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The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States
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About This Book
A searing portrait of the racial dynamics that lie inescapably at the heart of our nation, told through the turbulent history of the city of St. Louis.From Lewis and Clark's 1804 expedition to the 2014 uprising in Ferguson, American history has been made in St. Louis. And as Walter Johnson shows in this searing book, the city exemplifies how imperialism, racism, and capitalism have persistently entwined to corrupt the nation's past. St. Louis was a staging post for Indian removal and imperial expansion, and its wealth grew on the backs of its poor black residents, from slavery through redlining and urban renewal. But it was once also America's most radical city, home to anti-capitalist immigrants, the Civil War's first general emancipation, and the nation's first general strike -- a legacy of resistance that endures. A blistering history of a city's rise and decline, The Broken Heart of America will forever change how we think about the United States.
Reviews
"Louis was at the forefront of this bitter struggle ..."
"Louis has been the crucible of American history,' and his celebration of the city's defiant black culture heightens the book's potency."
"He vividly describes...neighborhoods, personalities, and historical conflicts while emphasizing how segregation, disinvestment, and race-based economic extraction eventually set the stage for Ferguson ..."
"As he ably shows, so much exploitation lies in the details."
"For his purposes, St."
"the author also exposes plenty of unsavory characters who will be unknown to readers without a familiarity with St."
"Louis treated Native Americans and then Blacks, a pattern he sees as relevant to us all ..."
"The book represents a triumph in telling together the stories of settler violence and racism that had traditionally eluded historians."
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