Detroit City Is the Place to Be

Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis is a 2012 book by Mark Binelli, published by Picador. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bodley Head under the title The Last Days of Detroit: Motor Cars, Motown and the Collapse of an Industrial Giant.

Binelli, a contributing editor of Rolling Stone and a novelist,[1] originates from a suburb of Detroit.[2] Nicholas Hune-Brown of Canadian Business described the book as "a sympathetic portrait of a city managing its own decline and groping its way toward a new 21st-century identity".[3]

Using a series of essays,[4] the book discusses the history of the city and the movements to restore the city from its decline.[1] The history is in the beginning and the later part discusses the revival attempts.[5] Binelli expresses skepticism of several proposals on reviving the city, but he believes there are some indicators that a recovery will come.[3] Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Some may say that the book is problematic since it reads as a series of magazine articles, but many readers will find this a plus, as they can absorb the book in bite-sized chunks that can make reading about Detroit's urban blight more palatable."[4]

Reception

Publishers Weekly wrote that the book is "a wildly compelling biography of a city as well as a profound commentary on postindustrial America."[1] Publishers Weekly ranked the book as one of the "Best Books of 2012".[6]

Kirkus Reviews concluded that the book is "An informative, often-heartbreaking portrait of a once-great American metropolis gone to hell."[4]

Jay Freeman of Booklist concluded "This is an engaging and hopeful glimpse of a city struggling to reinvent itself."[5]

In a review for The Telegraph, Melanie McGrath described the book as "a story told with vitality, wit and affection."[7] McGrath stated "Some of the detail of local politics may lose a British reader".[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Detroit City Is The Place To Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis" (Book Review) (Archive). Publishers Weekly. Reviewed on August 27, 2012. Retrieved on July 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Ihsan. "Paperback Row." The New York Times Book Review, Nov 24, 2013, p.36(L). Retrieved on July 10, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Hune-Brown, Nicholas. "Lessons from a dystopian wasteland" (Archive). Canadian Business, Feb 18, 2013, Vol.86(1-2), p.80(2)
  4. 1 2 3 "Binelli, Mark: DETROIT CITY IS THE PLACE TO BE.(Brief article)(Book review)" (Archive). Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2012. Retrieved on July 10, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Freeman, Jay. "Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis." (Brief article)(Book review) Booklist, Oct 15, 2012, Vol.109(4), p.4(1)
  6. ↑ "Best Books 2012" (Archive). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on July 10, 2014.
  7. 1 2 McGrath, Melanie. "The Last Days of Detroit by Mark Binelli: review" (Archive). The Telegraph. January 15, 2013. Retrieved on November 11, 2015.

Further reading

External links

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