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savaging's review
4.0
These days I more easily grow bored with academic, socioeconomic analysis. But this book kept my attention. This book is a real confrontation with the way white people have organized and mobilized to stop Black people from enjoying a fair share of wealth. As the chapters progress, the actions of white 'homeowners associations' become more blatant and extreme.
bryan8063's review
4.0
This is a powerful history of Detroit before the infamous 1967 riot. Historian Sugrue lays out an effective argument that Detroit was crumbling economically and systemic racism preyed on more blacks due to migration in the late 1940s and 1950s. All these economic and racial changes made whites nervous and they responded. Readers will learn a lot from this important book.
zeydejd's review
4.0
It took me a long time to finish this one - in part because it started as a book club read for a book club that later dissolved, and in part because I went thru something of a reading hiatus for a good chunk of 2021.
Though dense, this was illuminating and painted a clear, chronological picture of Detroit's housing/employment crisis and ultimate urban collapse. Sugrue acknowledges the major role that deindustrialization and factory migration played, but challenges the theory that those were the primary driving factors of Detroit's (and other Rust Belt cities') urban decay. Instead he takes us further back to the Great Migration and issues related to housing discrimination, segregation, and redlining that pre-date deindustrialization (not to mention WWII). As Sugrue moves into the post-war era, he sets the stage for why and how the city experienced white flight and bastions of defended neighborhoods, which ultimately further exacerbated the housing and discrimination crises in Detroit.
Though dense, this was illuminating and painted a clear, chronological picture of Detroit's housing/employment crisis and ultimate urban collapse. Sugrue acknowledges the major role that deindustrialization and factory migration played, but challenges the theory that those were the primary driving factors of Detroit's (and other Rust Belt cities') urban decay. Instead he takes us further back to the Great Migration and issues related to housing discrimination, segregation, and redlining that pre-date deindustrialization (not to mention WWII). As Sugrue moves into the post-war era, he sets the stage for why and how the city experienced white flight and bastions of defended neighborhoods, which ultimately further exacerbated the housing and discrimination crises in Detroit.
machielse's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes the most telling thing is what they didn't teach you in school.
Sugrue clearly did his homework researching this book, and makes a compelling argument for how many of the issues plaguing Detroit (and other American cities) have their roots in deindustrialization, and -- perhaps moreso -- in workplace and housing discrimination that effectively wiped out opportunities for minorities.
Sugrue clearly did his homework researching this book, and makes a compelling argument for how many of the issues plaguing Detroit (and other American cities) have their roots in deindustrialization, and -- perhaps moreso -- in workplace and housing discrimination that effectively wiped out opportunities for minorities.
ashleybakerwrites's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
Very informative on the direct causes that connect early 1900s to the 1960s turmoil in Detroit. This book answered questions I didn't know how to ask about the history of inequality, racism, and violence in Detroit.