A $500 House in Detroit

The city of Detroit has always been something that Michiganders avoid talking about. A crown jewel of the state, Detroit has now become a major sore spot for us. Once a major source of manufacturing for the automobile industry, The Motor City has not turned out anything else since then other than the rapper Eminem, who made himself famous off Detroit's gritty reputation. Whenever I would tell friends outside the state that I was from Michigan, I knew that they automatically thought of crime and poverty-stricken Detroit. As for myself personally, I considered Detroit to be a place I went to once every other year or so for the Detroit International Auto Show, and then never thought about again. I knew that the problems in Detroit were far beyond my control. Decades of corruption beginning in the 50's were things that I always felt that I could not solve, and Detroit's filing for bankruptcy in 2013 just cemented that notion.

The book “$500 House in Detroit” works to dispel the impression of the city that I had held in my mind for years. Through the author's experience renovating a house, he shows us the beauty of the city and the eccentric people who still choose to call it home. He also gives some background information on the politics of the city, but that is mostly for context on how the city got this way in the first place. This is not a history book, more a memoir with necessary background information. What struck me the most about the tale of the city from the author's perspective is how this problem could happen to any other city. It could easily happen to Chicago, or New York, or LA (and in some cases, even is happening) yet no one wants to say anything about it.

As both a Michigander and a graduate of the U of M (just like the author), I really enjoyed this book and what this young man decided to go through. He braved the poverty, the lack of job opportunities, and the danger inherent to a city that lacked basic security and safety infrastructure, to become someone who he could be proud of. He chose to see the beauty in a city where others only saw grim defeat. He saw a world he wanted to live in that others wanted to avoid at all costs. He also explains the irony associated with the Motor City's Renaissance, and how it is only helping a certain portion of the population, making you doubt the first major economic upswing the city is seeing in decades. Reading this book was an excellent experience, that challenged my notions about Detroit, both the good and the bad. This is one I will recommend this to all my friends. Read this book, you will not be disappointed. I give it a five out of five.