A City So Grand The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900

Once upon a time, "Boston Town" was a large and insulated New England township. But between 1850 and 1900, Boston underwent a metamorphosis to become a thriving metropolis, one that achieved national and international prominence in politics, medicine, education, science, social activism, literature, commerce, and transportation.Long before the frustrations of our modern era, in which the notion of accomplishing great things often appears overwhelming or even impossible, Boston distinguished itself in the last half of the nineteenth century by proving it could tackle and overcome the most arduous of challenges and obstacles with repeatedand often resoundingsuccess, becoming a city with vision, daring, and an almost indomitable will to succeed.InA City So Grand,Stephen Puleo chronicles this breathtaking period in Boston's history for the first time, in his trademark page-turning style. Readers experience the abolitionist movement of the 1850s, the thirty-five-year engineering and city-planning feat of the Back Bay project, the Great Fire of 1872 and the subsequent rebuilding of downtown, and the many contributions Boston made to shaping transportation, including the Great Railroad Jubilee of 1851 and the grand opening of America's first subway. These stories and many more paint an extraordinary portrait of a half-century of progress, leadership, and influence that redefined Boston as a world-class city.

Stephen Puleo is the author of the Boston Globe best seller The Boston Italians and of the critically acclaimed Boston-area best seller Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 19l9. A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor to American History magazine, he holds a master's degree in history and teaches at Suffolk University. He and his wife, Kate, live in the Boston area.