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Summary: Pomerantz captures the history and traditions of old Atlanta
Review: A top flight piece of journalistic work telling and combining the legends of both black an white Atlanta leadership.. The stories are told with great charm and dignity. ... a thoroughly exciting read.
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Summary: Superb
Review: An excellent, wonderfully written epic of The City Too Busy to Hate, rendered all the more poignant by the nearly simultaneous deaths last summer of its two main characters, former mayors Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson Jr.
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Summary: The real Atlanta history
Review: I am a native Georgian and raised in Metro Atlanta. This book opened my understanding of how, what, when and who made this city and why our state is so political about everything. Unfortunately, the race factor will always play a role in how we view and operate the local and state governments. This book just makes it clearer for anyone who works, lives and does business in Georgia. All Georgia history teachers should read this book. It would make Georgia history so much better for 8th graders and make them think. This is a must for reference material.
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Summary: Superb
Review: I have never been one to like historical non-fiction, but this book blew me away. The writing style is very engrossing. The first 30 pages or so is on the dry side and filled with too many names and dates to keep up with, but it's definitely worth it to work your way through it. After the Civil War is over and Reconstruction begins, the book settles nicely on the lives of two key figures in Atlanta's history (one white and one black) and follows both families for several generations. BOTH stories are equally important and fascinating. The reader gets both a sense of what it was like to be considered a second-class citizen and have to fight relentlessly for rights and respect, AND what it was like to be a part of the white establishment and try to evoke change and maintain respect. This book is not just a book for Atlantans, like myself. It's lessons of struggle, determination and courage are timeless and without geographic limits.
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Summary: Tapestry of Lives
Review: I knew Atlanta in quite a different way. This book has opened my eyes to how the city became what it is today and gave me a wonderful historically accurate picture of the people who build the city. This should be a must-read for anybody connected with the city or anybody interested in how race relations affect the building of any city. I was thrilled when I recently drove thru Atlanta and saw an exit off of interstate 75 south for the "John Wesley Dobbs Ave." and felt like I was part of history too after connecting some things in my family with events in this beautifully written book. This book also gives me hope that all human beings can strive together to make the future of Atlanta even greater than the past. This book was good on so many levels and touched so many different issues: Historic, human, socioeconomics, I can't begin to describe how much I liked it with the poor words at my disposal. I can say READ IT!
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Summary: Tapestry of Lives
Review: I'm only half done, but agree that this is a great way to learn about the history of Atlanta, race relations, and politics. You know that Pomerantz is a good writer when he can even make Ivan Allen's privileged, silver spoon in mouth upbringing look interesting. The Ivan Allen part of his book almost makes me feel like I'm a part of the Northside Drive old Atlanta aristocracy, but then I snap out of it and remember that I'm not a WASP and Bob Woodruff didn't give me a gift of 25,000 shares of Coke when I was starting out. Also never knew who JW Dobbs was, even as I rode my bike up and down Auburn Avenue. Great read.
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Summary: Very detailed, yet no dull textbook
Review: I'm only half done, but agree that this is a great way to learn about the history of Atlanta, race relations, and politics. You know that Pomerantz is a good writer when he can even make Ivan Allen's privileged, silver spoon in mouth upbringing look interesting. The Ivan Allen part of his book almost makes me feel like I'm a part of the Northside Drive old Atlanta aristocracy, but then I snap out of it and remember that I'm not a WASP and Bob Woodruff didn't give me a gift of 25,000 shares of Coke when I was starting out. Also never knew who JW Dobbs was, even as I rode my bike up and down Auburn Avenue. Great read.
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Summary: what a great way to present Atlanta history
Review: Pomerantz had a great idea when he decided to present Atlanta history by relating the family histories of two Atlanta majors, Ivan Allan, Jr. and Maynard Jackson (Dodds family). The Allans are an old line Atlanta white family; The Dodds are an old line Atlanta black family. The combination of their stories presents a more balanced view of this southern city and its race relations. The reader should, however, remember that both mayors were economically upper class. The lower class viewpoints, both black and white, receive little attention. The description of Ivan Allan's term as major is based heavily on, and differs little from, the autobiography Mayor: Notes from the Sixties. Unfortunately this reviewer can not comment on sources for Maynard Jackson.
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Summary: This author has true perception few could imitate.
Review: Through words and comprehensions that push towards brilliance, Gary Pomerantz has written a history of civil rights in the South beyond compare to others of our generation. Every sentence shows his devotion and study of the subject, which is still unfolding as I write, on Peachtree Street. His years of interviewing and researching are evident on every single page of the thick text. This is the kind of book that you re-read the last few pages several times because you are sad to see the story end. You hope to find out the author has written a sequel! This book is for those of us wanting to learn more about the fall-out from slavery and black oppression in the South. It is the best comparison of blacks and whites ever written that truly speaks from both sides and gives the "human condition" of this subject its best reward - which is to explain the true story of where the individual's predjudices came from and how they were daily being conquered...or handed down, as the case may be. It is an essay on the evolution of a culture and it's victims. It does not always give credit to those the media attempted to credit. It gives credit to the deserving ones...politically correct or not. Some of Pomerantz's book re-writes history. You should read it.
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