THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION.

In this urbane and delightful book, Walter Muir Whitehill follows the course of Boston's history, describing the changing face of the city and the society that changed with it, through more than three hundred years. This edition includes a chapter describing the major changes of the city since 1958, as well as new pictures. Generously illustrated, written with a knowledge of and affection for a great city that are visible on every page, this book speaks equally to those who know Boston well and those who are discovering the city for the first time.

This urbane and delightful book covering more than 300 years of the course of Boston's history has now been enlarged with an account of the city's new urban design, architecture, and historic preservation and is richly illustrated with 32 additional photographs and drawings. In the last three decades momentous changes have visited this colonial city made modern. Lawrence Kennedy portrays the Boston that preserved much of the intimacy of the remembered place while creating a dramatic new skyline. Boston has been remarkably transformed while keeping human the features of a beloved city.

In the course of his exploration of independent historical societies, Walter Whitehill has visited private and public institutions throughout the country, finding both a diversity of forms and a unity of purpose. The author’s verve and candor make his book a stimulating picture of these societies and their fundamental contribution to American historical scholarship. His insights into developing trends will help to define their role and to shape their future course; his authoritative treatment of the present context provides a basis for closer collaboration among the societies and for more efficient use of their facilities.