Originally published in 2012. Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-292) and index.
Contents:
A difficult childhood -- The British decades -- Detroiters I, the Morans -- Detroit and the Canal of Riches -- The Civil War and racial flashpoints -- Detroit turns industrial -- Detroiters II, Michael Farrell -- The auto era -- A great migration -- The Roaring Twenties -- Great Depression -- The Black Legion -- Housing and the racial divide -- The War years -- The 1943 Riot -- The postwar boom -- Race in the Fifties -- Detroiters III, Henry Russell, Jr. -- Death of the covenants -- Detroiters IV, the Blacks -- The Oil Embargo -- Detroiters V, John Thompson -- When the jobs go away -- Detroiters VI, Shelley -- Pittsburgh, a different case.
Summary:
"Detroit: A Biography takes a long, unflinching look at the evolution of one of America's great cities, and one of the nation's greatest urban failures. It tells how the city grew to become the heart of American industry and how its utter collapse--from 1.8 million residents in 1950 to 714,000 only six decades later--resulted from a confluence of public policies, private industry decisions, and deep, thick seams of racism. And it raises the question: when we look at modern-day Detroit, are we looking at the ghost of America's industrial past or its future?" --Publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.