"To some, Chicago is the City of Big Shoulders and Magnificent Miles,
but behind the postcards are blue-collar neighborhoods that are the
beating heart of the city. Never Leave Your Block takes you
into Chicago’s Bucktown and nearby environs to meet the people whose
strength, resilience and character are the very bedrock of Chicago.
Here in the old stomping ground of Nelson Algren, Saul Bellow and
Mike Royko, Scott Jacobs explores what happens when gentrification
comes to a modern city. What institutions endure? Who survives? And how
does a diverse community come together to keep the fabric of a city
strong?
Follow along with Jacobs as he wanders an inner city park reclaimed
after decades of gang violence. Join the Bucktown Seniors on a field
trip to Horseshoe Heaven. Meet Hector and Joe, once partners now
neighbors and rivals in the haircut trade. Spend a season with the
teams in the Holstein Park adult basketball league. Shop the bottled
water aisle at Dominick’s. Eat breakfast at Whole Foods. Kibitz with
the young mothers at Moms & Tots . . . but don’t forget to shovel
the sidewalk. Your neighbors are watching.
In this intimate portrait of his neighbors, Jacobs weaves his own
experiences raising a young son into a bright, funny look at how urban
communities like Bucktown are shaping the future of America’s cities."