E40: R.J. King, Author of Detroit History Book

Episode 39 of the "Talk to Me" podcast features blind motivational speaker, David DeNotaris.

This is Episode 40, a conversation with Michigan resident, R.J. King, who has written a terrific new book about Detroit's amazing past.    

 

[Subscribe to Michael's YouTube channel to watch this interview and others.]

 

Michael Angelo Caruso, interviews R.J. about the "Detroit: Engine of America" and asks the author if we can move forward by studying the past.

 

The book is a narrative that covers the early days of the city and the official first one hundred years. Interesting facts, include:

 

• Detroit is one of the few U.S. cities that's older than the country
• The city's population was 100 in 1700 and 205,876 in 1890
• The current Detroit Yacht Club is the largest such clubhouse in the U.S.
• James Bailey of the Barnum & Bailey circus is from Detroit
• Ulysses S. Grant lived in Detroit prior to becoming U.S. President
• In 1895, Detroit had 80 newspapers, 7 of which were dailies

 

"Detroit: Engine of America" contains stories about many fascinating historical figures, including:

 

• Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Ponchatrain du Detroit in 1701
• Cadillac had 13 children, only 3 of which were alive when he died
• Lewis Cass who served as a Detroit mayor and ran for U.S. President twice
• The "Boy Governor," Stevens T. Mason who was Gov at age 22 and dead at age 31

 

"Detroit: Engine of America" is published by Momentum Books.

 

R.J. King is the Editor of "DBusiness" magazine, the DBusiness Daily News and Detroit 500. He and his team have won 30+ Editorial Excellence Awards.

 

As a business writer for the "Detroit News", R.J. wrote over 4,000 articles, mostly covering business in Detroit.

 

Feel free to like/comment below, especially if you just learned something about Detroit. Subscribe to Michael's YouTube channel to watch Michael's interviews with interesting people.