Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
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Hidden History of Detroit

Author: Amy Elliott Bragg

Narrator: Petrea Burchard

Unabridged: 4 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/29/2025


Synopsis

"Engaging" stories of what the Motor City was like before the invention of the motor (Detroit Metro-Times).

Long before it became the twentieth-century automotive capital, Detroit was a muddy port town full of grog shops, horse races, haphazard cemeteries, and enterprising bootstrappers from all over the world.

In this lively book you'll discover the city's forgotten history and meet a variety of unforgettable characters—the argumentative French fugitive who founded the city; the tobacco magnate who haunts his shuttered factory; the gambler prankster millionaire who built a monument to himself; the governor who brought his scholarly library with him on canoe expeditions; and the historians who helped create the story of Detroit as we know it: one of the oldest, rowdiest, and most enigmatic cities in the Midwest.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Diana on June 08, 2024

Really enjoyed this read. Entertaining and educational. It's clear the author spent a fair amount of time researching and the work speaks for itself. I was especially enjoying the biographies of people that made their mark on Detroit and their names are the names of the streets. I really recommend t......more

Goodreads review by Tom on September 03, 2023

In a slim volume, the author tells an entertaining story of Detroit's history, mostly in the 19th Century. The anecdotes and landmarks and economic changes (wealth in stoves, tobacco, and lumber before autos) paint an earthy picture of noisy taverns and muddy streets like a Monty Python vision of De......more

Goodreads review by Erica on January 19, 2014

A good read about the first 200 years of Detroit, a pre-Motor City history that I think many of us has forgotten. I liked the more informal, opinionated style of the writing as well as the inclusion of details on historical figures' personalities. Who knew Cadillac was such a shyster? I wish it had b......more

Goodreads review by Debbie Townes on May 30, 2020

I really enjoyed this book. The author writes that she used to think Detroit history went like this: “French fur traders founded it, something something something, there was a fire at some point, then Henry Ford started making cars and then Detroit got really big! Something about prohibition and the......more

Goodreads review by Stella on September 28, 2018

This book is a crash-course in early Detroit history. The writing style is informal and excited; it’s clear from the first page that the author loves her work and is eager to share anecdotes from the city’s history that are not only educational, but immensely entertaining. This book made me laugh ou......more