Cleveland: A Concise History, 1796-1996 (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

Finally, a thoroughly researched and accurate portrayal of Cleveland from its discovery and settlement to its rise throughout various stages (hamlet/village, town, city, etc) of its interesting history. They did a fantastic job at dividing the cities past using various eras that summed up the years and decades quite well. Broken into 4 distinct parts, these chapters each cover a specific period up amazingly well while keeping it fun and entertaining. I grew up in south central Ohio until moving to Cleveland 7 months ago and upon arriving here i came across this book on Amazon and decided to order a copy to learn more about the area. I was shocked at how little I knew Cleveland and how important this city was. Being born and raised in Ohio and only 3 hours away — I never realized the power it held through most of the last century, the population growth it achieved midway through the 20th century (swelling to nearly 1 million people living WITHIN the core city; 914,808 to be exact in 1950. The city was the place of many firsts, a heavyweight for many thoughts and ideas that helped shape American government and politics in many ways, a thriving scene for early abolitionists, a center-place for many liberal ideas basically from its conception, and I can even say that this city is one of the earliest major cities of America that helped advance this country into a global empire. This is one of the classic elite cities of early America that stand right alongside Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Buffalo, Baltimore, Chicago and only a few others. It was a city that once experienced fast and continuous growth, a home to earlier elites and heavyweights of business, oil, industry, and even entertainment. In the days before Hollywood came to dominate the film industry in America, Cleveland had its own film studio! At that time, Cleveland was one of only a few cities in the USA that had a motion picture industry of its own. The others being NYC-NJ, Chicago, and Southern California.As the book proceeds towards the latter half —The exciting growth it achieved and then the crash, decline, and exodus that followed and the overall strength it’s endured up to this day is one that is very gripping to read about.How it’s been able to hang through some of the roughest periods and overcome the endless challenges and still come out the other end is one that brings so much respect and admiration to the city and its people.Living in Cleveland, the one thing I noticed first about the people of Cleveland is how much they love their city. It’s almost like a love-hate relationship. But it’s an overall happiness and strength that defines it all. This book did a fabulous job at capturing these attitudes and reality.The book originally ended right before the 1990s and left with the period of 1980-1989 with “Comeback City?”However, a second edition is available which completes Cleveland’s bicentennial and extends to 1996 (“The New American City”). I recommend getting this edition as it does a fantastic job of describing a more modern Cleveland. This chapter is a great look into who Cleveland is today even in 2021 and the same problems still facing us as a city. We have yet to really tackle the same core problems that existed in 1996 described in this chapter.The book is exciting for anyone who loves history, lives in or around the Cleveland metro, or anyone that enjoys reading a fascinating story covering various times and topics about the modern American city.Get a copy!!Edit: And I really hope another addition is released soon that adds another chapter or two -covering the rest of the 1990s and the turn of the century. The 2000s was another difficult decade for the city (nearly mimicking the 1970s) in population loss come the 2010 census. However, the re-emerging downtown area and the growth and expansion it’s experiencing over the last decade has been tremendous! The 2020 census showed continuing population decline but it slowed way down from decades prior. The downtown neighborhood grew though and added people and has many high rise apartments coming up and many more in planning stages. A new mayor has taken office and Clevelander’s seem to be very hopeful and optimistic. I would love to see the last 30 years covered as an extended chapter or two.

Though "concise" the book is an easy read and seems to hit on the highlights and important parts of Cleveland's storied history. It seems to be presented in a fair and unbiased way.

Had to order this for school. It's a very interesting book. There is so much in here I had no idea happened in Cleveland. Very detailed.

Concise indeed! Read a library copy and decided I had to have it at the house.

I bought this for school, the book met the item description, happy with this purchase.

Gave as a gift to my father-in-law. He loves it.

a must have!

I received the wrong item