Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga of Race and Family

by Gary M. Pomerantz and Gary M. Pomerantz

Book Overview

A fascinating tale of two cities told through the rise of two of Atlanta's most illustrious political families...highly significant in what it reveals about ambition, hard work, success, and race relations.--David Levering Lewis.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140265090
• ISBN13: 9780140265095
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 5.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Tapestry of Lives

I knew Atlanta in quite a different way. This book has opened my eyes to how the city became what it is today and gave me a wonderful historically accurate picture of the people who build the city. This should be a must-read for anybody connected with the city or anybody interested in how race relations affect the building of any city. I was thrilled when I recently drove thru Atlanta and saw an exit off of interstate 75 south for the "John Wesley Dobbs Ave." and felt like I was part of history too after connecting some things in my family with events in this beautifully written book. This book also gives me hope that all human beings can strive together to make the future of Atlanta even greater than the past. This book was good on so many levels and touched so many different issues: Historic, human, socioeconomics, I can't begin to describe how much I liked it with the poor words at my disposal. I can say READ IT!

Pomerantz captures the history and traditions of old Atlanta

I loved this book! I am an avid reader of southern history and eagerly awaited the publish date.It did not let me down. Gary Pomerantz breathes life into John Wesley Dobbs and Ivan Allen and their families. When I ran down Auburn Avenue with a group of friends last year I felt as if I had been there before. The book is more than a history of Atlanta, it is an in depth look at the people who have made this city what it is today. Mr. Pomerantz is a writer and story teller of amazing insight.The book reads like a great work of fiction. This is a must for any southern history fan or anyone loving a good read about Atlanta.

This author has true perception few could imitate.

Through words and comprehensions that push towards brilliance, Gary Pomerantz has written a history of civil rights in the South beyond compare to others of our generation. Every sentence shows his devotion and study of the subject, which is still unfolding as I write, on Peachtree Street. His years of interviewing and researching are evident on every single page of the thick text. This is the kind of book that you re-read the last few pages several times because you are sad to see the story end. You hope to find out the author has written a sequel! This book is for those of us wanting to learn more about the fall-out from slavery and black oppression in the South. It is the best comparison of blacks and whites ever written that truly speaks from both sides and gives the "human condition" of this subject its best reward - which is to explain the true story of where the individual's predjudices came from and how they were daily being conquered...or handed down, as the case may be. It is an essay on the evolution of a culture and it's victims. It does not always give credit to those the media attempted to credit. It gives credit to the deserving ones...politically correct or not. Some of Pomerantz's book re-writes history. You should read it.

An absolute must for anyone interested in Atlanta History

A top flight piece of journalistic work telling and combining the legends of both black an white Atlanta leadership.. The stories are told with great charm and dignity. ... a thoroughly exciting read.

Tremendous!! "Should be on your Required Reading" list.

I think this is one of great books of our time. If your are an Atlanta resident or one interested in the evolution of race and/or power, you should put this in your cart.The detail is incredible, yet it's not tedious and dull. An Atlanta resident, especially, would be interested in knowing how the city - and the region - got to the Olympics, why the city is developed as it is, etc. Why our Airport is named Hartsfield International; why Gone with the Wind was such a big thing; and exactly what role John Wesley Dobbs, Ivan Allen, Maynard Jackson, Sidney Marcus, Martin Luther King, the Woodruffs and Andy Young have had in the city.A MUST read!!