Customer Reviews

Boston's West End (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing))

5 star:		(1)
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The photographic essay which is this book is quite remarkable. Not many communities in the world have seen such complete annilation short of destruction by war or natural disaster. This working class city neighborhood, which somehow did not fit into the masterplan, was completely destroyed. I wish it explained how it happened, how the government was able to kick everyone out of their homes. This photo essay portrays an awesome sense of community and neighborhood which once was, never to be replaced by the highrise apartments which were erected in its place. The replacement community, which has developed over the past 35 years was not a fair trade. Anyone who sees what is there now and compares it to what was clear cut away will agree. The plight of the Westenders is not easy to argue with after seeing the pages. After seeing the photographs you can't help but feel very sad for the people and what happened to them in the old West End. This is a true must read for anyone who now resides in Charles River Park and anyone who is doing research on urban renewal.

I bought this book for my 85 year old mom who grew up on Leverett St in the West End. I remember going there as a child too. My mom loved the book...It brought back so many memories for her. The pictures are excellent & she read it 2 times before passing it on to a neighbor who found a picture of his mother in it. I highly recommend this book.

Mediocre print quality but better than nothing. One photo of police chief mislabeled. Clearly a fire captain...still worth having in the library. Would love to see these images in higher res on glossy stock though.