About the Author

As a native of Detroit, Barbara Madgy Cohn has a passion for art, Detroit, and libraries. She has worked as a registered nurse, has a B.A. in art history, and has been a docent at the Detroit Institute of Arts since 2008. She created the "Discover the Wonders of the Detroit Public Library: An Art and Architectural Tour" and continues to serve as the director of the tour program. Patrice Rafail Merritt has served as a professional librarian and library fundraiser for over thirty-five years. During her tenure as executive director of the Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation, she supported and implemented the tour program and continues to serve as a docent for library tours.

Reviews

The book pays beautiful tribute to one of the city's most impressive structures.--Suzanne Chessler "Detroit Jewish News"

The deliberate and considered choice of building and sustaining a library system is the first order of creating a caring and knowledgeable community. From its inception, the Detroit Public Library has been a sustaining force in the city. Its success is an important measure of a civil society.--Jeffrey Scherer "architect"

The fruit of a popular docent-led tour, [The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic] guides readers through architect Cass Gilbert's magnificent monument to early Italian Renaissance style. . . . Jaw-dropping photos draw attention to the imposing grandeur of the interior and to the riot of ornament everywhere: decorative stonework, ornamental ironwork, frolicking cherubs, zodiac friezes. Most thrilling, though, is the tough, terse maxim inscribed over the main entrance, the perfect adage for a town built by industry: Knowledge Is Power.--Mark Dery "Publishers Weekly"

The illustrations are clearly presented and quite numerous. The reader gets a real sense of the building and its glorious architecture and artwork. Photo captions are informative without being burdensome. The book takes the library chronologically through the twentieth century, presenting information about the various renovations the building received over the years. Overall, this is an impressive work.--Edward A. Goedeken "Libraries: Culture, History & Society"

The [book] is a testament to an overlooked treasure.--Judith Harris Solomon "HOUR Detroit"

The Detroit Public Library is an inspirational edifice constructed to reflect the cultural and educational aspirations of the growing city. This pictorial captures the aesthetics of the community and the beauty of the building.--Francis J. Buckley Jr.

This important chronicle of the art and architecture of one of our city's most treasured spaces will inspire not only a visit to the Detroit Public Library but also a new appreciation for Detroit's place in America's cultural history.--Salvador Salort-Pons

This is a beautiful book with splendid photographs on nearly every page. And that was the goal - to use the eyes of over a dozen Detroit photographers to showcase "this overlooked treasure".--Susan Eileen Paton "The Michigan Historical Review"