American cities are constantly being built and rebuilt; resulting in ever-changing skylines and neighborhoods. While the dynamic urban landscapes of New York; Boston; and Chicago have been widely studied; there is much to be gleaned from west coast cities; especially in California; where the migration boom at the end of the nineteenth century permanently changed the urban fabric of these newly diverse; plural metropolises.In A City for Children; Marta Gutman focuses on the use and adaptive reuse of everyday buildings in Oakland; California; to make the city a better place for children. She introduces us to the women who were determined to mitigate the burdens placed on working-class families by an indifferent industrial capitalist economy. Often without the financial means to build from scratch; women did not tend to conceive of urban land as a blank slate to be wiped clean for development. Instead; Gutman shows how; over and over; women turned private houses in Oakland into orphanages; kindergartens; settlement houses; and day care centers; and in the process built the charitable landscape—a network of places that was critical for the betterment of children; families; and public life. The industrial landscape of Oakland; riddled with the effects of social inequalities and racial prejudices; is not a neutral backdrop in Gutman’s story but an active player. Spanning one hundred years of history; A City for Children provides a compelling model for building urban institutions and demonstrates that children; women; charity; and incremental construction; renovations; alterations; additions; and repurposed structures are central to the understanding of modern cities.
#2199423 in eBooks 2014-08-18 2014-08-18File Name: B00NB5FLI2
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Professors and PoetsBy A CustomerThis is an edited collection of essays (and a poem) put together by Neil Corcoran of St Andrews University in Scotland where Dylan was given an honorary doctorate in mid June; preceded by an oration by Corcoran. The last time he accepted a doctorate was in 1970 at Princeton. This is one of a growing number of books by academics taking Dylan seriously; and not just obsessed with facts about his life. Recently we have had Stephen Scobies Alias Bob Dylan; Christopehr Ricks; Dylans Visions of Sin; David Bouchers Dylan and Cohen: Poets of Rock and Roll;; and shortly an edited collection by Boucher and Gary Browning entitled; The Political Art of Bob Dylan. The introduction emphasises Dylans own anti-intellectualism and his negative attitude to critics and academics. The book includes discussions of familiar and unfamiliar themes. Of the former Christopher Butler elegantly argues that there is a close relation between the lyrics and the music; the music commanding attention to the words. Generally speaking the essays are rather equivocal on the question of whether Dylan is a poet. Indeed; the editor tells us that Dylan cannot without reserve be viewed as a poet. Simon Armitage argues that literary criticism is not the right tool for analysing song lyrics; but this does not deter other contributors; such as Mark Ford; from ignoring the point. Ford; like Gray and Ricks; deal with Dylan in a similar fashion; that is seizing upon allusions and co-incidences that remind them of other poems or poets. He argues; for example; In the contexts of the myth of America; the addressee of Like a Rolling Stone really should have it made: having nothing to lose is what links; say Melvilles Ishmael and Hawthornes Pearl; Twains Huckleberry Finn and Coopers Natty Bumppo...(This approach is criticised by Boucher in his Dylan and Cohen alonf the lines of what more do we know about a particular poem by telling readers that similar lines are to be found elsewhere!). The collection is a good and varied read and I recommend it to all Dylan fans interested in more than finding out new facts.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Emerging Unscathed from Academic contaminationBy R. J MOSSA friend; who predates my relationship with Dylans work by a mere three years and consequently knows its enduring depth;gifted this to me when it emerged in 2002. Keep in mind that Dylan says it best when reading these various responses. Check the books title to glean Corcorans own suspicion of academia. His own essay on The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrollis one of the best things in the volume; and if; like me; you are overwhelmed by its power; youll find pleasure in the essayists spin on it.This is a highly entertaining and extending set of interpretations which Im sure would beguile the muse in camera.The width of his career is essayed; from dandyish gravity days to old man weary guile. Roland Barthes language lined with flesh...text where we can hear the grain of the throat; the patina of consonants; the voluptuousness of vowells; a whole carnal sterephony remains an apt description of the Dylan phenomena. This is a book which will youll want to read over and again.
