Not just a book on Motown – despite the image
of The Supremes on the cover – but a story
of Detroit itself – told as a series
of intersecting paths that include the famous
soul music label, as well as all the manufacturers,
cultures, communities, and political forces that were shaping the city in the early 60s. The decline
of Detroit has been a story for decades now – but David Maraniss looks at the city in the years before the fall – focusing on 1963, where he shows that tensions were already strong in some sectors, and the ground upon which so much was being built could easily shift and allow the whole thing to topple. The book is one
of the most fascinating city portraits we've ever read – with lessons that are still completely essential to the 21st Century urban environment – and the whole thing is 441 pages, hardcover, with some black and white images.