This is Michael Maxwell with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing by Ben Austen.
What comes to mind when you hear the name “Cabrini-Green”? Do you think about the Candyman movie that was set at the infamous public housing project and filmed on location? Do you remember Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moving into a Cabrini-Green apartment briefly during the 1980s for a publicity stunt? Perhaps you recall the tragic murder of Dantrell Davis by sniper fire outside of his school in 1992.
In High Risers, author Ben Austen addresses all of these instances and many more. What he presents in this book will give readers a more holistic portrait of Cabrini-Green, perhaps America’s most villainized public housing complex. Since the last of Cabrini-Green was demolished in the 2010s, Austen is able to tell this story from start to finish- showing readers moments of triumph and hope that have previously been overshadowed.
Anyone who likes to read page-turning historical non-fiction about city planning, 20th Century history, and/or civil rights will love reading High Risers. Sioux City has often been referred to as “Little Chicago” throughout its history, and many of the issues facing their community are analogous to issues our community has faced and continues to wrestle with. The first step to addressing these issues is to demythologize them, and High Risers brings the Cabrini-Green project out of the realm of horror movies and into its proper context.
Check out High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing by Ben Austen and other books about urban life at the Sioux City Public Library today!
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