OUR NOISY WORLD: The Problem of Noise Pollution

by John Gabriel Navarra ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 1969

How to sound off about noise for 196 pages? Fill more than half with photos of noisy and quiet sites, sources of sound and equipment for measuring it; explain the physics of sound and the biology of hearing in far greater detail than necessary for understanding the problem; describe ""New Uses for Sound"" that have no bearing on the problem (likewise the ""amazing"" hearing capabilities of animals); repeat, repeat, repeat the same examples' of sound as ""a subjective phenomenon (e.g. the bracing frontier associations of the sound of a bullwhip cracking), the same reminders that cities are getting noisier, that the country is no longer quiet, the same warnings that: our hearing Will, deteriorate and our tempers: snap, the same assaults on ""Public apathy!"" The reader who perseveres will find, beginning on page 132, brief discussion of protective and corrective measures, of broad guidelines for community planning, and of legal, aspects of the problem. This last, tightened up and toned down, might be the basis for a worthwhile pamphlet.

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION