OConnell offers a comprehensive account of Boston as a participant in the global economy, including an assessment of Bostons significance in this context. This book will be useful to journalists covering the region; professionals promoting the region; and students and faculty studying the region.Richard Freeland, author of Transforming the Urban University: Northeastern, 19962006
"The rise of global cities is often seen as a recent development. Using Boston as a case study, James C. OConnell offers a deeper analysis of globalization that shows the interconnections of past and present. From the maritime trade of colonial Boston to todays biotech sector, OConnell shows us what made the city innovative and prosperous, but also how it fuels social inequality that threatens to undermine the regions success."Marilynn S. Johnson, author of The New Bostonians: How Immigrants Have Transformed the Metro Region Since the 1960s
What is a global city anyway? This excellent book gets urbanists to revisit and rethink this idea through the lens of Bostonan east coast US city that seems both provincial yet global at the same time. OConnell does a great job exposing Bostons global-ness but does this mean it really is a global city?Loretta Lees, Director of the Initiative on Cities and Professor of Sociology, Boston University
"Boston is the only city in the world where three major companies did much of their innovative work to successfully develop Covid-19 vaccines. Why Boston? OConnell brilliantly pulls together what drives Boston to be among the most technologically and medically innovative cities globally.Robert M. Krim, author of Boston Made: From Revolution to Robotics, Innovations that Changed the World