brandonpytel 's review for:

Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff

4.0

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If you can get over his choice dialogue (rock star meets cool dad), LeDuff has quite a bit to say about his native city. By dividing Detroit into three parts--fire, ice, and from the ashes--LeDruff draws a parallel between his book and his city's history. The book is part investigative journalism, from LeDuff exploring what went wrong in the events leading up to 2008 to his talking with corrupt city officials, but it's also a tragic dedication to his hometown, once a booming metropolis turned to decay and ruins. It's a good blend of light history with personal accounts from LeDuff's own family to stories he's reported and a blue-collar tongue that reminds you of a former era of industrialism when America relied on the car and manufacturing. This book is really about a city and its inhabitants driven to the bottom; LeDuff's keen journalistic eye makes us wonder if Detroit can finally pull itself out of the rubble and reinvent itself. LeDuff wants it, but even he can see it's a long way to the top.