Detroit: A Motor City History by David Lee Poremba

Abstract

140 Michigan Historical Review car. Once these conveniences were incorporated into the gasoline propulsion system, the technological advantages of the electric vehicle dwindled in significance. At this point, purchase price determined consumer choice. The electric car, with its higher priced technology, failed once and for all as the gasoline-powered automobile gained a mass market. The strength of this volume isMom's methodical and exhaustive research drawing from several European countries and the United States, and his conclusions are based on expectations for the technology internationally. Mom provides a clear argument that demands consideration from historians of technology aswell as policymakers. NealV. Hitch Ohio Historical Society David Lee Poremba. Detroit: A Motor City History. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2003. Pp. 159. Bibliography. Illustrations. Index. Notes. Paper, $19.99. As one of the oldest permanent European settlements in North America, Detroit has had a fascinating history. Since 1701, when Antoine de laMothe Cadillac landed on the north shore of the Detroit River, through its days as a gathering place for French fur traders, its position as a British and American outpost, and finally its rise to become one of the country's industrial giants, Detroit and its citizens have participated inmany of the crucial developments that shaped our nation. David Lee Poremba wrote this book about the city's storied past in order to mark Detroit's tricentennial in 2001. Unfortunately, because of severe space constraints, perhaps imposed by the publisher, the book doesn't really tell us anything new, save what has happened in recent decades. Still this compact account would be useful for someone looking for a general history of the city, one not clogged with footnotes or references. Detroit is full of facts?one right after the other?with little analysis of how or why an event happened. Frequently the work piques the reader's interest; however, the discussion often ends abruptly leaving him or her wondering about the outcome. Some parts of the book are much stronger than others. In the middle chapters, Poremba's descriptions are quite effective. The earlier and later chapters, however, can be a bit confusing and sometimes ask more questions than they answer. Often names are dropped without a reference to who the person was. For instance, Tecumseh and his Book Reviews 141 brother Tenkswatawa, known as the Prophet, are mentioned for their roles in uniting northern tribes to fight for the British, but at no point does the author tell the reader who Tecumseh and Tenkswatawa actually were or which tribe (Shawnee) they represented. In other sections of the book the narrative either glosses over or completely omits some key moments in the city's history. For example, Detroit is cited "as the leader in Prohibition law violations" (p. 119), but the reader is left to speculate about what those might have been. The Detroit River was one of the busiest routes for alcoholic contraband from Canada to the United States during Prohibition, but the only other reference the reader gets to that tumultuous era is a photo of dilapidated warehouses along the riverfront. The section on the General Motors-Poletown confrontation lacks specificity and does not convey the true nature of what occurred. Poremba states that the plant was built "amidst some controversy" and the complex displaced "some people" (p. 140). In reality the project razed thirteen hundred homes, more than one hundred businesses, and half a dozen churches, as well as displacing forty-two hundred residents. Although these two topics are more fully examined in Philip P. Mason's Rumrunning and the Rearing Twenties: Prohibition on theMichigan-Ontario Waterway (1995), and in a number of books on Poletown, readers of Detroit: A Motor City History still need some explanation of these critical events in the city's history. The casual reader will find Detroit to be an interesting read. The more curious, on the other hand, may be disappointed to find only a two-page bibliography. Historians will have to go elsewhere to find sources about the fascinating history of theMotor City. Kenneth G. Hafeli Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor Kenneth J. Schoon. Calumet Beginnings: Andent Shorelines and Settlements at the South End ofLake Michigan. Bloomington: Indiana...