Customer Reviews

Richmond: The Story of a City

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As the book says in the intro, "Richmond is a city infatuated with its past". This book does a great job explaining the city, why it was founded, its major industries, etc. All the way from its earliest beginnings as a major river port, to its emergence as an important railroad hub, to its role as the capital for the Confederate States of America. Right up to its importance as a financial and business center of today. This is a great comprehensive study of this city and its past.

Though a bit out of date by now, you're not going to find a better, more comprehensive treatment of Richmond history than this one. Dabney wrote for the Times-Dispatch for half a century, so he knows a few things about the city.

This book is superb up through about 1970, then things really fall off (it was first published in 1976). The reason that's such a problem is that Richmond is a far different city today than it was back then. In 1976, Richmond was in sharp decline, written off as a poor, racist, staid, provincial Southern city lingering in a century-long, post-war funk. It reminded one of a smaller Baltimore or St. Louis, or of Mobile rather than the rising, renaissance city we see today. Dabney tries to leave us hopeful for the future, but we're left with the feeling that, although Richmond really mattered at one time, it doesn't really matter now.

As Richmond is, indeed, a city consumed with its past, it had not so much respect for that past in the mid 70s. You'll now find that attitude completely transformed, as Richmond is more appreciated for its vast cultural resources, beautiful architecture, diverse economy and rich history than ever before, both within and without the city limits.