The Good City [Paperback]

Emily Hiestand (Author), Ande Zellman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2004

Full of established writers and fresh voices, a rich collection of essays celebrates Boston's past, present, and future

This collection presents a vivid new portrait of Boston through the writing of fifteen of the city's finest authors. Fresh eyes are cast upon the urban landscape and psyche, with provocative pieces by architecture critics Robert Campbell and Jane Holtz Kay, and by Jack Beatty on Boston's political past and present. Boston has long been known as a literary city, but novelist Patricia Powell offers a new take on the literary landscape and the immigrant experience. Susan Orlean offers up a loving tribute to the city she left and then returned to. Best-selling novelist Anita Diamant celebrates her discovery of a true spiritual home in Boston, while Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner investigates what makes Boston a powerhouse of scientific and technological innovation. All Souls author Michael Patrick MacDonald pens a moving essay on gentrification and what it means to old neighborhoods like Southie, while Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson looks at Boston as a laboratory for advancing race relations. No book about Boston would be complete without a discussion of sports, so Howard Bryant, author of Shut Out and columnist for the Boston Herald, explains the city's recreational obsession.

All of these writers and more offer an illuminating profile of the city that many people consider the birthplace of America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This slim volume of essays is the literary equivalent of meandering down Boston's crooked streets. Wander this way to relax beneath the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's "glass-roofed courtyard." Head that way to discover "a hive of innovation," where telegraphs were perfected, the telephone invented and general anesthesia first used. Saunter into the Frederick Olmstead–designed Emerald Necklace series of parks to enjoy "trees and shrubs, interwoven with meadows, community gardens, ponds and streams, and freshwater marshes in the midst of an urban setting." Of course, the city's ugly side is also here: busing riots and racism, gentrification and urban renewal, corrupt politics and a perennial also-ran baseball team. Hiestand (The Very Rich Hours) and Zellman (formerly of the Boston Globe) selected essays highlighting different facets of the Hub, such as Lynda Morgenroth's exploration of neighborhoods, John Hanson Mitchell's historical look at the Shawmut Peninsula and Irene Smalls's critique of what the city offers children. While those familiar with Boston will gain the most from this collection, these essays are larger than just one city. Curator Alan Chong's look at the Gardner Museum sheds light on private museums nationwide. Southie Michael Patrick MacDonald rails against the "liberals" taking over his neighborhood, questioning gentrification even as he himself perpetuates it. The vibrancy and complexity of Boston shine through this work.
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About the Author

Emily Hiestand is a writer, artist, and creative director of Elements Commmunications for Positive Change. The author of three books, including The Very Rich Hours and Angela the Upside Down Girl, her literary honors include The Whiting Award and The National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism.

Ande Zellman is a media and publishing consultant and has held senior positions at Newsweek and the Boston Globe, including editor-in-chief of the Boston Globe Magazine. Dozens of awards have been won under her leadership including a Pulitzer Prize, Headliner, Livingston, and George Foster Peabody Awards.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; 1 edition (July 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807071439
• ISBN-13: 978-0807071434
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Massachusetts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars celebrates living in a great city, May 1, 2011

By 

Fran Keenan (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good City (Paperback)

The essays in this volume celebrate city living. I'm a recent transplant to Boston and it was great to find a mix of history, cultural notes and tributes to a city that has bounced back vibrantly from its decline in the 1970s and 1980s. Writers explore Boston politics, neighborhoods, arts institutions and the city's heady sports mania. If you live in Boston now and love it or you once lived here and miss it dearly, you'll enjoy the read.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too dry for me-essays, September 7, 2008

By 

femmefatal (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Good City (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of short stories and/or essays, very slow and dry. It seemed like a text for a college-level class more than leisurely reading.