The Pacific Circuit : A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City /
Madrigal, Alexis 1982-
The Pacific Circuit : A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City / Alexis Madrigal. - First edition. - New York : MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025. - x, 366 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Part I: The state
Meet Ms. Margaret
Liquid modernity
Under all is the land
The docks
The call of California
Spoiled by the various mutations of the air
One was down, one was up
Killing you with that pencil and paper
Right-of-way men
The Negro family
Part II: The revolution that came, and the one that didn't
The potentialities are beyond imagining
Black power and the third world movement
The technology question
Trauma
Part III: Birdsong
The shadow
Predatory inclusion
"Free" land and "free" money
Life, death, and the port
The revolution cafe
The base
Big shit
Keep it in the ground
Part IV: Circuit city
In the interest of others
Transpandemic
The grand bargain
Conclusions. Part I: The state
Part II: The revolution that came, and the one that didn't
Part III: Birdsong
Part IV: Circuit city
Epilogue
In The Pacific Circuit, the award-winning journalist Alexis Madrigal sculpts an intricate tableau of the city of Oakland that is at once a groundbreaking big-idea book, a deeply researched work of social and political history, and an intimate portrait of an essential American city that has been at the crossroads of the defining themes of the twenty-first century. Oakland's stories encompass everything from Silicon Valley's prominence and the ramifications of a compulsively digital future to the underestimated costs of technological innovation on local communities--all personified in this changing landscape for the city's lifelong inhabitants. The Pacific Circuit holds a magnifying glass to the scars etched by generations of systemic segregation and the ceaseless march of technological advancement. These are not just abstract concepts; they are embedded in the very fabric of Oakland and its people, from dockworkers and community organizers to real estate developers and businesspeople chasing the highest possible profits. Madrigal delves into city hall politics, traces the intertwining arcs of venture capital and hedge funds, and offers unprecedented insight into Silicon Valley's genesis and growth, all against the backdrop of Oakland--a city vibrating with untold stories and unexplored connections that can, when read carefully, reveal exactly how our markets and our world really function.
9780374159405 0374159408
2024035150
Oakland (Calif.)--Economic conditions--21st century.
Oakland (Calif.)--Social conditions--21st century.
Pacific Area--Commerce.
HC108.O3 / M183 2025
330.9794/66
The Pacific Circuit : A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City / Alexis Madrigal. - First edition. - New York : MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025. - x, 366 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Part I: The state
Meet Ms. Margaret
Liquid modernity
Under all is the land
The docks
The call of California
Spoiled by the various mutations of the air
One was down, one was up
Killing you with that pencil and paper
Right-of-way men
The Negro family
Part II: The revolution that came, and the one that didn't
The potentialities are beyond imagining
Black power and the third world movement
The technology question
Trauma
Part III: Birdsong
The shadow
Predatory inclusion
"Free" land and "free" money
Life, death, and the port
The revolution cafe
The base
Big shit
Keep it in the ground
Part IV: Circuit city
In the interest of others
Transpandemic
The grand bargain
Conclusions. Part I: The state
Part II: The revolution that came, and the one that didn't
Part III: Birdsong
Part IV: Circuit city
Epilogue
In The Pacific Circuit, the award-winning journalist Alexis Madrigal sculpts an intricate tableau of the city of Oakland that is at once a groundbreaking big-idea book, a deeply researched work of social and political history, and an intimate portrait of an essential American city that has been at the crossroads of the defining themes of the twenty-first century. Oakland's stories encompass everything from Silicon Valley's prominence and the ramifications of a compulsively digital future to the underestimated costs of technological innovation on local communities--all personified in this changing landscape for the city's lifelong inhabitants. The Pacific Circuit holds a magnifying glass to the scars etched by generations of systemic segregation and the ceaseless march of technological advancement. These are not just abstract concepts; they are embedded in the very fabric of Oakland and its people, from dockworkers and community organizers to real estate developers and businesspeople chasing the highest possible profits. Madrigal delves into city hall politics, traces the intertwining arcs of venture capital and hedge funds, and offers unprecedented insight into Silicon Valley's genesis and growth, all against the backdrop of Oakland--a city vibrating with untold stories and unexplored connections that can, when read carefully, reveal exactly how our markets and our world really function.
9780374159405 0374159408
2024035150
Oakland (Calif.)--Economic conditions--21st century.
Oakland (Calif.)--Social conditions--21st century.
Pacific Area--Commerce.
HC108.O3 / M183 2025
330.9794/66