and give more attention to public transportation, this book has given me a lot to think about, and I suspect it will be the yardstick by which I measure my hometown's future.