Philadelphia: A Narrative History, a book by Paul Kahan is a trove of knowledge about the city, but it spends all too much time focusing on its failures, writes D.G. Hart for The Wall Street Journal.
The book carries a tone of persistent scolding, while offering a relentless commentary on the city’s shortcomings.
The encyclopedic book does highlight some positives, although they are few and far between.
For example, during the colonial and founding periods, Philadelphia claimed Ben Franklin, the founder of the nation’s first volunteer fire company and hospital — among many other achievements. The city was also the place where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence.
While its later achievements were not as grandiose, Philadelphia’s Fairmount Water Works on the Schuylkill River, started in 1812, was the country’s best water system at the time and this attracted many tourists thanks to its Renaissance-inspired facilities.
Philly is also home to several successful products like William Breyer’s ice cream, and John Wanamaker’s department store, the first in the nation to use electricity and become the largest in the world.
While these details are included in the book, along with some more recent ones, Kahan still focuses primarily on the city’s record of bad government and a pattern of racism.
Read more about Philadelphia: A Narrative History and its historic imbalances in The Wall Street Journal.
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Historian Dr. Paul Kahan brings wit, family stories, and hard truths to the Phoenixville Public Library as he introduces his new book, Philadelphia: A Narrative History. In this talk, he explores how the city remembers the Revolution but often forgets the rest of its past, inviting viewers to rediscover Philadelphia through its spaces, conflicts, and diverse communities.
