RaveThe DriveThe depth of [Albert\'s] research and the breadth of the sources he pulls from is what you would expect from a PhD in history, yet he avoids the pedantry of so much academic history in favor of an approachable, high-level perspective. Weaving together data points and anecdotes from over a century of material while covering aspects of the automobile as diverse as engine cooling and urban renewal takes extraordinary craft, and Are We There Yet? pulls it off in style. But...what really sets Albert\'s book apart: at a time when the complexities of cars and their future regularly fall victim to the moral and ideological absolutism (along with seemingly every other damn topic), Are We There Yet? brings an authentically conflicted perspective to the issue. Though Albert unflinchingly documents the high costs in death, pollution and racist \'urban renewal\' programs that cars have incurred, he is also an unapologetic \'car guy\' (in the gender-neutral sense). Deconstructing automotive mythology one minute and waxing nostalgic about his relationship with an aging Saab, he strikes a balance that is both rare and necessary in automotive writing ... no matter what the future holds, you\'ll be better prepared to understand, engage with and even shape it after you read Are We There Yet? than you were before.
Lawrence D. Burns and Christopher Shulgan
PositiveThe Wall Street JournalNot surprisingly, optimism leaps off the pages of Lawrence D. Burns’s Autonomy...a combination of memoir and visionary manifesto ... This front-row seat at the project that popularized autonomous cars informs some of the most lively parts of Autonomy ... Many sections of Autonomy extrapolate the future from the remarkable progress that Waymo has made in recent years. And, yes, Waymo vans are already providing on-demand driverless rides to members of the public. But so far the service reaches only about 400 riders in the ideal weather and traffic conditions of suburban Phoenix ... Shared autonomous vehicles may well become, as Mr. Burns hopes, the backbone of personal transportation—and Autonomy will have the extra value of offering a history of the technological revolution that made it all possible. But between the heroic engineering feats Mr. Burns vividly documents and the safer and more efficient mobility he foresees lie challenges that will not be rapidly overcome.
