Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto by Gilbert Osofsky paints a grim picture of inevitability for the once exclusive neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Ososfky's time frame is set in the period 1890-1930 and his study is divided into three parts. His analysis is convincing in explaining the social and economic reasons why Harlem became the slum for which it is now widely infamous, but he fails to highlight many of the positive aspects of this enduring neighborhood, and the book's lack of political analysis is troubling . .In “Part One: The Negro and the City,” Osofsky describes the first black neighborhoods of New York City, in the lower parts of Manhattan: from Five Points, San Juan Hill and the Tenderloin. He describes the state of New York's black community in the antebellum and postwar periods and uses the greater United States, including the Deep South, as the backdrop for his microanalysis of blacks in New York. It paints a grim picture of little hope for black Americans living in New York City and reminds the reader that, despite emancipation in the North long before the Civil War, racism and prejudice were still widespread in a city where blacks constituted a small part of the population. the population. Through his research, Osofksy is able to conclude that there was a decline in the black population which led to the civil war. In 1825 there were 12,559 blacks living in New York, in 1865 9,943 blacks lived in New York City. But in 1900, due to the great migrations of free blacks from the South, the black population expanded and over fifty-three percent were born outside the state. The tension created by this migration was not only between the new blacks and the white population of New York, but also between the former... middle of paper... beginning and the Great Depression nailing its coffin. This book was written in the 1960s, so it is difficult to say what Osofsky's prejudices, misconceptions, and influences were when writing this book. There are some passages that are ignorant or biased towards the black community, but there is no doubt that this in-depth analysis does justice to the history and situation of Harlem, New York. Osofsky does an excellent job of framing his study socially, economically, and philanthropically, but does little in political terms. His analysis does not include a policy framework that would help answer some questions about political racism, de facto segregation, de jure segregation, public welfare, poor schools, etc. At some points in the book, it seems that Osofsky is blaming black people. community for their problems.