Scott Martelle's new book, "Detroit: A Biography"  Mar 30, 2012
Scott Martelle is a journalist and author. His new book Detroit:
A Biography chronicles the history of the city from the 17oo's
to the present day. He was also a former staff writer for the
Los Angeles Times and the Detroit News.  Martelle believes there
was a point in history when Detroit had an opportunity to
diversify its manufacturing.  “Just after World War II when the
auto industry was retooling from war footing from making tank
and armaments back to making motor vehicles, they really had a
chance then to change the industrial fabric of Detroit. So they
missed a crucial opportunity then.”  Martelle also points to the
1949 mayoral race between Albert Cobo and George Edwards as a
major turning point. "And even though Detroit at that time was a
democratic city, and the UAW was hugely popular, he lost that
election primarily because of race issues, white Detroit just
did not want to de-segregate.”  How important has race been to
Detroit’s deve