Charlie Leduff's Detroit: An American Autopsy

Charlie LeDuff’s Detroit: an American Autopsy, is a sad and honest story about the world. The story is filled with corruption, anger, and even laughter; however, LeDuff goes into greater detail about the crumbling city known as Detroit. After leaving a job with the New York Times, LeDuff comes to find what was once city that represented the American Dream is now rotting before his eyes. Throughout the book, LeDuff uses his personal experiences and connections to describe the financial problems Detroit is going through and how its corrupt and high crime rates are growing. With what’s happening in Detroit, LeDuff is able to make a story about America’s capital on murder and unemployment both eye-opening and interesting. In Part III: From the …show more content…
About more than five hundred people had been murdered and only three hundred were identified. This section put a toll on LeDuff; he was frustrated that the departments weren’t reporting because not all of the murders had leads so they weren’t written down as murdered. For example LeDuff was told things like, “There were 10 police killings, so those don’t count” (181). LeDuff was angry; it made him get too attached to the murders of Detroit. Specially one I particular, there was a case on a death of one of LeDuff’s friend. In that case a house somehow caught on fire alerting the fire Department calling all firefighters on the scene and since LeDuff’s friend was a firefighter. His friend went in and burned to death in that house. After awhile of LeDuff getting involved with all the different cases another one caught his eye. Walt Harris, LeDuff found his death case interesting because he had received an anonymous call that quoted, “We coming from the neighborhoods and we gonna burn your castle down, white man. It’s gonna be a long, hot summer, Charlie. Watch your ass!” (184). LeDuff knew that this was going too far, he was so scared and worried for him and his wife’s