"Here is the best place to understand two hundred years of Indianapolis history and to think about connections of past to present. Writing in an engaging style, Jon C. Teaford offers especially good insights into recent changes and challenges: suburbs, racial differences, sports, neighborhoods, health care, museums, and the many different people, places, and institutions that made and make the capital city."—James H. Madison, author of Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana

"A brisk, balanced, and engaging account of the history of Indianapolis from one of the foremost historians of urban America."—James J. Connolly, author of Vulnerable Communities: Research, Policy, and Practice in Small Cities

"Jon Teaford has long been one of our country's premier urban historians. In this readable, useful book he turns his focus homeward to Indianapolis—a city whose history proves, under his scrutiny, more complex and intriguing than its well-cultivated, down-home image would suggest."—Eric Sandweiss, author of St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape