The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community

by Ray Oldenburg PhD

Overview

The landmark survey that celebrates all the places where people hang out—and is helping to spawn their revival


A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice



"Third places," or "great good places," are the many public places where people can gather, put aside the concerns of home and work (their first and second places), and hang out simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation. They are the heart of a community's social vitality and the grassroots of a democracy. Author Ray Oldenburg portrays, probes, and promotes th4ese great good places—coffee houses, cafes, bookstores, hair salons, bars, bistros, and many others both past and present—and offers a vision for their revitalization.


Eloquent and visionary, this is a compelling argument for these settings of informal public life as essential for the health both of our communities and ourselves. And its message is being heard: Today, entrepreneurs from Seattle to Florida are heeding the call of The Great Good Place—opening coffee houses, bookstores, community centers, bars, and other establishments and proudly acknowledging their indebtedness to this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781569246818
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	08/18/1999
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ray Oldenburg, PhD, is a professor of sociology at the University of West Florida. He is frequently sought after as a media commentator and consultant to entrepreneurs, community and urban planners, churches, and others seeking to establish great good places. He lives in Pensacola, Florida.

What People are Saying About This

Ron Sher

Ray Oldenburg is inspirational. He is the first to recognize and articulate the importance of the greeting place (third place) for the well-being of the individual and society at large.

Mitchell Kaplan

A day doesn't go by that I don't refer to Ray Oldenburg's The Great Good Place. At a time when all great, good independent bookstores everywhere are under siege, we're fortunate that Mr. Oldenburg has articulated our message so clearly.
— Mitchell Kaplan,( owner of Books & Books, Miami, Florida)

Victor W. Herman

The Great Good Place has put into words and focus what I've been doing all my life, from the barbershop I remember as a child to the bookstore I now own. My goal at Horizon Books is to provide that third place in which people can "hang out." Ray Oldenburg has defined those good places while still recognizing the magical chemistry they require. The Great Good Place is a book to read, to recommend, and to quote.
— Victor W. Herman, (owner of Horizon Books, with locations in Traverse City, Petoskey, and Cadillac, Michigan)

Andrew M. Greeley

The Great Good Place is a great good book. As a fellow defender of neighborhoods and all they stand for, I salute you on it.

Editorial Reviews

Shows how informal gathering places are essential to the vitality of a city and its people and it also includes a social history of informal life throughout the world.

Florida Architect

A book that should be read by everyone in North America over the age of 16.

World of Beer

Examines gathering places and reminds us how important they are. People need the 'third place' to nourish sociability.

Parade

The great value of this book is that Mr. Oldenburg has given us an insightful and extremely useful new lens through which to look at a familiar problem.

New York Times Book Review

Well-written, informative, and often entertaining.

Newark Star-Ledger