"Blum breaks new ground in the area of discussion of urban culture, through his radical questioning of the assumptions that are made in the extensive literature on cities. His study forces us to question again the implications of many of the concepts which we bring to our discourses on the modern city." David Frisby, Department of Sociology, Glasgow University /// "A timely and challenging analysis of the city. It will prompt an "aha!" of delight on the many occasions when Blum's analysis moves the reader beyond conventional ways of thinking about familiar urban issues. This book is provocative in the best sense." Leslie Miller, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary