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The Soul of Pittsburgh: Essays on Life, Community and History
192 pages, Paperback
Published May 13, 2024
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 18, 2025
I absolutely loved this book. It is less a history or a travelogue than a love letter to my and the author’s home town.
Simon writes beautifully of some of the most important things that make Pittsburgh unique and lovable. Our iconic local character, the Yinzer. The Steelers fandom, which thanks to the Pittsburgh diaspora of the 1980s, is now national and international. City steps (I walked a set of them every weekday during my four years of high school). The incomparable views. Our history as the world’s foundry (of course).
Our population is finally growing lately (just a tiny bit, but still…). People from bigger, more expensive cities often move here for the cheap housing. But they discover that there’s so much more to my beloved hometown. If you’re curious about what could possibly be lovable about Pittsburgh, that “hell with the lid off,” check out this book.
A personal aside: I’ve travelled a lot for vacations, but have never lived anywhere except Pittsburgh. I got a wonderful education at the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the University of Pittsburgh. I lived for twenty years in my mother’s house, had a couple vagabond years of living in various Pittsburgh neighborhoods, and settled 42 years ago about three miles from where I grew up. My kids and grandson are here, my brother and sister are here, my nephews are all here. That’s a pretty typical Pittsburgh story. It’s an old-fashioned, very rooted way of life, and not for everyone. But “hell with the lid off” has been heaven for me. Je ne regrette rien.
Simon writes beautifully of some of the most important things that make Pittsburgh unique and lovable. Our iconic local character, the Yinzer. The Steelers fandom, which thanks to the Pittsburgh diaspora of the 1980s, is now national and international. City steps (I walked a set of them every weekday during my four years of high school). The incomparable views. Our history as the world’s foundry (of course).
Our population is finally growing lately (just a tiny bit, but still…). People from bigger, more expensive cities often move here for the cheap housing. But they discover that there’s so much more to my beloved hometown. If you’re curious about what could possibly be lovable about Pittsburgh, that “hell with the lid off,” check out this book.
A personal aside: I’ve travelled a lot for vacations, but have never lived anywhere except Pittsburgh. I got a wonderful education at the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the University of Pittsburgh. I lived for twenty years in my mother’s house, had a couple vagabond years of living in various Pittsburgh neighborhoods, and settled 42 years ago about three miles from where I grew up. My kids and grandson are here, my brother and sister are here, my nephews are all here. That’s a pretty typical Pittsburgh story. It’s an old-fashioned, very rooted way of life, and not for everyone. But “hell with the lid off” has been heaven for me. Je ne regrette rien.
December 31, 2024
This isn't a book that praises Pittsburgh blindly. There's plenty of love here but it definitely spends time examining the dark sides of the city, from its treatment of its Black population to its ongoing environmental impacts.
It made me think and I learned plenty. (Um, there's a mass grave under parts of Lawrenceville? Who knew?!) I found my own feelings on this place where I was born, left a few times, and eventually returned, reflected in the pages, how somehow it is embedded in my bones.
A great read.
It made me think and I learned plenty. (Um, there's a mass grave under parts of Lawrenceville? Who knew?!) I found my own feelings on this place where I was born, left a few times, and eventually returned, reflected in the pages, how somehow it is embedded in my bones.
A great read.
May 27, 2024
Simon writes this love letter to Pittsburgh as a native son to other Pittsburghers. He acknowledges the warts as well as the beauty of this area in lyrical sentences. I picked up this books at the Greater Pittsburgh Book Festival after hearing Simon speak at a local historian Q & A. Glad I did!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews