Book excerpt: The Bronx had almost stopped burning by 1979. The intensity and extent of the devastation permeated the landscape. It was an awesome mess, not just another neighbourhood, but another realm, visible but incomprehensible. The Bronx came undone in a confluence of unfortunate circumstances: the life cycle of community, rampant city planting, failed hopes, crime, poverty, drugs and counterproductive government response. Lisa Kahane documents the devastation, rejuvenation and the first seeds of rebuilding the iconic Bronx.