Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit [Paperback]

Zev Chafets (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chafets interviews Detroiters about the Motor City's decline and shows how "Devil's Night," the night before Halloween, evolved from an evening of pranks into one of rampant arson. "An enormously unsettling read and a tragically accurate picture of a dying metropolis," said PW but criticized "the author's penchant for sweeping generalizations and his tendency to shy away from tougher issues."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Chafets, the Israeli-based author of Members of the Tribe ( LJ 11/15/88) and Heroes and Hustlers, Hard Hats and Holy Men ( LJ 4/15/86), has drawn a bold sketch, already excerpted in the New York Times Magazine , of his hometown Detroit. Abandoned and hated by whites, with a people and mayor seething because they cannot turn political control into economic self-sufficiency, Detroit is America's first Third World city, Chafets asserts. Lacking the scholarly precision and analysis of Sidney Fine's Violence in the Motor City (Univ. of Michigan Pr., 1989) or the inside access of Wilbur Rich's biography of the mayor, Coleman Young and Detroit Politics (Wayne State Univ. Pr., 1989), Chafets's account instead relies on "close approximations" of the truth from his various interviews with Detroit inhabitants. Because of this, Chafets can only provide a partial, often faulty picture of the city, but one that is nevertheless compelling. Recommended for larger urban studies and city library collections.
- JoEllen Vinyard, Eastern Michigan Univ., Ypsilanti
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 45 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679735917
• ISBN-13: 978-0679735915
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,587,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Zev Chafets is the author of eleven books of fiction, media criticism, and social and political commentary. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine and a former columnist for the New York Daily News.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best introduction for outsiders, April 14, 2009

By 

Michael A. Messina (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit (Paperback)

It's twenty years old, but this is the best and most accessible nonfiction account of Detroit's traumatic postwar decline I have read. The writer, a white Israeli-American, approaches the subject without too much sensationalism, and does a good job of explaining how the race and class wars of the sixties and seventies led to political solidification of Coleman Young's machine, for better or for worse.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An "oral history" style piece, and a fun read, December 9, 2008

By 

Nina Alter "Ms. Me" (san francisco, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit (Paperback)

So: I'm constantly reading research studies for work, and can very much appreciate the critique lodged at this book by the first 2 reviewers. It doesn't begin to scratch at the surface to find comprehensive problem/solution relationships between Detroit's demise & possible causes, a rich history of events, and/or possible solutions ahead.

As a native of the area who was born in Ann Arbor and ceased all residence in the area at 22, I just darn enjoyed the book- a lot. One area where I do feel it succeeds wildly, is providing a glimpse into the area's bizzare-ish folklore and fractured social fabric.

I love the city of Detroit (proper), and if I didn't have a creative thing established in the Bay Area, I'd likely move back. I frequently recommend this book to folks in search of a quick-read piece to offer some clarity into quirks, that history books and more deeply-analytical critical writings, don't. There are dozens of books that critically examine race relations, economic impacts, industry movement, etc., but this one simply tells some stories- and stories that imho, are important to consider, in assessing the cultural/human impact, abreast the critical & academic readings.

As with many books: this is a great one to compliment a stack, if you're looking to read a few to get a good perspective... but it's not "the one," though I don't think was ever intended to be.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A right-on, tell-it-like-it-is tale, March 28, 1999

By 

Mark A. Van Hecke ([e-mail]) (East China, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit (Paperback)

A very stark, often poignant tale of the social and demographic changes experienced in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. Chavets also draws some very interesting comparisons between Detroit and Israel as societies under seige. If you can find this book, read it!!