Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City, 1946-1996 (review)

110Southeastern Geographer 2.A record ofexcellence in teaching and advising as evidenced by teaching awards, students advised, and other appropriate measures . 3.A record of service contributions to the individual's educational institution in the form ofadministrative positions, committee work, and community contact. 4.A record of support to the geography profession whether through formal service to international, national, or regional organizations or informal work in the public domain. CAPSULE REVIEW Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City, 1946 - 1996. Frederick Allen. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. ? and 289 pp., photographs, bibliography , endnotes, and index. $20.00 hardback (ISBN 1-56352-296-9). This book, written in an informal and highly readable style, traces the rise of Atlanta from its political turmoil, economic distress, and racial violence of 1 946 to its role as host of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Organized into 10 chapters and presented chronologically, Allen's book weaves the story of Atlanta around the personalities of civic and moral leaders, political visionaries and demagogues, corporate magnates, and Ku Klux Klan zealots. Although viewing Atlanta's 50-year transformation as largely the result of political and social forces, the author does recognize implicitly and sometimes explicitly the place of Atlanta in the geography ofthe region, the country, and, in 1996, the world. Over 80 historic and poignant photographs add authenticity to the Atlanta narrative, as do well-placed pithy quotes and acrid anecdotes. The word "invention" in the subtitle reveals the book's emphasis on the importance of boosterism, political maneuvering by powerful people, financial gambling by developers and architects , and finally the forceful selling of Atlanta as a global city suitable for entertaining "the largest peacetime gathering" of humanity in world history—the 100year anniversary ofthe modern Olympic Games. Although the book is journalistic in scope and purpose, it will appeal to academics for its often surprising insights, its little-known facts, its clear organization, and its graceful and engaging prose. Dr. Wheeler is the Merle Prunty, Jr., Professor ofGeography at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2502. ...