The Detroit Public Library

"This important chronicle of the art and architecture of one of our city's most treasured spaces will inspire not only a visit to the Detroit Public Library but also a new appreciation for Detroit's place in America's cultural history."—Salvador Salort-Pons, Director, President, and Ceo of the Detroit Institute of Arts

"This is a beautiful book with splendid photographs on nearly every page. And that was the goal - to use the eyes of over a dozen Detroit photographers to showcase "this overlooked treasure"."—Susan Eileen Paton, The Michigan Historical Review

"The book pays beautiful tribute to one of the city's most impressive structures."—Suzanne Chessler, Detroit Jewish News

"The fruit of a popular docent-led tour, [The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic] guides readers through architect Cass Gilbert's magnificent monument to early Italian Renaissance style. . . . Jaw-dropping photos draw attention to the imposing grandeur of the interior and to the riot of ornament everywhere: decorative stonework, ornamental ironwork, frolicking cherubs, zodiac friezes. Most thrilling, though, is the tough, terse maxim inscribed over the main entrance, the perfect adage for a town built by industry: Knowledge Is Power."—Mark Dery, Publishers Weekly

"The Detroit Public Library is an inspirational edifice constructed to reflect the cultural and educational aspirations of the growing city. This pictorial captures the aesthetics of the community and the beauty of the building."—Francis J. Buckley Jr., Retired Associate Director for Public Services at the Detroit Public Library

"The deliberate and considered choice of building and sustaining a library system is the first order of creating a caring and knowledgeable community. From its inception, the Detroit Public Library has been a sustaining force in the city. Its success is an important measure of a civil society."—Jeffrey Scherer, architect

"The [book] is a testament to an overlooked treasure."—Judith Harris Solomon, HOUR Detroit

"The Detroit Public Library is one of the most essential structures in the city of Detroit. As an architectural tour de force, the library astonishes onlookers with its grandeur. As a cultural institution, the library is a testament to its artistry. As an epicenter of knowledge, the library reverberates with the city's collective search for the truth. Cohn and Merritt's new book is a tribute to a fundamental cornerstone of this great city."—Phillip Wm. Fisher, Vice Chairman of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Founder of Mission Throttle, and Supporter of the Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation