{"product_id":"9780307407429","title":"Charm City: A Walk Through Baltimore","description":"With a writer’s keen eye, a longtime resident’s familiarity, and his own sly wit, acclaimed novelist Madison Smartt Bell leads us on a walk through his adopted hometown of Baltimore, a city where crab cakes, Edgar Allan Poe, hair extensions, and John Waters movies somehow coexist. From its founding before the Revolutionary War to its place in popular culture—thanks to seminal films like Barry Levinson’s Diner, the television show Homicide, and bestselling books by George Pelecanos and Laura Lippman—Baltimore is America, and in \u003ci\u003eCharm City\u003c\/i\u003e, Bell brings its story to vivid life. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst revealing how Baltimore received some of its nicknames—including “Charm City”—Bell sets off from his neighborhood of Cedarcroft and finds his way across the city’s crossroads, joined periodically by a host of fellow Baltimoreans. Exploring Baltimore’s prominent role in history (it was here that Washington planned the battle of  Yorktown and Francis Scott Key witnessed the “bombs bursting in air”), Bell takes us to such notable spots as the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill, as well as many of the undiscovered corners that give Baltimore its distinctive character.  All the while, \u003ci\u003eCharm City\u003c\/i\u003e sheds deserved light onto a sometimes overlooked, occasionally eccentric, but always charming place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47116477858032,"sku":"9780307407429","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780307407429_p0.jpg?v=1763672281","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780307407429","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}