New Book -Detroit '67 - year of the riots and Motown

A new book regarding the year 1967 and the Detroit riots, Motown and much more...should be great!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Detroit-67-Y...rds=detroit+67

bump

surprised nobody seems interested in Motown and Detroit in the year 1967

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Originally Posted by snakepit

A new book regarding the year 1967 and the Detroit riots, Motown and much more...should be great!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Detroit-67-Y...rds=detroit+67

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Thanks for the link; the book is now on my wish list. Seems like it will be a great read. Have you read it yet? And is it originally published in the UK? Amazon USA lists a 3/31/15 publication date.

Robert
initially UK I think but some confusion regarding dates. Some have already got a copy by all accounts...Kindle as well.
31 /3/15 is the date quoted so it pays to keep trying.
I've not got my copy yet...working on it

One of the not so good memories from my childhood, but I may still get the book.

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Originally Posted by snakepit

bump

surprised nobody seems interested in Motown and Detroit in the year 1967

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Hi Snakepit:
I am not being snarky or nasty. I wonder if the perception is that the Riots have written or discussed sufficiently over the years. The question is, "Is there anything new to be learned". Are older people tired of hearing about or are younger people just not interested? As far as the riots are concerned, many folks lived through it and just want to forget it. As small kids we sat on our roof tops and watched the smoke and flames thinking it was coming our way. We had relatives who were burned out who had to live with us for a while. In fact my great grandmother who was an invalid had to be rescued by the fire department as her apt. was being looted and on fire. Looted and on fire at the same time, what a mess that was! She was being removed on a stretcher amid the the spray from the fire hoses. of course, there are a lot worse stories that were told. A Detroit police officer who told me that citizens were feeding them while they were protecting the neighborhoods. Once the smoke cleared so to speak we snuck on the bud to see the devastation.

But I agree with you that 1967 had a lot going on. From a sociological point of view, things were certainly changing!

Interested in hearing your thoughts? Were u living in Detroit at the time?

Thanks!

Is this available on download? Thanks!

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Originally Posted by detmotownguy

Hi Snakepit:
I am not being snarky or nasty. I wonder if the perception is that the Riots have written or discussed sufficiently over the years. The question is, "Is there anything new to be learned". Are older people tired of hearing about or are younger people just not interested? As far as the riots are concerned, many folks lived through it and just want to forget it. As small kids we sat on our roof tops and watched the smoke and flames thinking it was coming our way. We had relatives who were burned out who had to live with us for a while. In fact my great grandmother who was an invalid had to be rescued by the fire department as her apt. was being looted and on fire. Looted and on fire at the same time, what a mess that was! She was being removed on a stretcher amid the the spray from the fire hoses. of course, there are a lot worse stories that were told. A Detroit police officer who told me that citizens were feeding them while they were protecting the neighborhoods. Once the smoke cleared so to speak we snuck on the bud to see the devastation.

But I agree with you that 1967 had a lot going on. From a sociological point of view, things were certainly changing!

Interested in hearing your thoughts? Were u living in Detroit at the time?

Thanks!

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I don't know about the "nothing new to be learned theory"; our fellow posters rehash the same issues over and over [[and over ...)! Wigs and chart positions from 40+ years ago get more of a reaction here.

I found your personal remembrance touching and I understand your viewpoint, though. It must have been a very frightening time. Personally I am a fan of social history non-fiction so the book is a must-read for me.

RobertZ: "Wigs and Chart Positions"!!! HaHa!

DeMotownGuy: Seriously, it was a horrible time, and my heart goes out to you, any and all who had to live through that kind of devastation. The fact that your poor grandmother’s home was being looted while still burning is unthinkable. It’s easy to understand why Motown upped-and-moved away from the violence. It was an act of self-defense.

The book as far as I know is not primarily about the riots. It is the year 1967; taken on a month by month basis , with the changing scene at Motown, set against the year of 1967 and the Detroit landscape.
HDH, Supremes break up, Berry Gordy moving west etc.
Demotownguy, I am from the UK so have no personal knowledge of the riots and understand your feelings.
I have visited Detroit .
I'm sure the book will be worthwhile.

Any Detroiter has their own recollections of what went down during the 1967 riots. I was playing a gig downtown at Cobo Hall the night it all broke out, not realizing what was about to happen in a couple of hours as I drove up the Lodge Expressway past ground zero shortly after midnight. One recollection that stands out in my mind is being called and asked to put a band together to head over to the Michigan State Fairgrounds with my group The Strides to put on a show for the thousands of Federal troops from the 82nd Airborne being housed there. We did the show at the band shell and met many of the soldiers. Bob Hope did not show up lol...