Preface to the Third Edition | ix
Foreword by Nilka Martell | xv
Introduction: Do Not Give Way to Evil | 3
1. “It Is a Veritable Paradise,” 1639–1900 | 11
2. The First Boom, 1900–1922 | 27
3. Boss Flynn, 1922 | 41
4. “The Bronx Is a Great City,” 1923–1929 | 51
5. “Hard Hit by the Depression,” 1929–1932 | 65
6. The New Deal Years, 1933–1939 | 78
7. War Fever, 1939–1945 | 85
8. The Diaspora after the War, 1946–1953 | 91
9. “There Was No Standing Still,” 1952–1953 | 105
10. “Moses Thinks He’s God,” 1954–1959 | 117
11. The New Boss, 1959–1963 | 127
12. “Horse Was the New Thing,” 1960 | 137
13. The New “Other Half,” 1962–1966 | 144
14. The Pondiac’s Last Hurrah, 1961–1967 | 153
15. The Puerto Rican and the Priest, 1962–1967 | 164
16. Mau-mauing the City, 1967 | 175
17. Who Will Be Caudillo?, 1968–1969 | 182
18. “The Whole Place Was Caving In,” 1969–1970 | 199
19. Interlude: Sweet Days on Charlotte Street, 1925–1951 | 205
20. Charlotte Street: It Was Not a “Good” Neighborhood, 1951–1961 | 219
21. Charlotte Street: “What a Madhouse It Was,” 1961–1968 | 225
22. Charlotte Street: The Fires, 1969–1973 | 231
23. Charlotte Street: The Gangs, 1970–1975 | 236
24. Charlotte Street: The Collapse, 1973–1975 | 249
25. The Grand Concourse, 1965–1969 | 268
26. The Hotel and the Concourse, 1969–1976 | 281
27. Roosevelt Gardens, 1974–1975 | 288
28. The Grass Roots, 1974–1977 | 300
29. The President’s Magic Visit, 1977–1978 | 311
30. Disenchantment, 1979–1980 | 324
31. Charlotte Street and National Politics, 1980 | 333
32. “The Next Part of the South Bronx,” 1972–1978 | 345
33. “We’re Still Here,” 1978–1982 | 363
34. White Picket Fences, 1984 | 376
35. “South Bronx Rising,” 1985–2002 | 389
36. Still the Poorest Urban Congressional
District in America, 2003–Mid-March 2020 | 441
Covid Afterword | 515
Acknowledgments for the Third Edition | 547
Notes | 551
Bibliography | 569
Third Edition Bibliography | 579
Index | 581