Why people recommend it
The Lost City by Alan Ehrenhalt is a work of urban sociology and journalism in which the author returns to the Chicago neighborhoods of his youth to investigate why past communities felt so vibrant, cohesive, and deeply connected. In an episode of The Ezra Klein Show broadcast on November 21, 2025, featuring Fareed Zakaria, the acclaimed journalist chose this book for his final recommendation of the interview. Zakaria explained that Ehrenhalt returned to Chicago wondering why the community of his youth seemed so intensely community-oriented and what civic factors had subsequently been lost over time. According to Zakaria, the author ultimately discovered that those neighborhoods were so tightly knit and supportive because they were built upon shared institutions, mutual obligations, and a framework of social conformity that bound residents together. Zakaria presented the work as a thoughtful exploration of the trade-offs involved in urban development and neighborhood cohesion, prompting readers to consider how modern society might balance the desire for individual personal freedom with the profound human need for stable, supportive local communities and robust civic infrastructure that resists isolation and social fragmentation.
Who recommended it
- Fareed Zakaria Recommended
Fareed Zakaria — 1 mention
“There's a wonderful book called The Lost City by Alan Erin Halt, a journalist who went back to Chicago to wonder you wondering why the Chicago of his youth seemed so community oriented and why what what did they do that that was lost and he discovered that it was so community oriented because everyone was so poor they couldn't”