“No period in Boston's history was more dynamic” than the second half of the 19th century, writes Puleo (The Boston Italians
) in this smoothly narrated account of that time and place. Through the determination of the abolitionists, the empire-building of the city's merchants, the dogged endurance of the impoverished Irish immigrants, the city was propelled into ever greater significance. All segments of Boston society rallied to the Union during the Civil War, and the story of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment and the defense of Washington, D.C., is particularly dramatic. Boston became the hub of the nation's railway system, turned the stagnant waters of the Back Bay into a prosperous residential center, and built the first American subway. After the Civil War, thousands of new immigrants, most especially the Italians, arrived to become a vibrant part of the urban community, and despite tensions and disasters, Boston emerged as one of the world's leading cities. In such a thorough history, however, there is little description of the role played by African-Americans beyond the 1860s. 12 b&w photos. (May)
