Fontbonne University Archives

Did you know the first mobile phone was used in St. Louis? Or that a St. Louis businessman changed the course of war in the Pacific during World War II? Or that a St. Louisan ended the Cold War? After talking about St. Louis and its people every weekday for the past 25 years, Charlie Brennan has gathered the greatest and most incredible St. Louis stories in celebration of the city's 250th birthday.

Examines the causes and consequences of St. Louis's urban crisis, tracing the complicity of private real estate restrictions, local planning and zoning, and federal housing policies in the "white flight" of people and wealth from the central city. Gordon also addresses the inadequacy - and often sheer folly - of a generation of urban renewal, in which even programs and resources aimed at eradicating blight in the city ended up encouraging flight to the suburbs.

Using deeds, church records, court cases, and other primary sources, Winch reacquaints readers with this important book and establishes its place in the context of African American history. This annotated edition includes an introductory essay on African Americans in St. Louis before the Civil War, as well as an account of the lives of the author and the members of his remarkable family.