Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb

By David Kushner

In the decade after World War II, one entrepreneurial family helped thousands of people buy into the American dream of owning a home, not just any home, but a good one, with all the modern conveniences. The Levitts--two brothers, William and Alfred, and their father, Abe--pooled their talents in land use, architecture, and sales to create story book town with affordable little houses. They laid out the welcome mat, but not to everyone. Levittown had a whites-only policy.

This is the story that unfolded in Levittown, PA, one unseasonably hot summer in 1957 on a quiet street called Deepgreen Lane. There, a white Jewish Communist family named Wechsler secretly arranged for a black family, the Myers, to buy the little pink house next door. What followed was an explosive summer of violence that would transform their lives, and the nation. It would lead to the downfall of a titan, and the integration of the most famous suburb in the world. It's a story of hope and fear, invention and rebellion, and the power that comes when ordinary people take an extraordinary stand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jul 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9780802719737

David Kushner

A contributing editor of Rolling Stone, David Kushner also writes for publications including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired, The New York Times Magazine, New York, GQ, and Esquire. Kushner served as the digital culture commentator for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday, and has taught journalism at Princeton University and New York University. He has been featured in The Best Business Writing, The Best American Crime Reporting, and The Best Travel Writing, and his ebook The Bones of Marianna: A Reform School, a Terrible Secret, and a Hundred-Year Fight for Justice. His books include The Players Ball; Alligator Candy: A Memoir (an NPR Best Book of the Year); Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto; Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America’s Legendary Suburb; Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids: How a Gang of Geeks Beat the Odds and Stormed Las Vegas; and Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture.

Reviews for Levittown

[bsafarik_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Levittown-an amazing new suburb where veterans returning from the Korean war (1950s) could afford to buy their own homes at very affordable prices. The Levitt’s made it their business to provide affordable homes complete with all the newest amenities: built-in ovens, lots of closets, televisions, etc….as well as the promise of an all-white neighborhood – no blacks allowed. And in spite of a nation that was beginning to acknowledge the evil and divisive effect of racism and segregation, the Levitt family held to their rules: whites only.This is the true story of the events that took place in the ongoing march toward true freedom; a piece of history not to be forgotten.

[Jan Dumas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I want to say that I was surprised to discover stuff like this was happening when I was a kid. But I think I knew about it even as a kid.