A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900
by Stephen Puleo
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A lively history of Boston's emergence as a world-class city--home to the likes of Frederick Douglass and Alexander Graham Bell--by a beloved Bostonian historian ? "It's been quite a while since I've read anything--fiction or nonfiction--so enthralling."--Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and Shutter Island ? Once upon a time, "Boston Town" was an insulated New England township. But the community was destined for greatness. Between 1850 and 1900, Boston underwent a stunning show more metamorphosis to emerge as one of the world's great metropolises--one that achieved national and international prominence in politics, medicine, education, science, social activism, literature, commerce, and transportation. Long before the frustrations of our modern era, in which the notion of accomplishing great things often appears overwhelming or even impossible, Boston distinguished itself in the last half of the nineteenth century by proving it could tackle and overcome the most arduous of challenges and obstacles with repeated--and often resounding--success, becoming a city of vision and daring. In A City So Grand , Stephen Puleo chronicles this remarkable period in Boston's history, in his trademark page-turning style. Our journey begins with the ferocity of the abolitionist movement of the 1850s and ends with the glorious opening of America's first subway station, in 1897. In between we witness the thirty-five-year engineering and city-planning feat of the Back Bay project, Boston's explosion in size through immigration and annexation, the devastating Great Fire of 1872 and subsequent rebuilding of downtown, and Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone utterance in 1876 from his lab at Exeter Place. These lively stories and many more paint an extraordinary portrait of a half century of progress, leadership, and influence that turned a New England town into a world-class city, giving us the Boston we know today. show lessTags
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I saw the author lecture on this book and was very impressed with his enthusiam and knowledge on the subject. The book is a great read. He has presented the subjects in clear and easy themes.
For anyone that loves history and in particular Boston history this book will not disappoint. The writing is clear and crisp and full of intriguing facts and events that centered in Boston. There are no shortage of "firsts" and Puleo celebrates each and every one of these events.
For anyone that loves history and in particular Boston history this book will not disappoint. The writing is clear and crisp and full of intriguing facts and events that centered in Boston. There are no shortage of "firsts" and Puleo celebrates each and every one of these events.
I looked forward to reading this book with great anticipation and was not disappointed. With a certain amount of civic pride, I enjoyed this history of Boston's many municipal accomplishments during the period 1850-1900.
Boston's greatest hits of the half-century include:
Other interesting tidbits I learned from this book include:
* At one time the Boston Archdiocese required English-only confessions in the Italian North End.
* On the day of Alexander Graham Bell's burial all telephone service in the United States was suspended for one minute (I wonder what will happen when Tim Berners-Lee dies).
* Walter Dodd is the real-life Good Will Hunting going from janitor to physician experimenting with x-rays.
This is a great book for anyone who loves Boston and an uplifting history of what a community can accomplish through perseverance and direction.
Recommended books: Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project by William Newman, Change at Park Street Under;: The story of Boston's subways by Brian J. Cudahy, Eminent Bostonians by Thomas H. O'Connor, A Game of Brawl: The Orioles, the Beaneaters, and the Battle for the 1897 Pennant by Bill Felber, Local Attachments: The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920 by Alexander Von Hoffman. show less
Boston's greatest hits of the half-century include:
- Leadership in the abolition movement and opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law.
- The Great Railroad Jubilee celebrating rail connections to Montreal & port improvements for ships to Europe as well.
- Waves of immigration from Ireland and Italy and the perseverance of the new residents on the city.
- The filling of Back Bay and development of a new upscale neighborhood.
- Bostonians in the Civil War.
- Emancipation and black regiments in the Civil War.
- The National Peace Jubilee
- featuring a specially designed Great Coliseum in Copley Square and 1000-member choir and orchestra.
- Expansion of Boston through immigration and annexation.
- The Great Fire of 1872, recovery, and innovation of new fire prevention techniques.
- The first subway in the United States going underground in 1897.
Other interesting tidbits I learned from this book include:
* At one time the Boston Archdiocese required English-only confessions in the Italian North End.
* On the day of Alexander Graham Bell's burial all telephone service in the United States was suspended for one minute (I wonder what will happen when Tim Berners-Lee dies).
* Walter Dodd is the real-life Good Will Hunting going from janitor to physician experimenting with x-rays.
This is a great book for anyone who loves Boston and an uplifting history of what a community can accomplish through perseverance and direction.
Recommended books: Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project by William Newman, Change at Park Street Under;: The story of Boston's subways by Brian J. Cudahy, Eminent Bostonians by Thomas H. O'Connor, A Game of Brawl: The Orioles, the Beaneaters, and the Battle for the 1897 Pennant by Bill Felber, Local Attachments: The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920 by Alexander Von Hoffman. show less
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Author Information
8 Works 1,275 Members
Stephen Puleo is an award-winning newspaper reporter who now works in corporate public relations in Boston. He has a master's degree in history, has done extensive research on Boston's North End, where the molasses flood took place, and has been a contributor to American History magazine. He lives in the Boston area.
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 974.4 — History & geography History of North America Northeastern United States (New England and Middle Atlantic states) Massachusetts
- LCC
- F73.5 .P966 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America United States local history Massachusetts
- BISAC
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- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.77)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
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