Detroitland
Author | : Richard Bak |
Publisher | : Wayne State University Press |
Total Pages | : 369 |
Release | : 2011 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780814334997 |
ISBN-13 | : 0814334997 |
Rating | : 4/5 (97 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: From The Books Back Cover: Welcome to Detroitland, where award-winning journalist Richard Bak brings to life episodes from roughly a century of Detroit's colorful history. Bak tackles familiar names like Frank Murphy, the Purple Gang, the Lone Ranger, "Potato Patch" Pingree, and Charles Lindbergh. He also introduces little-known Detroit characters like the Black Legion, Detroit's own version of the Ku Klux Klan: Jonny Miler, the man who walloped Joe Louis in the Brown Bomber's first-ever amateur fight; patrolman Ben Turpin, the terror of Black Bottom criminals; Sophie Lyons, legendary "Queen of the Underworld" and Detroit philanthropist; and Shorty Long, Brenda Holloway, the Velvelettes, and other forgotten Motown artists of the 60's.