Book cover of Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City

Book description

Baltimore is the setting for (and typifies) one of the most penetrating examinations of bigotry and residential segregation ever published in the United States. Antero Pietila shows how continued discrimination practices toward African Americans and Jews have shaped the cities in which we now live. Eugenics, racial thinking, and white…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Not in My Neighborhood as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A former journalist, Antero Pietila delves into the history of Baltimore’s battles over housing and race since the 1880s. He shows how racism and antisemitism shaped who could live where in Baltimore, eventually consigning working-class Black people to disintegrating neighborhoods in the inner city. Where this book is especially good is on the history of blockbusting in the 1950s and 1960s.

Pietila introduces us to the real estate agents who preyed on Black people desperate to move out of slums and shows us how they panicked white people into selling their houses cheaply to get out before Black people moved…

If you love Not in My Neighborhood...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Not in My Neighborhood?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Not in My Neighborhood.

Browse books like Not in My Neighborhood

Book cover of The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America
Book cover of I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad
Book cover of Baltimore Revisited: Stories of Inequality and Resistance in a U.S. City

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Not in My Neighborhood, you might also like...

Book cover of In Bad Faith

In Bad Faith by Geoffrey Carter,

Nelson West, a former Chicago homicide detective, is hired by wealthy heir Lionel Bing to discreetly help “fix” scandals and legal problems for his father’s wealthy friends.

Bing, a brilliant but troubled investigator, suffers from PTSD symptoms as a result of being kidnapped and witnessing the murder of his mother…

Book cover of Your Sun Will Rise Again: Poems of Hope and Survival

Your Sun Will Rise Again by Joseph Jean Baptiste Jolicoeur,

Your Sun Will Rise Again is a powerful collection of poetic reflections on hope, resilience, and the human spirit. Written with sincerity and depth, these poems speak directly to those navigating life’s challenges, offering comfort, clarity, and quiet strength in difficult moments.

Through simple yet profound language, the book reminds…

5 book lists we think you will like!