The Broken Heart of America
St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States
Basic Books · Print & ebook · July 6, 2021
A history of American racial exploitation and resistance, told through the turbulent past of the city of St.
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- Who it’s for
- A city history that opens onto the larger, rough-edged American story.
- Genres
- Midwest History, Black History, Urban Life
- Published
- Basic Books, July 6, 2021
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A history of American racial exploitation and resistance, told through the turbulent past of the city of St. Louis “A magisterial book… A searing history.” —Eddie S. Glaude, author of Begin Again From Lewis and Clark's 1804 expedition to the 2014 uprising in Ferguson, American history has been made in St. Louis.
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And as Walter Johnson shows in this searing book, the city exemplifies how imperialism, racism, and capitalism have persistently entwined to corrupt the nation's past. St. Louis was a staging post for Indian removal and imperial expansion, and its wealth grew on the backs of its poor black residents, from slavery through redlining and urban renewal. But it was once also America's most radical city, home to anti-capitalist immigrants, the Civil War's first general emancipation, and the nation's first general strike—a legacy of resistance that endures. A blistering history of a city's rise and decline, The Broken Heart of America will forever change how we think about the United States.
City as Lens
A city history that opens onto the larger, rough-edged American story.
Come here for
- St. Louis as a lens on U.S. history
- urban history with civic muscle
Expect
- cultural literacy without the textbook fog
- sustained narrative with explanation built in
Where it sits
| Midwest History | 88% |
|---|---|
| Black History | 39% |
| Urban Life | 25% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Economic History
- 19th-Century America
- 20th-Century America
- Midwest History
Show all 5 publisher categories
- Black History
- Authors
- Walter Johnson
- Publisher
- Basic Books
- Published
- July 6, 2021
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Economic History