Book of the Week

Michigan-born author Zev Chafets investigated the racial complexities of pre-riot and post-riot Detroit in his 1990 book Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit. It was one of the few books about Detroit that I found to be worth reading even if Chafets leaned a bit much upon personal anecdotes in order to make a point sometimes.

Of course, in the wake of recent events, some might argue that Chafets tried a bit too hard to end his book on a happy note. But I know many Detroiters who would beg to differ.

Then again, one of the reasons I chose to buy this book back in 1990 was because the author name-dropped the name of a Detroit journalist to whom my favorite first cousin was then married so perhaps I'm not the most objective critic this book could have.