Once In A Great City: A Detroit Story

by David Maraniss

As David Maraniss captures it with power and affection, Detroit summed up America’s path to music and prosperity that was already past history.

It’s 1963 and Detroit is on top of the world. The city’s leaders are among the most visionary in America: Grandson of the first Ford; Henry Ford II; influential labor leader Walter Reuther; Motown’s founder Berry Gordy; the Reverend C.L. Franklin and his daughter, the amazing Aretha; Governor George Romney, Mormon and Civil Rights advocate; super car salesman Lee Iacocca; Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, a Kennedy acolyte; Police Commissioner George Edwards; Martin Luther King. It was the American auto makers’ best year; the revolution in music and politics was underway. Reuther’s UAW had helped lift the middle class.

The time was full of promise. The auto industry was selling more cars than ever before and inventing the Mustang. Motown was capturing the world with its amazing artists. The progressive labor movement was rooted in Detroit with the UAW. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech there two months before he made it famous in the Washington march.

Once in a Great City shows that the shadows of collapse were evident even then. Before the devastating riot. Before the decades of civic corruption and neglect, and white flight. Before people trotted out the grab bag of rust belt infirmities—from harsh weather to high labor costs—and competition from abroad to explain Detroit’s collapse.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Politics, Audiobook, Historical, Book Club

464 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and the author of four critically acclaimed and bestselling books, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton, They Marched Into Sunlight War and Peace, Vietnam and America October 1967, and Clemente The Passion and Grace of Baseballs Last Hero. He is also the author of The Clinton Enigma and coauthor of The Prince of Tennessee: Al Gore Meets His Fate and "Tell Newt to Shut Up!"

David is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the Pulitzer for national reporting in 1993 for his newspaper coverage of then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. He has won several other notable awards for achievements in journalism, including the George Polk Award, the Dirksen Prize for Congressional Reporting, the ASNE Laventhol Prize for Deadline Writing, the Hancock Prize for Financial Writing, the Anthony Lukas Book Prize, the Frankfort Book Prize, the Eagleton Book Prize, the Ambassador Book Prize, and Latino Book Prize.
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Reviews

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 for 2016.

What did I know about the city of Detroit before I started reading this? Well, I was aware that it went bust a few years ago and as a result had to declare bankruptcy. Not a very fun thing for a major U. S. city to have to do, right? Well, in "Once in a Great City: a Detroit story" perennial best-selling author David Maraniss' new work, Detroit comes off as being a true magnet for the country and a sort of proving ground for new cars, new styles of music, one of the incubators for the burgeoning Civil Rights movement and a new way of thinking altogether.

What a place this must have been! To be somewhat on the ground floor per se and to have been able to experience the myriad of magnificent wonders that seem to have poured out of this city, well if reading about the era seemed wonderful than experiencing it first hand must have been something else! This was (according to the author) a pulsing, thrusting and vibrant city where anything could happen and most of the time it did.

Taking us from the fall of 1962 up to the spring of 1964, the author describes and explores such people as Henry Ford II, Walter Reuther, the Gordy family especially Barry, Governor George Romney, Lee Iacocca, The Reverend C. L. Franklin and topics as the birth of the Motown sound, the city's relation to the overall Civil Rights movement, the growing pains of the empire known as the Ford corporation and the state of Michigan's push to have Detroit play host to the 1968 Summer Olympic Games.

Overall I found this book to be a great story. It shows the reader that even then successes were not meant to last forever and oftentimes did not. It was back in those days and in that seemingly carefree era when ordinary Americans sometimes doing extraordinary things would in a way sow the seeds for the eventual downfall of a great urban metropolis. Very Highly Recommended.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2015.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once In A Great City: A Detroit Story by David Maraniss is a fascinating study of the city of Detroit in the early 1960s when Detroit was on top of the world with visionary leaders: "Grandson of the first Ford; Henry Ford II; influential labor leader Walter Reuther; Motown’s founder Berry Gordy; the Reverend C.L. Franklin and his daughter, the amazing Aretha; Governor George Romney, Mormon and Civil Rights advocate; super car salesman Lee Iacocca; Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, a Kennedy acolyte; Police Commissioner George Edwards; Martin Luther King. It was the American auto makers’ best year; the revolution in music and politics was underway. Reuther’s UAW had helped lift the middle class." The city was looking at a promising future with increasing car sales, the Motown sound from amazing artists, the progressive labor movement with the UAW. It was where Martin Luther King gave his first version of his "I have a dream" speech two months before it became famous in Washington DC. But there were signs of an impending collapse even then, before the riots and the decades of civic corruption, white flight, and urban neglect that would signal the decline of this great city. Add this to the rough winter weather, high labor costs, and foreign competition and the recipe for collapse is complete.

[Steven Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Maraniss’ ONCE IN A GREAT CITY: A DETROIT STORY is almost a love story or at the very least an ode to a city that has slowly fallen from the heights it had reached in the 1950s. Maraniss focuses on the 1962-1964 period when the city was about to confront white flight to suburbia, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and the ever present issue of racism. Maraniss who is an excellent writer whose works include sports biographies of Vince Lombardi and Roberto Clemente, the foremost study of Bill Clinton’s pre-presidential years, a wonderful book on Vietnam and the anti-war movement among a number of others. Maraniss takes on the city of his birth, an urban colossus held together by the automobile industry and manufacturing after World War II that is in the midst of a severe decline. The decaying city is like a boxer who has been knocked down and is trying desperately to get off the canvas. In 1962 a reform mayor, Jerome Cavanaugh comes to office and launches a courageous campaign to root out racism in the city’s police force. Others including Walter Reuther, the powerful head of the United Automobile Workers Union, who saw segregation through the lens of the Cold War and a threat to increasing progressive unionism worldwide is examined. Reuther was a man of action who tried to create programs and investment to rekindle Detroit’s glory. It was an uphill fight, and a timely story as today, Detroit, now much smaller and with a more varied economic approach is still trying to rise from the ashes.

Maraniss begins in a symbolic fashion as he describes two events that took place on November 9, 1962. First, the fire that destroyed most of the Ford Rotunda one of the city’s most important symbols - America’s love affair with the automobile, never to be rebuilt. Secondly, the police and federal agents raid of the Gotham Hotel, the center of black culture for many years, to break up a significant gambling racquet, and as a result the hotel was demolished in the name of urban renewal, or as others remarked “negro removal!”

The book conveys a number of interesting biographical sketches of important individuals of the period. Maraniss ranges from the automobile industry concentrating on Ford, and the music industry zeroing in on Motown and the empire Berry Gordy, Jr. built providing the reader the feel of the mid-1960s. The reader is also exposed to the grimy side of Detroit as Police Commissioner George Edwards goes after the mob and its gambling ties to the city. His investigation, along with the FBI establishes links to National Football League players and the Giacalone mob family that involves Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras who will be suspended from playing, and eventually through a sting he arrests Tony Giacalone. Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, a JFK liberal and his quest to bring the summer Olympic Games to Detroit in 1968 is discussed in detail as he tries to implement his progressive agenda.

Maraniss used the rise of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas as a template to explain why Detroit was at the perfect storm to develop the Motown sound. From the availability of pianos to middle class black families, the migration from the south of gospel and blues as people came in search of jobs during World War II, the reach of Grinnell’s, the music store that made affordable instruments available, the luck and proximity of random talents like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson living so close to each other during childhood, and the music education provided by Detroit public school teachers. The role of the Reverend Clarence La Vaugh Franklin is analyzed as he moved from being a theatrical circuit preacher around the country to that of a civil rights leader in Detroit as he organizes a civil rights march, “the Walk to Freedom” in Detroit supported by Reuther and the UAW among others. The march was highlighted by an address by Martin Luther King, and it was at this Detroit rally that he laid the basis for his “I had a Dream Speech” given later that summer in Washington. Overall, the black community throughout the time frame of the book is beset by a power struggle and division as Franklin is not able to maintain the unity of the rally and Reverend Albert Cleague moves toward a black liberation theology bent on dealing with the problems faced in Detroit. Cleague will go so far as inviting Malcom X to speak to his supporters providing evidence of the total rift that existed as King was derided, and that there was no way to close the factionalism that emerged.

Maraniss also explores the relationship between Lee Iacocca, the head of Ford and J.Walter Thompson, the advertising firm that was to modernize Ford’s image as 1963 approached. The campaign would be headed by William D. Laurie, the head of the agency in Detroit and the epitome of the “Mad Men” mystique. The project was T-5, and after the bust called the Edsel, Iacocca needed a success. The success would become the Ford “Mustang,” whose development Maraniss details concentrating on the relationship between Henry Ford II and Iacocca. Maraniss also conveys the importance of Ford and Walter Reuther focusing on their ability to negotiate and reach agreements that allowed workers to think of themselves as middle class as they received pensions, health insurance, and wages connected to an inflation index. The work of these two men was important to the labor peace of the mid-sixties and their impact was throughout the industrial universe.

Perhaps the most evocative topic is that of the development of Motown and the music industry and how it was spawned. Concentrating on the Gordy family and its contributions, Maraniss focuses on Berry Gordy, Jr. and the Motown review, a stage show of some of the future stars of music including Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The review left Detroit on a 56 day tour on the day the United States instituted its embargo of Cuba during the missile crisis of October, 1962. Maraniss effectively transforms the trip into a discussion of race in America as the group experiences segregation throughout its journey. Traveling all over the Midwest, south, and winding up in New York City Maraniss integrates the black migration north for jobs beginning in the 1930s, the reaction of whites who felt they were taking their jobs, race based actions by white police forces, and the violence of black youth. Racial fearmongering was a dominant theme and the issues that were prevalent during and after World War II were ever present as the tour wound on while the Civil Rights Movement was in full gear. What emerges from the tour is that music is another Detroit export that impacted America second only to the auto industry.

Maraniss is careful to point out at a time when Detroit was booming a Wayne State University study in February, 1963 predicted the collapse of the city as it declared bankruptcy in 2013. The study pointed to the reduction of the city’s population from 1,670,414 in 1960 to a projected 1,259,515 in 1970. It also highlighted the white flight to the suburbs as blacks made up 28.9% of the city’s population in 1960 and a projected 44.4% in 1970. The result of which would be a population whose tax base could not pay for its needs as by 2013 the population would be 688,000. But what is fascinating at the time of the report automobiles were selling at record levels and the city was selling itself as the home for the 1968 Summer Olympic Games.

“By the close of Mr. Maraniss’ book, dreams of hosting the Olympics have been scuttled; urban renewal has uprooted many traditional, predominantly black neighborhoods; police reforms that might lead to greater racial harmony have stalled; and efforts to transform the city through Model Cities and War on Poverty programs have run aground, fueling tensions that would explode in the 1967 riot.” (NYT, September 14, 2015) A riot that would kill 43 people, injure another 1189, result in 7200 arrests, with the destruction of over 2000 buildings.

If you want to relive the essence of the mid-1960s, Maraniss’ new book, with its emphasis on Motown, the Ford Motor Company, race relations and the civil rights movement, politics and much more is an excellent synthesis of the period. It reflects Maraniss’ approach to narrative history, impeccable research and mastery of topic that will not disappoint. Read it and enjoy.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I was pretty interested in this book, but as I kept reading, it really wasn't as much about Detroit as I thought it would be. It's like if anyone who lived in Detroit did anything, it was included. Why was I reading about the assignation of JFK and Martin Luther King? Those did not take place in Detroit. And the March on Washington? Sure King did his "I have a dream" speech first in Detroit, but why am I reading all about the March. Why am I reading about the Cold War? Why am I reading about Vietnam?

I think book should be titled what went on in the early 1960's, not just Detroit. If your looking for a book just about Detroit, skip this one. Too much other stuff that doesn't belong in there.

Thanks Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Maraniss saw a commercial during the Super Bowl that brought a wave of nostalgia. It inspired him to write Once In A Great City. He focuses on Detroit in 1963, just after the Cuban Missle Crisis, to fall of 1964. It was a time when Detroit was 'on top of the world' with visionary leadership, record breaking profits for the Big Three, and Motown's stars on the rise. It was where President John F. Kennedy first spoke of 'ask not', and where Rev. Martin Luther King first had a dream, and where President Lyndon B. Johnson first spoke about a war on poverty. It is also when legislation to open housing for all persons failed, when Africa American landmarks were being torn down for parking lots, and Malcolm X called for revolution.

I loved how Maraniss gives a complete picture of the city, story arcs that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to make a Big Picture.

Grinnell Brotheres sold pianos on time, and Cass Tech had great music teachers. Migrants from the South seeking factory jobs brought a rich musical heritage with them. Music flourished in Detroit, jazz and blues and Mowtown.

I had not known about Detroit's bid for the 1968 Olympics, championed by President Kennedy championed. What would have happened if they had won the Olympic bid? Would the 1967 riot still have occurred or would the city have been proactive about solving racial problems? Would things have been different?

Maraniss unravels the underlying roots of Detroit's undoing, evident even at its apex. In a few years riots precipitated white flight. Racial tension eclipsed the Walk to Freedom led by Rev. King down Woodward. Foreign cars put America's large gas guzzlers out of business. (Reuther had argued for smaller cars; no one listened.) A Wayne State University report had warned that suburban growth would bode ill for the city. African Americans could not find housing and jobs equal to their education, and their communities were dismantled for 'progress.' Warning signs were dwarfed by the hubris of success.

Maraniss celebrates the heritage that Detroit has given us: a heritage of upward mobility, Motown music, Civil Rights, the Mustang.

This is an enlightening book. I felt nostalgia and recognition for a Detroit I hardly knew.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the rave reviews about this book, but I found it to be considerably overrated. While interesting, it is hardly the sweeping portrait of Detroit in the 1960s that it is represented to be. It is actually very narrowly focused on a few areas and a few people, mostly community leaders or celebrities. So it presents a few slivers of 1960s Detroit. The focus is on Ford Motor Company (top executives only), organized labor (Walter Reuther), Motown music and civil rights struggles of the era. There is a also a very long and not very interesting description of Detroit's effort to land the 1968 Olympic Games.

What is missing is Detroit itself - the neighborhoods, the people, the schools, those who labored day to day, whether on an assembly line or somewhere else. When the book works, it is because you understand that, although the city is supposedly riding high, there are problems bubbling beneath the surface that will ultimately result in a massive loss of population, racial unrest and, ultimately, bankruptcy. It's a bit of a cautionary tale - in the world today, the supposed leaders ignore serious problems just as the leaders in Detroit did. Are we all heading for a similar fall? But there is never any discussion of all of the people who would ultimately leave, or stay and suffer the consequences when things go sour. All of those people are absent from this book. We hear a lot about the Ford Mustang, and the infighting among rival civil rights leaders, and much of the book is a love letter to Motown, but the glimpse of the city is from high up, like President Bush surveying the damage in New Orleans from an airplane. It would be a better book if the author had gotten closer to his subject, the actual city and its citizens. I'm sure that the 700,000 who remain have some interesting stories to tell about life in 1960s Detroit, but we never hear from any of those people. One gets the impression that much of what is written here is recycled accounts from those who actually lived in the times portrayed. As a result, you never know how it felt to actually live in the Detroit of that era.

I would be remiss if I did not comment on the quality, or lack thereof, of the audiobook. I listened to the book, and it is read by the author. I understand that David Maraniss insists on reading all of his books himself in the audio versions and what a horrible decision that is. He is simply a terrible book reader. His voice is weak and sounds tired, and trails off at the end of nearly every paragraph and in the later parts of the long sentences that he is so fond of writing. Words are mispronounced and mumbled. The German city of Baden-Baden is given two different pronunciations. It is almost comical when Maraniss quotes speeches of noted orators, such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. The words of powerful and charismatic black civil rights leaders sound a whole lot different in the weak voice of an older white man who seemingly lacks the energy to get all the way to the end of a sentence. The two stars I've given this book are for the written work. The audio performance gets zero.

[Juan Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book served as a time portal to mid-century Detroit. Every time I opened the pages and started reading, I could see the modern marble and glass buildings being constructed alongside the art-deco skyscrapers that trademarked generations past. I could smell the exhaust polluting the air from heavy Ford muscle cars congesting traffic on the newly built interstate highways bringing the city core to the suburbs. I could hear the R&B notes and melodies of Motown filling the air in and around the studio on West Grand Boulevard. I could feel the racial tensions, the hatred and the divisiveness, plaguing the city and the nation. The speeches by Dr. King and President Kennedy that have become hallmarks of American culture, of which every American knows the now famous lines, that I've heard time and time again in my life, I felt like I was standing in the crowd listening to the first deliverances.

Maraniss did an excellent job of cataloging the city of Detroit from fall 1962 to spring 1964. Any major event that occurred in Detroit was detailed, as well as national events told through Detroit's perspective. The main categories were: Ford preparing a stylish new car that would become the Mustang, Barry Gordy's founding and takeoff of Motown music, and progressive civil rights activism pushed by Reuther, King, Cavanaugh, Kennedy, and Johnson. Around these three pillars revolved the year 1963 in the Motor City.

The book makes one thing obvious: Detroit was at the tip of the roller coaster in the early 60s and there was nowhere to go but down. The book greatly details the exciting frontier that all these starry-eyed leaders of Detroit have in front of them. Knowing what came to be, I found myself wishing multiple occasions for a time machine to go back and warn them of the downfall to come. Warn the automakers that the first year foreign car manufacturing outnumbered domestic, 1963, was a dangerously slippery slope of signs to come. Warn the city of the iconic buildings to be lost to history through demolition or fire. Warn JFK of the assassin's bullet that would greet him in Dallas. And warn Mayor Cavanaugh and Governor Romney that the progressive race relations Detroit was known for were not as championed by the great number of those who were still downtrodden and ignored. Before placing the blame on race riots of 1967 or Mayor Young's administration for Detroit's current condition, the book mentions an eerily accurate 1963 study by Wayne State that the city would lose 25% of its population by 1970, leaving only the poorest citizens behind. "The city is, by and large, being abandoned by all except those who suffer from educational and general economic deprivations." The writings were on the wall, the book mentioned in (at times painstaking) detail the multiple protests and organizations founded to advance civil rights, but unfortunately as events show, these urges were not handled properly. As for the inarguably great men chronicled, almost all of their stories ended with despair, divorce, tragedy, or some combination.

One of the book's biggest strengths was also one of its greatest weaknesses. Many of the stories were gathered from first-person accounts and it shows. At times, the book gets into microscopically minute detail for some situations. The same detail that makes me envision myself in the room makes me want to leave the room because there are just too many people in it. In some parts, the author brings every person in the vicinity into the story; name, job title, relation to host. There are sometimes so many people that when a last name is mentioned, I have to flip back a few pages to identify the guest because I forgot that Detroit Free Press writer had been invited to this press conference. The toughest chapters were the Motown music stories. Some were interesting, many, in my personal opinion, were not. Not that the stories were not told as well or not important to Detroit's history, I just was not as interested whenever a lengthy Motown chapter graced the pages. Whenever civic issues were being handled, or something that would go down in the history books happened, the book was a real page-turner. When Little Stevie Wonder was freestyling harmonica on the concert stage for 12 minutes trying to find his big break, I was hoping somebody would give him the hook, as he was lulling me to sleep.

In 1960s America, Detroit was known as the "model" city for its various initiatives considered new and progressive. This book reaffirms Detroit's importance in American history. The city greatly shaped the America we've known from the mid-20th century to today, the good, the bad, the infamous, and the virtuous. Did John F Kennedy first ask what you can do for your country at his inaugural address? Nope, he asked it a year earlier in Downtown Detroit at Cadillac Square where he defined his legendary vision for a "New Frontier." Was the Lincoln Memorial the first time Martin Luther King told the crowd of his dream for equality? No it was not. He delivered nearly the exact same speech to a crowd of Detroiters at Cobo Hall months sooner. The entire 1960s US economy was based on how well Detroit car manufacturers were performing, luckily then it was having record years in sales. In 2008, things were not so fortunate and the auto industry's bankruptcy caused a mass ripple felt throughout the United States. Detroiter, and face of America's labor force, Walter Reuther's presidential endorsement was seen as a must for progressive candidates as the union votes propelled candidates to presidency. "By [1968] many disaffected white union members from the Detroit suburbs had turned away from Reuther's progressive ideals to vote for George Wallace and later Ronald Reagan." Parallel to the 2016 US election when the same defectors of a class once spearheaded by Reuther decided to vote for a candidate not in tune with their values or his beliefs.

The model city effect was prevalent then and can still be seen today. Detroit empties out its urban core and puts all its chips in the suburbs, the country follows suit. Inner city Detroit collapses, crime rises, same results in most other cities. Detroit invests in its downtown core, creates new initiatives for sustainable housing and infrastructure, even in the face of declining population, most other urban cores are adopting similar initiatives and cities nationwide are seeing an increase in population for the first decade since the 1950s when Detroit propelled the trend in the first place. People awed at Detroit's greatness mid-century, then laughed at its decline for the next half century without realizing the parallel faults of their own region and other American cities. Detroit never stopped being the model city, people just started to ignored it when Detroit learned the hard way that the model at the time failed. The title Once in a Great City does not imply that the book tells the story of a city that was once great and no longer is, but rather that this story details one period in the "great city" that is Detroit.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detroit is where I was born, where I worked, played and loved. Before the freeways (that wiped from the map Paradise Valley, Black Bottom and the rich cultural mix of 1950s' D) you were in Detroit or you were a farmer somewhere out in the rural north, west. Maraniss chose 4 elements in a confined timescape. Fall of 1962 to Spring 1964: the beginnings of Motown; civil rights; the Mustang and thus, labor and the Big 3. The people involved were historically mighty. Reverend C. L. Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Hank the Deuce, Walter Reuther. JFK delivered his "ask not" speech in Detroit before his inauguration, began the Peace Corps with an impromptu speech in Michigan. Martin Luther King, Jr., welcomed to Detroit by Police Commissioner Edwards with the line "there are no fire hoses or dogs to greet you here," LBJ and Reuther in confab regarding LBJ's Great Society; the struggle for leadership of the civil rights movement in the north, the struggle for civil rights et al. And the music! Hitsville USA. My brother and I talked about what we remember: he recently retired from The Detroit News. His first car was that Mustang. The music we listened to and bought with our own money was Motown. The joy and the pain are all on the pages of Maraniss' book. He was born in Detroit, too. There's a video (clips from those months) with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas singing "Nowhere to Run" while zooming around a Mustang assembly line. LBJ giving the commencement address at UofM in 1964, stills of the Walk to Freedom on June 23, 1963, the Chrysler commercial featuring Detroit and Eminem that Maraniss said inspired him to write the book. He was sitting in a pub in NYC watching the Super Bowl (he's a Packers fan) when the commercial came on, he was book-struck. While Detroit emergence was peaking, a Wayne State University study predicted what would happen in the upcoming decades for Detroit. It was widely ignored. An invaluable read, even for those whose heart strings are only a little tied to the story of Detroit. Watch the video to the end and see for yourself how the brief fixation on ruin porn can be transformed. And read further about how the Rust Belt is becoming so much more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW_w-...

[Scott Sigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're ...
A) A history buff and a Michigander
B) A fan of Motown and that era of music (Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells, Four Tops, etc)
C) Interested in civil rights history
D) Thinking "my city could never end up like Detroit"

... then you will enjoy this book. Unless you only chose "D," then it might freak you out a little bit.

Maraniss covers the heyday of the Motor City, when automakers were setting records for new car sales, the Mustang was on the way, Barry Gordy Jr. was founding Motown and turning it into a global music phenomenon, and city leaders were finally tackling critical civil rights issues.

The author brings a loose, flowing narrative style to this historical work. His research seems exhaustive, as much of the tome comes from interviews with the particulars, and/or transcripts of actual recordings, letters, speeches and newspaper articles.

If you've driven down Woodward Ave and seen the utterly depressing urban decay of D-Town, and that's all you know about the city, this book will blow your doors off.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This book was on my Detroit TBR - a stack from which I hope to learn more about the city in which I was born.

In Once In A Great City David Maraniss provides straight-forward reportage of what was going on in Detroit from the fall of 1962 through spring of 1964. Nationally this time period includes the Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the assassination of Medgar Evers, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four little black girls in Birmingham, Alabama, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

These were highly dynamic times in the city of Detroit, and rather than focusing on the seeds of problems that would come to a head within the decade, Maraniss focuses on the the infectious idealism of a 20-month period. He captures figures such as Berry Gordy Jr., Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, Reverend C.L.Franklin (Aretha Franklin’s father) Henry Ford II, and Walter Reuther -president of the United Auto Workers - and many others - at the height of their visionary activity.

This was the period when Rev. C.L. Franklin organized the “Walk to Freedom” down Woodward Avenue in Detroit, where Martin Luther King., Jr., delivered the first draft of what came to be known as his “I Have A Dream” speech. The period when Malcolm X delivered his “Message to the Grassroots” at Detroit’s King Solomon Baptist Church.

This was the period when - under the leadership of Walter Reuther - the UAW championed ideals regarding meaningful work, job security, quality of life and workplace conditions, as well as automation. This was the period when top-secret rooms in Detroit were devoted to the design and marketing plans for what would become the Ford Mustang - the company’s most successful concept since the 1927 Model A. This was the period of Motown’s first Motortown Revue - featuring acts such as Little Stevie Wonder, the Contours, Marvelettes, Temptations, Supremes, and the Miracles. This was the period of Detroit’s unsuccessful bid for the 1968 Summer Olympics and Detroit Common Council’s defeat of open-housing legislation.

Maraniss focuses on presenting his research in an entertaining fast clip whenever possible, and leaves the analysis to the reader. I was just a baby during the period this book focuses on, so, for me, the book suggested a lot about what the economic, political, and entertainment climate of Detroit was like for my parents and their contemporaries.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish David Maraniss had written a different book than this one, which isn't really a fair criticism, but it's true. Once In a Great City is a portrait of Detroit in 1963 (and into the beginning of '64), a time when the city was at its peak, culturally, economically, socially, politically, and it all seemed like there was nowhere to go but up. Berry Gordy and Motown were just entering their glory years; labor leader Walter Reuther and industrialist Henry Ford II were trusted and frequent advisors to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; the car business in general was coming out of its most productive and profitable year in history, and Ford was about to unveil the hugely popular Mustang; a massive Civil Rights march in the city, led by Martin Luther King (at the end of which he delivered what would turn out to be a a kind of "rough draft" for his I Have A Dream speech delivered two months later in DC), was a model in both internal cooperation and harmony in the streets; AND Detroit was chosen to be America's finalist for the 1968 Olympic games (they came in second to Mexico City). To me, it's that last piece that seems strangest now, knowing all that was to come for American industry and the cities which relied on it for its health, that Detroit nearly hosted the Summer Olympics in my lifetime. Anyway, that's a LOT for one city, in one year, and Maraniss does a admirable job trying to give tons of detail about each of the storylines above without bogging down too much... though bog down it does, in long-forgotten (and no-longer-important) squabbles and triumphs, and some paragraphs just feel like lists of names we'll never see again. The book really engages when Maraniss unearths the seeds of impending change--most of it disastrous for this part of the country in general, and Detroit in particular--some of which might have been prevented, or seized upon as an opportunity, others which were beyond anyone's control. It could have been a shorter book, with more big-picture stuff, but oh well, still plenty of interesting details and things I never knew.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Americans take Detroit for granted. In WWII-related boom times, it was the hub of manufacturing and the economic good times that go with it. Detroit seemed to be THE place where the American Dream was within reach for anyone, regardless of race, class, or ethnic origin. It’s mostly forgotten that Detroit once had dreams of taking its place alongside New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago as one of the marquee U.S. cities. Few remember, in the bidding to be the host city for the Olympic Games between 1952-1972 Detroit finished 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 4th, respectively. Many historians cite the 1967 race riots as the inflection point of Detroit’s descent into the worst crime and poverty in the country. David Maraniss traces it back further: to 1963. He distills seemingly wide-ranging stories and events to construct a portrait of a city engulfed by the optimism of the Kennedy years.

It was a year of possibilities. There was a thriving Black community. Not as thriving as the white parts of the city, but better than Blacks had it anywhere else in the U.S., especially in the Deep South, where, if they weren’t born there, their parents certainly were. True, the center of the Black political and economic elites had its problems, but they remained out of sight. Instead, idealistic policing practices tempered by longstanding prejudices made enemies out of interests that should have been naturally allied. A transition from a post-WWII economy to one advertised as a “New Frontier” was not as seamless as brochures and commercials advertised. While Detroit covered up most of those blemishes, it was the first of many cities to explode—racial violence, the Vietnam War, reactionary public policies—before most too notice. The heyday of the automobile industry seemed to some to make the gritty challenges of race, politics, and misjudgments appear solvable. If you judged Detroit in 1963 by comparing it to 1967, 1979, 2013, or even, despite many good stories, today, then it did seem like a paradise.

Maraniss has the gift of telling stories that weave together a compelling narrative. This would be a great read for anyone interested in American urban and racial politics in the past six decades. But I’d like to conclude with an extended passage from the book itself. Too often histories like this are remembered for the stories of atrocities—and there are many in this tale. But his passage about the disparate personalities behind Detroit’s other great legacy: Motown. The sound, the records, and the myths. It points out how people strive for decency, it's the natural way for things to work out, if you don't make others “the other”:

…connecting these was the least appreciated and perhaps most important factor of all: the music teachers and program in the Detroit schools.

Talk to musicians in Detroit and odds are they will recall—vividly and fondly—the teachers who pushed them along. Paul Riser came to Motown in 1962 as a trombone player straight out of Case Tech, a social naif among the older cool-cat jazzmen of the Funk Brothers house band, but also a musical prodigy with skills at reading, writing, and arranging scores that he had learned in the public schools. Harold Arnoldi, the music teacher at Keating Elementary, plucked him out of the crowd at age seven and become a mentor and father figure to Riser, helping him get instruments at a discount and encouraging his development. Then, at Cass Tech, Riser rose under the guidance of Dr. Harry Begian, who inculcated in his music students the classics and fundamentals. “He was like a military drill sergeant, but he did it from his heart,” Riser recalled. “I didn’t understand what he was doing until I graduated years later and got a degree. I was able to laugh about it, his discipline. Harry Begian treat us as ladies and gentlemen and got us ready for the marketplace, attitude-wise, discipline-wise. I sat first chair trombone at Cass Tech, and he saw something in me, again, just as Arnoldi did. That got me ready for Motown.”

For Martha Reeves, the public school influence traced back to her music teacher at Russell Elementary School. “Emily Wagstaff, a beautiful little German lady whose accent was so think I could barely understand what she was saying,” Reeves later recalled. “She pulled me from class five minutes before tick-tock and chose me as a soloist. My public school teachers had the biggest hearts and they were patient, and they could choose. They could pick out the stars and know they can instruct them and fill out their greatness.” At Northeastern High her music teacher was Abraham Silver, who, much like Begian at Cass Tech, had a capacity to teach music theory as well as direct a choir and infused his students with an appreciation for the classics and fundamentals. Freedom thought discipline: once they learned the fundamentals they could move freely into the genres of jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues.

Reeves later remembered how Silver singled her out and then nurtured her. “He went through the whole choir section to see who could sing Bach arias. My name was Reeves, I was near the end. Some others did pretty good but no one really nailed it. So I stood up with my knees knocking. I nailed it. I had never heard of Bach. Or I had maybe heard it on the radio. One of my favorite pastimes as a teenager was listening to symphonic music and trying to hit some of the high notes.” Decades later, recalling the scene, Reeves hit those soprano notes beautifully. “So I did learn a lot listening to symphonic music. But Bach was a new name to me. Hallelujah! We were the first choir at Northeastern to be recorded. And the first choir from Northeastern to sing at Ford Auditorium. The first time I appeared before four thousand, four hundred people. I was seventeen, about to graduate. And that was one of the biggest thrills I can remember in my teenage life, to hear that applause. It was not just for me but for the entire choir, but I was the soloist. No microphones. You had to throw your voice. Abraham Silver. He taught us not only how to sing but how to read it. That made a big difference. That we learned how to read notes. That we did it correctly.”

[judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maraniss can write great books. His Clinton biography is just plain fun (in parts) I have mixed feelings on this one. He's only covering 62-64--a glory time for Detroit. I learned things--which is good since I'm old enough to remember some of the events. Still, I thought it might be difficult for younger people. In truth, many of his chapters could be expanded to make entire books. Berry Gordy and the start of Motown. The Detroit Mafia. The insular automotive culture. The importance of several powerful black preachers and struggles between organizations. MLK really only has a walk on part here--so read Taylor Branch's amazing trilogy. If you want the whole sad Detroit story read Detroit: An American Autopsy. Since I love Detroit, it tore my heart out. As for this book, you probably should know what you want. Motown was my favorite section. Something else may be more to your taste. Of course, if you've decided to read several books about Detroit, this one should be included.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Goodreads first reads giveaway. For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I was expecting a more extensive history of Detroit, which the author may have accomplished; however, the story consisted of many tangential narratives. I was very intrigued Martin Luther King Jr. first gave his "I have a Dream" speech in Detroit but the additional information on MLK Jr. seemed more appropriate in a biography of the man. At times I found myself wanting more information on Henry Ford II and then more information of the history of Motown records. This book has peaked my interest in these subjects but I think the author was too ambitious in trying to cover too much information and ended up not providing enough information. A good book as a starting point for further study.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've all heard the old adage, "What's good for General Motors is good for America." For someone like me for whom the name "Detroit" has always been synonymous with "blight," it was somewhat of an eye-opener.

Not easy to summarize, it is story is told through a many different micro-lenses: Motown, Ford Motor Company (the debut of the Mustang and the "Mad Men" who created the hype), Civil Rights (MLK and Aretha's father, the Reverend Franklin), UAW union, and the organized crime figures who later became implicated in Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance.

Much space is devoted to how city politicians and business leaders united in an unsuccessful bid to bring the 1968 Olympics to Detroit. They all flew to Baden Baden, Germany to make their pitch and narrowly lost to Mexico City who, it was believed, "put the fix in."

In hindsight though, it is probably a good thing they lost. It's hard not to wonder what would have happened if they had been successful because we all know what happened later. Although it did not seem possible at the time, it was all predicted in a pessimistic sociological study written in 1962. Among other things, it noted that "white flight" was already underway and if it continued, the population would drop from 1.6 million to about 650K by 2016.

That is exactly what happened.

[DW Rowlands · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in this book was primarily spurred by my personal connections to Detroit: my mom grew up in Hamtramck, and I went there to visit relatives several times a year up until I was in college. It's embarrassing how poorly I know the city and its history, though, and that's something I need to correct.

In that light, I was hoping and expecting Once in a Great City to be a history of Detroit over a bit longer a period than the eighteen months the early 1960's it covers, and I still want to read such a history. However, the book was very well done, and I'm glad I read it. The period the book discusses was apparently quite crowded with important events, and I was also glad to learn so much about the Detroit of my mother's childhood. I was also a bit surprised, but also glad--especially since my grandfather was an early member--to hear how involved the UAW was in funding parts of the Civil Rights movement, including paying for the sound system that Dr. King's March on Washington needed to use the Lincoln Memorial steps as the site of his "I Have a Dream" speech.

[Alysson Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An alternately devastating and inspiring account of one of the world’s most fascinating cities. My mom grew up outside Detroit and I grew up across the border in Canada, spending time in Detroit in my childhood and teenage years during some of the city’s darkest days. To see flickers of renaissance now, is exciting but also raises so many more questions about those still left out of this economic rebirth. This book gives so much more context to the devastated city many of us grew up with. It also is anguishing to learn how incredibly vibrant the city was before the fall. A must read for anyone interested in Detroit.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a good companion to other books about Detroit that I've read, focusing on iconic figures of the automotive industry, labor, civil rights, and Motown, mostly during 1963. After reading other books, I was left thinking, "well, what about the good stuff about Detroit?" and that good stuff is here, mostly in the music which Maraniss clearly believes is Detroit's best legacy.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focusing on the assorted events (the rise of Motown, the premiere of the Mustang, a visit by MLK) from autumn 1962 to spring 1964 in the storied metropolis.

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detroit: the name of a city that has been the symbol for America and what it means, in both a positive and a negative sense. In my lifetime, it's become a city of ruins, a former manufacturing hub replaced by cities overseas and a former cultural landmark abandoned by its creative geniuses. Detroit is America, in many ways, with all the hubris and Greek tragedy that can be shown on a micro level. Detroit was once the engine of the country; now it's the automated graveyard. But it wasn't a sudden decline that announced itself overnight.

"Once In a Great City," by David Maraniss, shows the pivotal turning point in Detroit's history, the eighteen months from the fall of 1962 to the spring of 1964 when the city was at its height as an avatar for American exceptionalism and its subsequent fall from grace. Capturing the moment when Motown and the Mustang came into their own, Maraniss also shows the seeds of Detroit's ruin being sown in its inability to cope with racial unrest (culminating in the riots of 1967, outside the time frame of the book but hovering over each discussion of well-meaning policies and seething resentment from white residents over "encroachments" by Black citizens). Detroit was a major player not just on the national but also the international stage; at one point, the city was the American entry to host the 1968 Summer Olympics, though the bid was ultimately lost. Detroit, as a city, never quite reached the heights that it did in 1963, when JFK was in office and the future seemed bright.

Maraniss is at his best here in describing the birth and creation of Motown and its distinctive sound, as well as documenting the labor struggles between the Ford family and Walter Reuther (a labor leader whose forward-thinking on civil rights was not shared by many of his union brothers) and in showcasing how Detroit's promise and problems reflected the American paradox of 1963.

I've previously read two of his sports books ("Clemente" and "When Pride Still Mattered"), so I was a little disappointed that he didn't include any discussion of sports beyond a few passing mentions (sometimes a sports book can reflect the larger social issues of the time, and I know from his previous books that Maraniss could pull it off). And I have to admit that I don't know that he ties together the various strands of his narrative quite as well as I would've liked. But as a social history of a city at a time of historical shifts, when MLK and JFK could visit and bring social issues to light, when Ford could capture the spirit of youth in rebellion, and when Motown could provide the soundtrack, "Once In a Great City" is hard to beat. It captures the moment when Detroit had plenty of dancing in the street, before the Motor City woke up to the aftermath of dreams deferred and the rubble of good intentions gone asunder.

[Rebecca Moll · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Maraniss offers a thoughtful and compelling snapshot of the City of Detroit against the larger US political and industrial landscape from October 1962 to May 1964. The birth of Motown, the ingenuity and heart of America's Automotive industry, the glory of The Motor City's brief rise from the smoldering embers of racial inequality and civil unrest, segregation, union labor, mafia underpinnings, politics, and religion.

It is a snapshot cast in the die of an instamatic polaroid. A black and white image, glossy and firm, a thick border of white framing the events of history.

From the fall of the Ford Rotunda to LBJ's historic visit to Detroit, Maraniss weaves people and places in a seamless and engaging account.

Written in 2014, the author's epilogue is now a snapshot itself, the cusp of Downtown Detroit's reemergence out of the ashes.

Take a new photo today - 2020, and note the changes, a digital rendering. Midtown and Downtown linked with the classic Q Line, corner cafés and the Shinola Hotel offering urban luxury and ambiance, the new Tiger's Stadium a hub in between. The people of Detroit masked and distant and the world turns and turns and turns.

I had the good fortune of meeting the author at our annual fundraiser for the Oakland Literacy Council, Ex Libris, in 2019. As the keynote speaker, David offered insight to his writing of Once in a Great City. I felt a compassion in his words and a connection to a place and time, the very people of Detroit. It was a beautiful event, a pairing of those who are dedicated to affording literacy and to a man whose life is literacy.

Events of the past may be facts, but it is the telling that creates a story and the story that lives on. History comes alive in the hands of the author and in David's capable hands, a telling so smooth, you'll find yourself in the background as the shutter of history clicks, standing on the corner of Woodward and Grand River in 1964, the rumble of the Mustang roaring up and down Woodward, the melodies of Gordon Berry, the Temptations, 4 Tops, and Martha Wells carrying you along for a ride through Detroit time, No Where to Run, No Where to Hide, Once in a Great City.

[Kevin]

Once In A Great City reads like a photograph taken just before a cataclysmic event. The colors are vibrant, the smiles sincere, and the scene itself is oblivious to impending disaster.
David Maraniss offers a snapshot before Detroit's decline when the city was competitively in the running for the Olympics; the city wielded political power nationally and specifically within the civil rights movement, Motown reigned "supreme," and the American auto industry's glory days before import cars, NAFTA, or the cropping realities of carbon emissions. Once In A Great City is both a memory and a warning, a snapshot before the cities collapse that reminds us that change is the only constant. Mass capitalism and a lust for political power blind us conveniently until that change becomes collapse.
I like what Maraniss has done here overall. A better and certainly more readable book than the growing shelf of "autopsy" books on Detroit, this work shows why the collapse of one of America's great cities is a substantial loss culturally, economically, and politically. At times, the stories seem a little disengaged from one another, with each chapter picking up one of the book's particular narrative threads but not completely connecting to the last chapter. Perhaps that's a challenge of taking on multiple topics, perhaps a reflection of the city's segregated populations. This small challenge to the overall work is certainly only that, and the separate stories are all critical to understanding Detroit historically.
I only lived in Detroit for a couple of years as a very young person, so I'm not always sure it holds a prominent place in my heart. Perhaps I want to be a bit of an advocate for a city that needs a little love. David Maraniss is that champion.

[James Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, by far, the incredible book I’ve read in YEARS
The story of 1963 Detroit when our hometown was the quintessential “what’s good for Detroit is good for America”
Detroit was the straw that stirred the economic and social drink our our country.
The Motown sound gave voice to another beat.
The heady days of Mayor Jerome Cavanaughs version of a Midwest Camelot much like his idols Jack and Bobby Kennedy lived
The intense battle for the soul of African American Detroit hearts waged by Aretha Franklin’s flamboyant minister father against the revolutionary Rev Cleavage
It all transcends the decades in this epic love story from a prodigal Detroit born son who has traveled far only to return home and give us a perfectly crafted rendition of how high we were, compared to how far we fell and, now, as we read it as a 2015 “period piece” we can see our motto remains “We shall rise from the ashes”.
If you are a Michigan native. Read it. Absorb it. Take incredible pride in it. We shall always rise from the ashes.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Detroit Story: HB-B- Library, SCSBDG for May 2025 Mtg., Non-fiction, Urban Biography, Detroit History, from 1962 to 1964.
This book was right on the edge for me - what I know and what I don't know about that specific time in Detroit. I am a native Detroiter, born and lived in the city, then became a suburbanite by the time I started kindergarten and remained one for the next 73+ years of my life so far. The time frame was also on the edge. I was just starting 9th grade and was only marginally interested or aware of this period's events, politics - not so much, but I do remember when JFK came to Roseville to campaign for the presidency; automobiles - occasionally, I remember much of the hype surrounding the development of the Mustang; but Motown - yep, was much more interested in the sounds and stars of that particular phenomenon. This book touched on a lot of gray areas in my mid-teens. So while reading, I remembered a lot, I learned a lot, and I felt a lot.
I'm very glad I read this book, it certainly wasn't a fast read, I wanted to take my time to digest what I was reading, to decide what I knew and felt then, and consider what I know and feel now. This time was a high point in Detroit. After this time there were some really low points. It will be a slow process to rise again, but Detroit is slowly making that climb back.
4☆'s = Very Good.

[Ryan C. Zerfas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Big Three. The Ford family. The introduction of the Ford Mustang. Lee Iaccoca and his pursuit of the DeLorean. Motown. Berry Gordy. Little Stevie Wonder. Diana Ross. MLK. JFK. Bid for the 1968 Olympics. Civil rights rioting. The mob. Mitt Romney's dad as governor.

This book covers a bustling time in about very small window of the early 60s in Detroit. Chapters alternated the above subjects in great detail.

Also - JFK... BLOWN AWAY... WHAT ELSE DID BILLY JOEL HAVE TO SAAAAAY??? 🤬🎹⤵️

Bonus points for some great tie-ins and direct references to Robert Moses and the Power Broker.

Good read indeed.

[Bob Schnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detroit has never been high on my travel list but has gone up a few notches after reading "Once a Great City." Most of the iconic places in the book are gone, but enough remains to get a sense of the city's former greatness. Just to be able to visit the places MLK, JFK and LBJ made historic speeches, as well as where Motown was born, would keep me busy when not checking out the museums. Detroit may still be recovering from the unrest of the late 1960s and the economic downturn of the following decades, but it sounds lively.

[Joeybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 60s are a very interesting time period in US history for many reasons. Many US cities were at a crossroads and struggled for an identity during that time and were looking to adapt their economies, socio-demographics, housing, education system, etc. to continue into ‘The Great Society’. The story of the decline of Detroit is similar to other US cities and hopefully it soon sees similar urban revitalization.

[MeLisa Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much about Detroit as I would have hoped. There is a lot about MLK, JFK and LBJ etc. that, in my opinion, could have been shorter in order to leave more space for Detroit. So much was left out for extraneous things, but it’s entertaining.

[Steve Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of the year. A wonderful look at Detroit in the early 1960’s. It’s all there; Motown, the auto industry, the mafia, the bid for the 1968 Olympics, and of course, Detroit as a nexus of the civil rights movement. Part history, part love story, this book is a wonderful look at all that Detroit was and a vision of the best of what Detroit could be.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a terrific snapshot of a city and a time...just before everything is tossed into the fire of history. There's a sadness to a lost golden age...then a shaking of the head when the rotten foundations of that golden age are examined in detail. Quite thought provoking.