Airportness: The Nature of Flight (Hardback)

Schaberg has singlehandedly invented the rapidly ascending field of airport studies. - Times Higher Education

Slim and elegant ... Schaberg has an intuitive way for us to cruise over this landscape of theoretical hills and valleys. He uses the first-person voice to recreate an average journey made by air. - Times Literary Supplement

Airportness is an insightful, witty guide to the ecologies of Earth’s strange new habitat. A Thoreau not of Concord, but of the concourse, Schaberg writes with boundless curiosity for the many layers of meaning and contradiction within the physical and mental space of airports. - David George Haskell, Professor of Biology, University of the South, USA, and author of The Songs of Trees and Pulitzer finalist The Forest Unseen

An enchanting, meditative journey through the cultures and ecologies of contemporary flight. Airportness unsettles places and processes that are often taken for granted, drawing us out into the simultaneously fascinating and disturbing webs of earthly possibility that are tangled up in the world-forming creature we call an airport. - Thom van Dooren, Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities, University of New South Wales, Australia, and author of Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of Extinction

With deep insight and a singular brilliance, Christopher Schaberg takes the reader on a journey from curb to curb, chastising us for our indifference to cloudscapes, rekindling our wonder for liftoff, asking us to reckon with airport as metaphor for late-stage capitalism, for American identity, for the last vestiges of faith, even, ironically, for what we call home. Part razor-sharp critique, part advanced elegy for a doomed mode of transportation, Airportness is finally a declaration of love for a threatened land(sky)scape, an imperative to remain awake and alive. - Pam Houston, Professor of English, UC Davis, USA, and author of Contents May Have Shifted

I loved this book. Exemplifying the enduring value of flânerie, Schaberg's insightful fragments cohere into compelling arguments about supermodernity as we go on a 'trip' with him through the well-worn paths of the contemporary airport. This collage of passionate vignettes, quirky observations and analytical musings made serendipitous connections I hadn't noticed before. His enthusiasm is as infectious as his observations are sharp. It was refreshing for these jaded eyes to see the airport anew. Highly recommended. - Gillian Fuller, Senior Researcher, University of New South Wales, Australia, and author of Aviopolis: A Book About Airports

A breezy read that describes a single-day’s journey through the seemingly routine but interconnected activities that characterize air flight today … One hope Schaberg has for readers of his book is that they will learn to be more contemplative and flexible as they roll their luggage through the Disney World-style lines on their way to meet the TSA agent with the blue latex gloves … Yes, airline travel is filled with mysteries and conundrums, but Schaberg offers a few tips. The maxim that tickets are cheaper if you fly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays is usually true “but not always the case.” Pack smaller and carry on your bag to lower your blood pressure. Appreciate the craziness and the bravery of the Wright Brothers and other aviation pioneers, including Moisant, who gave their lives to create this amazing advance in human history. - Clarion Herald

A fascinating study exploring the peculiar state of consciousness created by modern air travel. - ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature & Environment