Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit: Once heralded as the spirit of American manufacturing, music, and democracy, Detroit kicked its fiscal can down the road for decades plummeting into insolvency, culminating in the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY is the inside story of how a state-appointed Emergency Manager and the people of this iconic American city- confronting financial ruin-followed a treacherous path towards a new beginning.