Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Reading this book, I can really hear the voice of outspoken "Off the Chain" commentator and reported for the local Fox affiliate. He chronicles the decline of Detroit from graft and corruption, especially the Kilpatrick/Conyers era. Also, his own disappointment with news journalism and leaving it after success in Detroit and New York. Interestingly, LeDuff doesn't seem to think the Tamara "Strawberry" Greene killing had anything to do with the former Hip Hop Mayor, unlike other works like [b:Strawberry: How an exotic dancer toppled Detroit's hip-hop mayor|13003661|Strawberry How an exotic dancer toppled Detroit's hip-hop mayor|Carol Teegardin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320365429s/13003661.jpg|18164793]. LeDuff suggests she was the unfortunate victim of a hit on her drug-dealing boyfriend, also in the vehicle at the time. I am grateful to LeDuff for delivering the back story on the body found frozen in an elevator shaft as well as the family that of the young girl killed during a botched cop entry and filming of 'The First 48'. LeDuff also goes to task for aggrieved cops and firemen as well as casting a bit of light on the radical Shrine of the Black Madonna and Nation of Islam in Detroit. However, LeDuff puts too much of himself in the story: we learn what we was wearing or not wearing when he took a call, when he loses his cool, and about how nice his boots are. Far from the the gonzo of HST, this comes across as pointless ego-tripping and gets in the way of his own journalism.
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