Generally implementing the smart growth vision would require radically reconstructing our society to insert what Martinson calls "this neighborhood-of-small-stores gentry ideal." The vision demands that people forgo the American dreams of convenience, choice and low price-all the things delivered by, say, Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Liking American Dreamscape comes for other reasons, too. The book is a reasonable length-243 pages plus 23 pages of notes followed by a source listing and an index. Like suburbs, American Dreamscape isn't perfect, though the problems are small. Martinson's early history of the country ignores the religious basis of this nation's origins. The history gets a bit tedious. Finally, something strange happens toward end of the index; another index jumps into the middle of the S's. The index is incomplete, too. Asphalt Nation, a Urbanist book given a half dozen pages of eloquent rebuttal, appears neither in the source list nor in the index.
Martinson does a great job making a few important points, but he also makes a few too many stereotypes. He goes a little too far into the topic of architecture and he neglects some of the more significant social issues. He doesn't back his social discussions with enough data. Overall, I think Martinson successfully introduced a new perspective to the controversial urban growth discussion. It's definitely worth the read, especially if you're a student in an academic scenario that focuses on the "urbanist" perspective.
