As the first comprehensive, printed guide to the city in more than a generation, Belle Isle to 8 Mile: An Insider’s Guide to Detroit will feature positive reviews of a carefully curated selection of more than 700 of our favorite Detroit attractions, sites, institutions, events, restaurants, bars, and curiosities from the essential to the obscure. Our vision is for the book to showcase well-known establishments and organizations for first-time visitors while bringing much-needed attention to their more obscure counterparts for everyone, from first-time visitors to long-time residents. In this vein, the book will offer reviews of a wide array of cultural attractions, from beloved institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts and off-the-beaten-path destinations like the African Bead Museum, to obscure curiosities such as the Curtis Museum, a storefront museum dedicated to George Washington Carver’s assistant.

Currently being researched and written, the guide is edited by siblings Andy and Emily Linn (of City Bird and Nest) and Rob Linn (of Mapping the Strait), lifelong, seventh-generation Detroiters, with written contributions from more than 30 of their favorite authorities on the city and incorporating suggestions and ideas from more than 300 local residents. In addition to reviews, the book will feature intricate hand-drawn illustrations, detailed maps, insightful categorical lists, and rich narrative neighborhood descriptions.

With a combined 1,000 years of diverse experience in Detroit, the book’s large and growing team of authors will put contemporary Detroit in a rich context by painting portraits of the city’s historic neighborhoods, sharing stories of its history and traditions, and detailing the people and culture that have made – and continue to make – the city great. We are proud that our contributors represent every corner of the city, from Jefferson Chalmers to Berg Lahser, and from Warrendale to Osborne. Along the same lines, our current group of wr