Cracking the Whip: Essays on Design and Its Side Effects Book

Design is inescapably part of our lives from the alarm clocks we wake up to and the
cups we use for our morning coffee, to the chairs we sit in, the cars we drive, and the
houses and cities we live in. In 63 engaged and engaging essays, Caplan explores how
we use design, language, and instinct in our everyday world to relate to others, maintain
traditions, and advance our causes. He probes our relation to the things that
both comfort and disorient us from pasta to corporate culture and shows how we
are shaped by our own artifacts and our attitudes toward them. Our sense of place
and regional diversity are also examined as are the shock of the new, the persistence
of the old, and the expectation of a future. In this age of global sensibilities and
tourism as a lifestyle, we re continually recycling as we create. Previously published
in forums such as The New York Times, I.D., Print, and Interior Design, Caplan (author of
the popular classic By Design) is sharp, thoughtful, charming, and challenging.