I was first attracted to this book by the title and decided it was finally time to read it after many years on my to-read list. It is basically the story of Atlanta woven through the lives of two prominent families, the Dobbs and the Allens. It's a lengthy read and the first 100 pages or so were slow-going for me as the family trees from the Civil War period to the 1920's were detailed.

I enjoyed it very much as it was interesting to read about the history of Atlanta and what part each family played in the development of the city. I've only flown through Atlanta once so really knew very little about the city but Peachtree and Auburn were basically the dividing lines between the white and black communities. The families of Ivan Allen, Sr. (white) and John Wesley Dobbs (black) were both led by dominant patriarchs and contributed much to the political, financial and educational history of Atlanta.

Mr. Pomerantz did a lot of research and has written a very historical, entertaining book. I even looked him up to see his background as it related to the book. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy books on history.