Detroit: An American Autopsy
Feb 2013 · Penguin
4.5star
117 reviewsreport
Ebook
304
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About this ebook
An explosive exposé of America’s lost prosperity by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charlie LeDuff
“One cannot read Mr. LeDuff's amalgam of memoir and reportage and not be shaken by the cold eye he casts on hard truths . . . A little gonzo, a little gumshoe, some gawker, some good-Samaritan—it is hard to ignore reporting like Mr. LeDuff's.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Pultizer-Prize-winning journalist LeDuff . . . writes with honesty and compassion about a city that’s destroying itself–and breaking his heart.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A book full of both literary grace and hard-won world-weariness.” —Kirkus
Back in his broken hometown, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff searches the ruins of Detroit for clues to his family’s troubled past. Having led us on the way up, Detroit now seems to be leading us on the way down. Once the richest city in America, Detroit is now the nation’s poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age—mass-production, blue-collar jobs, and automobiles—Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, dropouts, and foreclosures. With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark, and the righteous indignation only a native son possesses, LeDuff sets out to uncover what destroyed his city. He beats on the doors of union bosses and homeless squatters, powerful businessmen and struggling homeowners and the ordinary people holding the city together by sheer determination. Detroit: An American Autopsy is an unbelievable story of a hard town in a rough time filled with some of the strangest and strongest people our country has to offer.
“One cannot read Mr. LeDuff's amalgam of memoir and reportage and not be shaken by the cold eye he casts on hard truths . . . A little gonzo, a little gumshoe, some gawker, some good-Samaritan—it is hard to ignore reporting like Mr. LeDuff's.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Pultizer-Prize-winning journalist LeDuff . . . writes with honesty and compassion about a city that’s destroying itself–and breaking his heart.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A book full of both literary grace and hard-won world-weariness.” —Kirkus
Back in his broken hometown, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff searches the ruins of Detroit for clues to his family’s troubled past. Having led us on the way up, Detroit now seems to be leading us on the way down. Once the richest city in America, Detroit is now the nation’s poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age—mass-production, blue-collar jobs, and automobiles—Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, dropouts, and foreclosures. With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark, and the righteous indignation only a native son possesses, LeDuff sets out to uncover what destroyed his city. He beats on the doors of union bosses and homeless squatters, powerful businessmen and struggling homeowners and the ordinary people holding the city together by sheer determination. Detroit: An American Autopsy is an unbelievable story of a hard town in a rough time filled with some of the strangest and strongest people our country has to offer.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
117 reviews
Ben Parnas
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August 24, 2014
I'm fascinated by Detroit's decline, and thought the book would help me understand why it happed. While it did give some insight, it felt like charlie was adding drama to his stories to make every court case, interview, and encounter he had more interesting (which makes sense, his day job is a field and reporter). I would call this book a nonfiction crime novel, if such a genre exists, which was not what I was expecting. Overall, it was a good-ish read, but I don't plan to reread it.
1 person found this review helpful
Chris Earley
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February 8, 2013
Being from the Midwest and seeing how the economic challenges of the 70-year decline of the automotive/manufacturing industry have ravaged cities like Detroit, Toledo (my hometown), Youngstown, etc., this book was like looking out of the window to see the remains of what was once great. I felt Charlie's pain for his hometown and the drama that consistently seems to take place there. An excellent read that makes me appreciate my life even more on a daily basis.
2 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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July 20, 2014
Being from Windsor and having had relatives who worked across the border, I have always had a soft spot for Detroit. This book gripped me from the opening and shook me to the core. Just when I thought things had hit rock bottom something else even more appalling and disgraceful is revealed. It feels like Detroit has sunk into anarchy and while I loved the book I do not feel very hopeful.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Charlie LeDuff is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, formerly at the New York Times and the Detroit News, and currently on Detroit’s Fox 2 News. He is the author of Sh*tshow!: The Country's Collapsing . . . and the Ratings Are Great, US Guys and Work and Other Sins. He lives near Detroit.
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