Saturday, September 30, 2017

Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City by Gordon Young

Books about Flint Michigan

"One can read Teardown and go 'My, my, my! What a horrid town! Thank God I don't live there!' Oh, but you do. Just as the 'Roger & Me Flint' of the 1980s was the precursor to a wave of downsizing that eventually hit every American community, Gordon Young's Flint of 2013, as so profoundly depicted in this book, is your latest warning of what's in store for you — all of you, no matter where you live — in the next decade. The only difference between your town and Flint is that the Grim Reaper just likes to visit us first. It's all here in Teardown, a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once great American city."
— Michael Moore, filmmaker, author, activist

Purchase Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City here.


7 comments:

  1. The only difference between your town and Flint is that the Grim Reaper just likes to visit us first. It's all here in Teardown find this

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    1. I think this doesn't really sink in for a lot of people because Flint's problems can seem so outsized, especially the water crisis. But the fundamental problems that have undermined Flint are present in so many other places.

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  2. Just saw "Where to Invade Next" yesterday. Sadness crept over me...sort of like the sadness in Teardown, the sadness at the end of Demolition Means Progress. Michael Moore hit it right, though -- great reflection on your book, Gordie.

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    1. Jan, I'm been planning to go see it. One thing a friend who saw it said was that many of the things pointed out in the film would actually be relatively easy to implement in the U.S. if there was the will to do it. But given the current political situation, none of them will be implemented. Depressing.

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    2. Pray for the people of Fort McMurray. Their situation makes Flint's problems look small by comparison.

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    3. False EquivalencyMay 14, 2016 at 1:32 PM

      Don't try to minimize Flint's problems. The problems are very different, but the scale is comparable.

      Yes, 20% of Fort McMurray has been destroyed and my heart goes out to those people, but when they return they will have jobs, water, and a low crime rate. Many residents of Flint don't have jobs or truly safe water. Crime is a constant fear. Furthermore, much more than 20% of Flint have been leveled in a slow-motion disaster that largely went unnoticed or ignored by the media, politicians, business, and most of the U.S. for more than 30 years until the water crisis hit.

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  3. Bill Ballenger and other educated people had it right, but were shouted down. At the very least, the "water crisis" has been overblown. After election year politics has been exploited all it can be, Flint will again be forgotten for another two to four years. http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262865/fixing-flint-tough-love-daniel-greenfield

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.