Boston has persevered through the bad old days to thrive, and more, to make a kind of statement about the good city. The good city is innovative and fun, it is prosperous, it strives for justice and sustainability, but above all, it is alive. -From the Introduction by Paul Grogan The Good Citypresents a vivid new profile of Boston through the work of fifteen of the city's finest writers. Robert Campbell and Jane Holtz Kay on Boston's embrace of lively urban density James Miller on the city's intellectual history Jack Beatty on Boston's colorful political past and present Patricia Powell on the literary landscape and the immigrant experience Susan Orlean on the city she left and now loves John Hanson Mitchell on how nature revives the metropolis Anita Diamant on Boston as a spiritual home Scott Kirsner on Boston as a powerhouse of scientific and technological innovation Alan Chong on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the arts in Boston Lynda Morgenroth on the city's neighborhoods Michael Patrick MacDonald on gentrification and what it means to old neighborhoods like Southie Derrick Jackson on Boston as a laboratory for advancing race relations Howard Bryant on the city's obsession with sports Irene Smalls on seeing the city through the eyes of a child.