Detroit '67 by Stuart Cosgrove

Stuart Cosgrove's immaculately researched account of a year in the life of the Motor City manages a delicate balancing act. While his love for the era – particularly the music, best exemplified by the dominance of Motown, whose turbulent 12 months are examined in depth – is clear, he maintains a dispassionate, journalistic distance that gives his epic narrative authority and depth. With the backdrop throughout of a seemingly never-ending Vietnam War, Detroit 67 plays out like a series of dispatches from the frontline.

The set-up sparks like the finest pulp thriller. A harsh winter has brought the city to its knees. The car factories are closed and Motown major domo Berry Gordy is fighting to keep his empire afloat. Bitter in-fighting has nudged The Supremes towards meltdown and there's a pointed irony in Berry's efforts “to bring a semblance of harmony back to the group.” 

As a broiling summer looms, Cosgrove revisits key events with a miniaturist's eye: a young Muhammed Ali's refusal of the draft (a disproportionate number of young black men were dying in Vietnam); the horrific, cold-blooded murders at the Algiers Motel; the killing of four year old Tanya Blanding by the national guard during the riots that swept the city in late July.

With the city ready to explode, he digs deep into its political and cultural bedrock to understand why, and paints a picture of alienated youth, widespread corruption and ingrained racism. History is quick to romanticise Hitsville USA but Cosgrove is not quite so credulous, choosing to focus instead on the dark shadows at the heart of his gripping story. [Gary Kaill]