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Fourth of July, Asbury Park: A History of the Promised Land

By (author) Daniel Wolff

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Bruce Springsteen brought international attention to the Jersey shore by naming his debut albumÂ Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. But the real Asbury Park has an even more fascinating story behind it: a seaside city of dreams that became a magnet for both the best and worst of America, playing host to John Philip Sousa, Count Basie, and Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the mob and the Ku Klux Klan.Â Â Fourth of July, Asbury ParkÂ tells the tale of the cityâ€™s first 150 years, guiding us through the development of its lavish amusement parks and bandstands, as well as the decay of its working-class neighborhoods and spread of its racially-segregated ghettos. Featuring exclusive interviews with Springsteen and other prominent Asbury Park residents, Daniel Wolff uncovers the history of how this Jersey shore resort town came to epitomize both the promises of the American dream and the tragic consequences when those promises are broken.Â Â Hailed byÂ The New York TimesÂ as a â€œwonderfully evocativeâ€¦grand, sad storyâ€ when first published in 2006, this revised and expanded edition considers how Asbury Park has changed in the twenty-first century, experiencing both gentrification and new forms of segregation.