The Great Good Place (Berkshire Edition)

Third places are all those spots where people gather, put aside the concerns of home and work (our first and second places), and hang out simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation. Third places are the heart of a community's social vitality, and have long been central to grassroots democracy.Third places are the heart of a community's social vitality, and have long been central to grassroots democracy. Author Ray Oldenburg is renowned for coining the term "third place." In this landmark classic, he portrays, probes, and promotes these great good places: coffee houses, cafés, bookstores, hair salons, bars, bistros, and more, both past and present - and offers a vision for their revitalization. In the years since its first appearance in 1989, The Great Good Place has inspired policy makers and entrepreneurs from Seattle to Singapore, Osaka to Oslo. Eloquent and visionary, this book explains how third places are essential to community health and individual well-being. "Oldenburg believes that the powerful need in humans to associate with one another will inevitably lead to the revival of places where, as the theme song to Cheers, the TV show, so aptly puts it, 'everyone knows your name.' We'll drink to that." —Booklist