Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City

by Stefan Lorant

Book Overview

Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City follows Pittsburgh from its frontier beginnings through its evolution into the most heavily industrialized city in the world, to the city's renewal of itself as America's Most Livable City. This beautiful volume though, is much more than the story of a single city; it is the history of the United States. This book is based on years of research and includes contributions by such noted American historians as...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967410304
• ISBN13: 9780967410302
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Derrydale Press
• Length: 776 Pages
• Weight: 6.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 8.9" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

A Masterpiece

I'm not from Pittsburgh, but after reading this book I wish I was. This book is Lorant's gift to the American city he loved, and the book reads and browses like a long love letter. The illustration is simply astonishing. Not only are the photographs drawn from distinguished and interesting primary archives, the original drawings and paintings, commissioned specifically for this volume, are superb. Let's not forget the text. Henry Steele Commager wrote the introductory chapter about Pittsburgh's turbulent founding. Lorant wrote (most of) the rest. The best way to describe this book is as a chronological, narrative history with many well-placed illustrations. It is not a "coffee-table" picture book, nor is it a deeply-penetrating scholarly history of the city. It's written to be fun to read and popular, and it succeeds on both counts. Lorant reveals an obvious interest in the development of local elites and their philanthropic activities, and dedicates many a page to a Carnegie, Mellon, or Heinz. This book, like Pittsburgh itself, will pleasantly surprise you.

If You Were to Write a Love Letter to a City...

If you were to write a love letter to a city, what would it look like? Pretty much like this book, a history in prose and photographs that is a true delight. Lorant knows that most people from Pittsburgh love it. Most people who are born in Pittsburgh never leave it. Most people who live there for a time and then have to move on, come back to live there again. Why? The people. Attitudinally speaking, it is the last of the Eastern Cities meeting the first of the Midwestern Cities, so Pittsburghers combine the tradition, culture and energy of the former with the welcoming warmth and openness of the latter. Lorant captures it all, and more. If you haven't read this book, open it and you will find yourself reminded of people and places--and smile.

Pittsburgh is more than you think!

As a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh and author of an upcoming guidebook to the area, I believe Pittsburgh: Story of An American City is a wonderful book for more than Pittsburghers. This book lifts the lid on all our progressive city has to offer, it educates those who have outdated knowledge of Pittsburgh, and it makes a great gift book. If that's not enough, it provides an ideal history lesson for all as Western Pennsylvania has many historic sights to see as well as splendid architecture! After reading, you'll want to extend your next business trip to Pittsburgh, shop in more than our airport, and visit our family-friendly parks. Don't forget: Mister Rogers lives here! Your kids will love Idlewild Park, with the only life-size Neighborhood of Make-Believe.If you can't be our neighbor, come see us. You won't be disappointed!

A stunning narrative and photo essay of a renewed city

The latest edition of Pittsburgh is an expertly crafted and beautifully photographed continuation of the Lorant chronicle. Although Mr. Campbell finished the work after Mr. Lorant's death, the new chapter flows with the Lorant style. The edition uses an impressive array of photos to help tell the story and give a sense of the kind of people who have remained at the hard work of rebuilding an industrial city. Like the editions before, the work emphasizes the positive about the city and concentrates on physical renewal. Yet you come away thinking that whatever its problems, people working together can come up with a solution. People from the area will like this book but others who believe in the importance of cities will find it interesting and instructive.

A 'must-have' for any millennium book list.

We landed at Pittsburgh International Airport a little after dusk, impressed with how the runways appeared to grow out of the natural contours of the land. We joined the flowing rush hour traffic as the comfortable limousine sped in towards the city. Joe, our driver, talked enthusiastically about the change from steel city to high tech city, the history of an era that changed from black to white, but nothing was to prepare us for what was to follow. As we escaped through the Fort Pitt tunnel the night light panorama left us breathless-this surely is one of the new post-modern views of a post-industrial age. The purpose of our visit had everything to do with `The Book'; the style in which Pittsburgh's citizens would affectionately refer to Stefan Lorant's monumental opus Pittsburgh: the story of an American city. With an initial ten years in the making, first published in 1964 and revised in 1974, 1980 and 1988, Lorant was completing a fifth edition when he died in November 1997 just 100 days short of his 97th birthday. Twenty-five thousand copies of this new version, the `Millennium Edition' are now on the bookstalls due to the tenacity, talent and sheer hard work of Bruce and Gail Campbell who inherited the copyright. Lorant himself was tenacious, immensely talented, capable of recognising talent in others and certainly subscribed to the work ethic. It is intriguing to speculate why a Hungarian, a foreigner and stranger to the city could write such a volume, on the surface a notion to be easily dismissed but a reality that became spectacularly successful. Stefan Lorant was born in Budapest on February 22nd, 1901 and died in Rochester, Minnesota on November 14th, 1997 at 96-years-of-age. He was a witness to the century with his life spanning a period of political turmoil, war and social change. Lorant became a legend within his lifetime. His work as a visual and literary editor allowed him to pioneer and develop the genré of picture based journalism at a period in time which saw the emergence of modern mass communications. Internationally he became a guiding force, disseminating his ideas and political knowledge throughout Europe in the late-twenties and thirties by working in Germany, Hungary and England, eventually spreading his sphere of influence to America where he introduced the concept of the pictorial biography. His innovative layouts, his `exclusive' interviews and thirst for knowledge became a familiar part of millions of everyday lives, largely through the pages of his own creations, and in particular the legendary media icon Picture Post. His vision of photography as a documentary medium inspired Life and Look magazines in America, and paved the way for the eventual emergence of the television documentary. For this he became recognised as `the father of picture journalism'. Originally published in 1964, the first edition of Pittsburgh: the story of an American city is the mature Lorant at his mos