Order the updated paperback edition of Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City

The revised and updated paperback edition of Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City is available now at Amazon and other booksellers. Or order directly from the University of California Press here and get a 30% discount. Just use coupon code 17M6662 at checkout.

PRAISE FOR TEARDOWN

“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

“A poignant, often funny look at an iconic Rust Belt city struggling to recover.”
– VANESSA BUSH, BOOKLIST

“Young shines a spotlight on a broken city and the efforts of those desperate to save it, but this is also the story of a man confronting a crisis of identity and finding hope where there seemed to be none.”
– PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Armed with an aluminum baseball bat and a truth-seeking pen, Gordon Young returns to the post-industrial wasteland of his hometown — Vehicle City, aka Flint, Michigan — in search of a derelict house to buy and restore. At least that's his cover story. Young's true mission is to reclaim his past in order to make sense of his present. If you're bewitched by the place where you grew up, you'll find comfort and a sense of home in the pages of Teardown.”
– JACK SHAFER, POLITICO

Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City by Gordon Young

Now Available for Pre-Order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones in Great Britain, and Indigo.

Praise for Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City by Gordon Young

"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 

"There must be a thousand good reasons to flee Flint. I can't assume there are many reasons to return. Gordon Young's Teardown supplies a few of these answers. A humorous, heartfelt and often haunting tale of a town not many could love. Fortunately for us, a few still do."

— Ben Hamper, author of Rivethead: Tales From the Assembly Line

“Teardown is the tragic and somehow hilarious tale of one man's attempt to return to his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Gordon Young is a Flintoid at heart, and his candid observations about both the shrinking city and his own economic woes read heartbreakingly true.”

— Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer

“Armed with an aluminum baseball bat and a truth-seeking pen, Gordon Young returns to the post-industrial wasteland of his hometown — Vehicle City, aka Flint, Michigan — in search of a derelict house to buy and restore. At least that's his cover story. Young's true mission is to reclaim his past in order to make sense of his present. If you're bewitched by the place where you grew up, you'll find comfort and a sense of home in the pages of Teardown.

— Jack Shafer, Reuters columnist and a former Michigander

“Like so many other Flintites, I visit my hometown with a mix of sadness, repugnance, and anger. Flint is too easy to criticize, but I look back in gratitude for the values Flint instilled and the bonds I made that remain with me to this day. You can take the boy out of Flint, but you can’t take Flint out of the boy.”

— Howard Bragman, author of Where’s My Fifteen Minutes?

“Teardown is a funny and ultimately heartbreaking memoir. The travails of house hunting are skillfully interwoven with Gordon Young’s attempt to reconcile life in his adopted city of San Francisco with his allegiance to Flint, Michigan, the troubled city of his childhood. The result is an all too contemporary American story of loyalty, loss, and finding your way home.”

— Tom Pohrt, artist and author of Careless Rambles by John Clare, Having a Wonderful Time, and Coyote Goes Walking.

For more information, including excerpts, photos, and events, visit www.teardownbook.com.

Flint Water Crisis: Crime and Sin

"As truckload after truckload of bottled water pours in; after the National Guard goes door-to-door; after Cher and Pearl Jam do their part; after Michael Moore tells it like it is to Larry O’Donnell; after thousands of parents take their kids in for lead testing; after Rachel Maddow and her crew pull up their equipment; after plumbers estimate and politicians fulminate, we still are left with one gigantic mess, and at the heart of it is a grave crime and sin."
— Jan Worth-Nelson, East Village Magazine

Read the rest here.

Flint Water Crisis: What Took You So Long?

"The national media, along with various activists and celebrities, are suddenly obsessed with my beleaguered hometown of Flint, Michigan, after it emerged that state officials ignored clear signs of lead poisoning in the city’s water supply. Rachel Maddow is outraged. Erin Brockovich is on the case. Jesse Jackson is there to offer spiritual guidance. Cher—yes, Cher—called Michigan’s Republican Gov. Rick Snyder a “murderer” on Twitter for his alleged crimes against the former factory town that Michael Moore put on the map with Roger & Me.

"I don’t blame them and the rest of the country for being angry. I’m angry, too. Who wouldn’t be? But I have to ask: What took you so long?"

Read the rest here in Politico Magazine.

Flint Artifacts: Flint Voice Press Card

Doug Sanders, who just might have shorter hair now, provided this gem.

"Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City" West Coast Launch Party at Badger Books in San Francisco

Saturday, July 27, 2013
3:00-5:00pm

West Coast Launch Party

Badger Books
401 Cortland Ave.
San Francisco, California

Check out Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, the book Michael Moore calls "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." Meet author Gordon Young. Have a drink. Support Badger Books. Explore Bernal Heights. Open to the public. Books available for purchase and signing.

Michael Moore, Capitalism, and Tax Incentives

How much money did Michael Moore get in tax incentives from the State of Michigan to make Capitalism: A Love Story?

$841,145.27, according to Louise Story of The New York Times:

Hollywood may make movies about the evils of capitalism, but it rarely works without incentives, which are paid for by taxpayers. Nationwide, about $1.5 billion in tax breaks is awarded to the film industry each year, according to a state-by-state survey by The New York Times.

Within two months, 24 movies had signed up to film in Michigan — up from two the entire year before. The productions estimated that they would spend $195 million filming there, and in return they would be refunded about $70 million in cash.

Before long, residents were rushing out on their lunch breaks to catch a glimpse of celebrities like Drew Barrymore, who was filming her movie “Whip It” in Ann Arbor, and Clint Eastwood, who was shooting “Gran Torino” in the Detroit area. Even Michael Moore, who was filming a movie about corporate welfare called “Capitalism: A Love Story,” sought and received incentives.

Darth Vader Versus Michael Moore

Michael Moore and Oliver Stone Defend Julian Assange

Michael Moore and Oliver Stone team up in today in a New York Times editorial to defend WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. They write:

Since WikiLeaks’ founding, it has revealed the “Collateral Murder” footage that shows the seemingly indiscriminate killing of Baghdad civilians by a United States Apache attack helicopter; further fine-grained detail about the true face of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; United States collusion with Yemen’s dictatorship to conceal our responsibility for bombing strikes there; the Obama administration’s pressure on other nations not to prosecute Bush-era officials for torture; and much more. 

Predictably, the response from those who would prefer that Americans remain in the dark has been ferocious. Top elected leaders from both parties have called Mr. Assange a “high-tech terrorist.” And Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who leads the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has demanded that he be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Most Americans, Britons and Swedes are unaware that Sweden has not formally charged Mr. Assange with any crime. Rather, it has issued a warrant for his arrest to question him about allegations of sexual assault in 2010.

Slim Chiply Lives: You Know You're From Flint if...

This happens to be the most popular post in the history of Flint Expatriates, originally published March 19, 2008. I got the list via email from a friend after it had been passed on by more than a dozen people. I later found out that Flint Expatriate Rich Frost, who has contributed mightily to this blog, originally penned #1-#40. He mailed the list to about fifteen friends and before long it was all over the internet. So it's about time that Rich got some credit. Be sure to check out Rich's rapidly expanding list, as well as numerous posts about Flint, on his What the Hell blog. And take a look at the comment section for this post, where there are dozens of additions to the list. 

Here's the original post:

There are tons of “You’re from Flint if…” lists floating around the internet, but this one seemed remarkably well-researched. Feel free to add to the list in the Comment section.

1. You remember attending a “Battle of the Bands” at 60-Second Pizza on Clio Road.
2. You remember that the jocks on WTAC were “The Good Guys” and WTRX was “The Home of the Jones Boys.”
3. You can remember those Sunday afternoon free concerts at Wilson Park — where not only could you enjoy the music — but there was the smell of baking bread at the Taystee bakery not too far away from the park.
4. You can remember when Channel 12 was the home for “Rae Dean and Friends” and “Mr.Magic” for the kids and “Michigan Polka Party” and “The Connie Dycus Show” for adults.
5. You can remember seeing “Viva Las Vegas” at the Capital Theater, “A Hard Day’s Night” at the Palace Theater and “Deep Throat” at the Royal Theater.
6. You can remember getting your first license at Safetyville .
7. You can remember going to Kearsley Park to go swimming and for the 4th of July fireworks.
8. Your first savings account was at Citizens Bank and you started that account with the booklet that Citizens Bank gave kids to save their dimes in.
9. You can remember going to Cook’s Drug Store for a ten cent Chocolate Coke or Cherry Phosphate.
10. You signed petitions against the antiballistic missile and the Vietnam War at Peace Watch on Kearsley Street.
11. You can remember the cement Indian at the Trading Post on Franklin Street and Utah.
12. You can remember the sign on the Miller Road Dairy on Corunna Road that read: “You can’t beat our milk, but you can whip our cream.”
13. You can remember going to the Friday night movies at U of M and having to tolerate Michael Moore’s speeches before the flicks.
14. You can remember “The Freedom Reader” (the alternative newspaper before Michael Moores Flint Voice).
15. You remember that man who worked the cash register at Halo Burger on Harrison Street shouting out your change as “one hundred and one dollars” when it was only $1.01.
16. You remember such places as “The Beaver Trap” and “Titty City,” but never knew anyone who went in those places.
17. Everyone knew someone who said that Bob Seger owned that big house in Grand Blanc and that they saw him there.
18. You can remember as a kid playing with the white light electric eye that opened the doors at the A&P store on Dort Hwy.
19. You knew that if you couldn”t find what you were looking for at Yankee”s then you could find what you wanted at Arlen’s.
20. You remember watching “Sesame Street” on Channel 12 because Flint didn’t have a public television station.
21. You picked up the latest paperback, magazine or newspaper at Readmore on Saginaw Street.
22. You remember getting your hair cut at the Barber College when it was near the tracks in downtown Flint. Or at Johnny’s Barber Shop on Lewis Street.
23. One of the ways that you knew it was January was when the Shrine Circus came to IMA Auditorium (not the sports arena).
24. The only bologna and hot dogs in your house had the Koegel label on them.
25. You didn”t associate “The Colonel’s” with Kentucky Fried Chicken or “The Varsity” with any school.
26. Your family didn”t eat Thanksgiving dinner until everyone got back from the Northern/Central game at Atwood Stadium.
27. There was nothing that could compare to a King Arthur pasty.
28. You can remember one or two items that you purchased at the Touch Boutique.
29. The Juvenile home was known as “The Pasadena Playhouse”.
30. The only place to go for ribs and sweet potato pie was Bob and Ethel’s Rib Crib.
31. Weekend television on Channel 12 meant watching monster movies on “Creature Features” and scary movies with “Christopher Coffin.”
32. Your generation’s “Krispy Kreme” went by the name of “Dawn Donuts.”
33. You avoided driving during certain hours of the day because of “shop traffic.”
34. If you lived on the Eastside, you went to Aunt Nina’s for a hamburger and a shake.
35. You remember Wild Bill’s before it became L-L-T.
36. Halo Burger is and was the only place where you could order a cream ale with your burger and fries.
37. The best fish n’ chips in town were at Third Avenue Fish n’ Chips.
38. The two most trusted sources for weather were either the Citizens Bank weather ball or Channel 12’s John McMurray.
39. You can remember a Hire’s Root Beer Float (bottled by Buckler Beverage on Lapeer Road) or a ice cold bottle of M&S Red Pop or Orange Soda.
40. You remember the Paramount Potato Chip Slim Chiply jingle. ("I'm Slim Chiply, the guy you see on the Paramount Potato Chips bright red pack. I'm the flavor deputy, protecting crispness in every pack. They're delicious, and so nutritious, yes sir'ee, they're pips, Paramount Potato chips.")
41. You remember late night trips to Freddie’s Donuts.
42. You remember Dan, Dan the Vegetable Man.

Michael Moore: Here Comes Trouble

The New York Times weighs in on Michael Moore's new book, Here Comes Trouble: Stories From My Life:

To remark that “Here Comes Trouble” is by far Mr. Moore’s best book isn’t extravagant praise. He’s more concise as a documentarian; like all of his books this one is shaggy and overfilled. It’s a cabbage rather than a rose, a tangy ring of bologna rather than a sirloin. Side effects may include heartburn.

Mr. Moore’s coming of age as a working-class malcontent is, however, something to behold. It’s the story of a big lunk who learns to yoke his big mouth to a sense of purpose. It persuades you to take Mr. Moore seriously, and it belongs on a shelf with memoirs by, and books about, nonconformists like Mother Jones, Abbie Hoffman, Phil Ochs, Rachel Carson, Harvey Pekar and even Thomas Paine. Mr. Moore — disheveled, cranky, attention seeking, too eager to pick a fight — is easy to satirize. But he could nearly get away with branding his camera with the words once scrawled on Woody Guthrie’s guitar: This machine kills fascists.

Michael Moore Tweets about Osama bin Laden

A collection of tweets from Michael Moore following the death of Osama bin laden:

"The monster we created-yes, WE-in the 1980s by ARMING, FUNDING, &TRAINING him in the art of terror agnst the USSR, finally had 2 b put down"

"10 years, 2 wars, 919,967 deaths, and $1,188,263,000,000 later, we managed to kill one person. (Next time START w/ the Seals 1st)"

"Now that bin Laden's dead, can we put shampoo in our carry on? Can I keep my shoes on? Can we bring all the troops home?"

"Which reporter has the courage to say it? 'American-armed terrorist from the 80s, Osama bin Laden, was killed earlier today by America.'"

"OBL buried at sea according 2 Muslim tradition. Yes most Muslim funerals I've attended, we got in a chopper & tossed the deceased in L. Erie"

"Beloved character actor Osama bin Laden, star of TV's "Fox News", dies age 54"

"From the Book of Ezekiel: "As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people" - Ezekiel 33:11"

"He may be dead, but in a way, he won. We gave up our rights. We passed a PatriotAct. We spent trillions on needless wars. Fear now rules us."

Greetings From Cleveland

A street cafe in Cleveland's latest hope for the future — the Warehouse District — on a beautiful fall day. This is my attempt to avoid being one of those out of towners who walks around taking photos of vacant buildings.

I'm in sunny Cleveland covering the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. It's a gathering of urban planners, advocacy groups, government officials and academics to discuss solutions to shrinking cities and economic decline. As you can imagine, it's a non-stop PAR-TAY! (That was a joke.)

Although I'm happy to see Flint's old Hyatt/convention center converted into student housing, I can't help thinking this is one conference that Flint could have landed, in addition to the Michigan Scrabble convention Michael Moore covered in Roger & Me.

I'll be here for three days, so urban planning wonks get ready for some of the posts you've been dreaming of. (Also a joke...sort of.)

The lobby of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, where I'm forced to blog because it has free WiFi and my hotel charges $3.95/15 minutes. I don't mind.

Questi Sono Tempi Duri

You may not realize that Flint Expatriates has a sizable Italian readership, including my friends Max and Carlo. To show them I care, here's a slice of Roger & Me with Italian subtitles.

More Moore

Michael Moore is returning to Flint on Sunday to hang out with Sit-Down Strikers and screen his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story.

Michael Moore and Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore on G.M.

For more details on Mike's plans for the automaker, go here.

Flint Artifacts: Helmac Lint Roller

Expatriate Shawn Chittle provided this rare artifact — a Flint-made Helmac lint roller used to promote Michael Moore's Roger & Me.

Shawn writes: "Most were confiscated by Canadian customs when the marketing staff tried to take them to Toronto, where the film premiered more than 20 years ago on Saturday, Sept 9 at 9 p.m. Only a few of those lint rollers ever saw the light of day. In 2000 the company relocated to Georgia, and shortly after changed its name.

Be Like Mike

Kevin Leffler's documentary, "Shooting Michael Moore," is finally being screened at a few commercial theaters, but he's still searching for a distributor. I don't think I'm spoiling the ending by revealing that Leffler dislikes Moore — I mean he really dislikes him. And, apparently, the infamous Rabbit Lady is no longer a fan of Mike either. Unfortunately, neither one is as funny or talented as the creator of "Roger & Me," and that translates into a less-than-compelling documentary. But I get the sense that if you hate Michael Moore, you'll love Leffler's work.

Michael Moore Looks Back

"If you go back and look, actually, at Roger and Me now, Flint, Michigan looks pretty good. Even though 30,000 jobs at that time had been eliminated, there were still 50,000 people working there. I think the last number I saw is that there’s somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 people working for General Motors in Flint now, so almost 40,000 jobs less in Flint since I made that film. So it’s—I just can’t tell you how distressing that is for me."

— Michael Moore in a recent interview