In 1901 Buffalo was the national symbol of the country's optimism, pride, and braggadocio. Toward the close of the century, it epitomizes the sense of economic and demographic crisis prevalent in American industrial cities.

High Hopes analyzes and interprets the historical forces—external and internal— that have shaped New York's second largest city. It examines the historical shifts that have served as a catalyst in Buffalo's growth, charting the city's evolution from a small frontier community through its development as a major commercial center and its emergence and eventual decline as a significant industrial metropolis. Mark Goldman looks at the detailed patterns of local daily life from the settlement of the village in the early nineteenth century to the tragedy of Love Canal. In the process, he covers a wide range of topics, including work, ethnicity, family and community life, class structure, and values and beliefs. By bringing to bear on the events and developments that have shaped Buffalo a broad range of subjects and ideas, Goldman helps readers to understand the vast array of complex forces at work in the historical development of all American cities.