ARTS&LIFE BOOK REVIEW (Poison Toe Press: Ferndale, MI, 2024) A n outstanding professor I studied with thought that the teaching of history could be reduced to one salient lesson. When asked about a particular moment in time, as much as recalling the facts of important events and issues, could one of his students envision the way people lived at that time? What did they wear or eat? Where did they live, and how did they make a living? What were the sights and sounds of the era? The landscape? This professor would be proud of Don Levin’s latest work, The Ghosts of Detroit. This book is an excellent portrait of a moment of time and place, its sights, sounds and smells, as experienced by four central characters living in the Motor City in 1955. The Ghosts of Detroit is the third book in Levin’s excellent series of Detroit stories. The first, Savage City was set in the city in 1932; the second, The Arsenal of Deceit, in 1941. The Ghosts of Detroit leaps ahead another decade to the 1950s when Detroit was a city seemingly on top of the world. In 1955, Detroit was the fourth- largest city in America, prosperous and boasting nearly 2 million citi- zens. It was the center of automobile manufacturing, the nation’s and the world’s undisputed premier indus- try. Detroit was nicknamed the “ Arsenal of Democracy” for its role toward winning WWII, when the region produced about 25% of the heavy war material. Downtown was vibrant; the suburbs were growing. But, there was a dark undercurrent of social unrest. Levin’s work is akin to the Film Noir movies of the late-1940s and early-1950s, as he explores post-WWII Detroit. On one hand, the Allies had won the “Good War,” defeated despicable ene- mies, and soldiers, sailors, Coasties and Marines returned to a genuine heroes’ welcome. There was pent-up demand for consumer goods, and there was a “Baby Boom.” On the other, however, there were serious, long-standing social ills such as rac- ism, antisemitism and labor exploitation that were beginning to bubble up and over the so-called melting pot of Detroit and America. Using the effective literary formula from his previous Detroit volumes, Levin provides insights for readers as he follows four central, interconnect- ed fictional characters as they struggle with the contemporary political/social environment. In this case, Jewish Detroiter Jake Lieberman, a former artist for the Detroit News and soldier, who was one of the first to see liberated Nazi death camps and is still haunted by the experience; Malone Coleman, a Black worker who struggles with the racial tensions of the era, as well as with his suppressed desire to be an artist; Bridget McManus, a police officer with the Women’s Division of the Detroit Police Department, who faces overt sexism at every turn, and is also haunted by her past; and Anna Miller, a woman with huge potential as a photographer, eking out a living, while yearning for love. And there is a mystery. A serial killer is lurking. Levin tells their stories within a distinct histor- ical moment, often based upon real events. The “Communist Scare” was the dominant issue in mid-1950s America. The FBI, local civic authorities and Congress hunted high and low for suspected communists. Many are caught in this net, whether they are actually communists or not, often accused on mere associations from their past. It reminds one of the political and cultural divides of our modern times. Most impressive, in The Ghosts of Detroit, the author builds an exacting portrait of the Motor City in that era. Some of his venues and people are icons of the era: streetcars, factories, neigh- borhoods and Northland Mall; Walter Reuther, Coleman Young and Soupy Sales. Some icons are not commonplace but might be remembered by some. I did not know that the Hughes & Hatcher Men’s store at Northland Mall maintained monkeys in a cage! If that isn’t the 1950s, like chimpanzees on roller skates…. Although a work of fiction, as one reads this book, Detroit comes alive; more so perhaps, than any academic study of the city. All happens within solidly written prose that builds pace as it goes. Once Levin introduces his characters and sets the stage, the pace increases, and it becomes a bona fide page turner. The book does explore the dark-side, the noir-side, if you will, of the Motor City. There is, however, hope and redemption waiting for the reader. Writing good historical fiction is not easy but Levin does the job well. This is a good read, one that will enlighten any reader interested in all things Detroit, and those who just like a good story. Don Levin is a local Jewish author and former dean at Marygrove College. He was raised in Detroit, and has lived in Ferndale for the past 25 years and now works as a writer. The Ghosts of Detroit by Donald Levin 54 | DECEMBER 12 • 2024 J N Mike Smith Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair Don Levin Would you like to learn more? Join Mike Smith and Don Levin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, at Schuler Books on Orchard Lake for the inaugural Jewish News Book Club. See the ad in this JN for details of this free event. Mention the book club at Schuler Books for 20% off The Ghosts of Detroit.