A review by hardhatscott
Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark Whitaker

4.0

I learned a lot from this book about the history of my hometown. It is a great compliment to the coffee table book I remember "Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City" by Stefan Lorant which essentially ignores the history of blacks in the city. This book shows the rich history of jazz musicians, journalists and sports figures from Pittsburgh and the central role they played in integrating Baseball, the Civil Rights movement, and the history of Jazz. Greats like Billy Eckstine, Billy Strayhorn, Earl Hines, Ahmad Jamal, and many others, as well as writers like August Wilson. The book is a bit disjointed but a fascinating history that his been ignored for too long.