The Wall Street Journal

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POWER FAILURE 

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(Prometheus, 266 pages, $24)

ONE STATISTIC just about says it all regarding the recent fortunes of the once noble Queen City of the Lakes -- Buffalo, N.Y. At the halfway mark of the 20th century, Buffalo's population was 580,000. At the turn of the 21st, it was 292,000 and heading south. Diana Dillaway, a sociologist and, like me, a onetime Buffalo girl who retains a Niagara-size store of affection for her native city, has set herself the task of chronicling what happened.

No, it's not the snow. Buffalo gets a bad rap for its weather, which is not as bad as it sometimes sounds. The towns south of the city bear the brunt of the "lake effect" snow, and plenty of other cities in the Northeast and Upper Midwest also cope nicely with mega-doses of the white stuff. In any case, the Erie-Niagara region's glorious summers are sweet recompense for the harsh winters.

Rather, Ms. Dillaway traces a failure of leadership in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, when the city's industrial base was collapsing and factory jobs were disappearing. In "Power Failure," her special wrath is reserved for the city's complacent business leaders (a type brought cannily to the stage by playwright A.J. Gurney, another Buffalonian). The city's WASP elite used its influence to scuttle three proposals that might have ignited downtown development.

First the city lost a new campus for the State University of New York, which went instead to suburban Amherst. Next to go was the Buffalo Bills stadium, which instead of being sited in the city went to suburban Orchard Park. Finally, a rapid-transit system that would have connected the university to downtown was radically scaled back. Drive down Main Street after 6 p.m. today and about the only activity you'll see are the cars pulling into the parking lot of the Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo wings.

Ms. Dillaway sees the future of her hometown tied to some sort of regional government, and she points to surveys showing that large percentages of city and county residents support regionalization. But given the political obstacles -- too many warring factions would have to put aside their differences -- it's hard to see a clear path toward such a solution. Buffalo's prospects are also hampered by New York state's high taxes, which discourage investment.

Despite its economic woes, Buffalo has won numerous accolades in recent years -- the friendliest city, one of the cleanest cities, the most all-American city. One day, perhaps, it will yet again proudly wear the crown of the Queen City.