Yi-Fu Tuan says that "a human being is an animal who is congenitally indisposed to accept reality as it is." He says ESCAPISM is the strategy we employ to rid ourselves of the humdrum of daily life which he likens to suffering a head cold. The book itself is a good head-clearing remedy. Tuan covers a wide range of topics in human cultural history and gives us a lot to think about.

He gives an "unusual" perspective on nature and culture, looking at the very meaning of reality and exploring why, traditionally, "myths", "daydreaming", and "fantasy" have such negative connotations. This is especially puzzling he says in light of escapism being not only a historical human impulse but also a universal one. He shows this with examples from Eastern and Western culture. Another puzzle is why, if it's so intrinsic to our nature, do we choose to make some explorations of it so painful? His chapter on "Hell" looks at the less-than-pleasant escapes that we have inflicted on ourselves.

Tuan is a geographer of some repute and he exhibits his masterly command of exploration of unknown spaces and places with this fascinating journey through our imagination, culture, and psyche.
He is occasionally humorous and writes in a spare, straightforward style. Reading this book is escapism itself as it will make you think, and in a final bit of perceptive wisdom Tuan has this to say: "Even in modern America, thinking is suspect. It is something done by the idly curious or by discontented people." If that's true then I endorse being idly curious and recommend escaping for a while with this book.

Ever wonder why you or someone you know fears something for no particular reason. Well wonder no longer because Yi-Fu Tuan has applied his geographical mapping skills to the cultural origins of fear. The result is a fascinating reconstruction of how fear originates in humans from our first days as a child to our last days of life. Tuan uses examples from cultures all over the world to help his readers fully understand the similarities/differences of cultural fears and how we express them in our vast and varied, mental and material constructions.

Tuan also examines how fear has led to many of the human race's greater advancements and accomplishments. Perhaps the most stunning and interesting facts contained in this book will be the discussions of the rate of crime/violence in earlier ages and how rural/agrarian life was never as quiet and peaceful as we would like to think. This work raises a definite challenge to those who believe that contemporary societies are mired in a moral collapse.

This is a must read not only for its brilliant look at the phenomenon of fear, but also for its accessibility to all levels of readers. If you have any interest in cultural studies, crime/justice, psychology, cultural geography, or horror literature then this book demands a spot of honor on your bookcase.

This book was one of several books I studied to better understand the role of place in architecture and interior design. It helped me understand the importance of working with clients to understand the meanings they infer from the environment around them. In the book, Tuan highlights the importance of meaning and an insider's view. He describes place as humanized space. The contrast of open space with enclosed, comforting areas enhances both. As a person's emotional bond to a space increases, so do familiarity, comfort, and the sense of insideness. Without personal control over space, this emotional bond is slow to develop. To create place, Tuan suggests that memorable architecture should strenghen our memories, enhance the self, and provide layers of meaning to a space.

the only aspects of this text worth thumbing at is chapter two, developmental aesthetic self, and the pitch in one of the later chapters of the aesthetics of the american car and the highway mural. read kant for aesthetics.