“A Man in Full captivated Atlantans because it headlined the city’s quintessential mythic hero: the entrepreneur, the booster, the developer, the leader. Such an individual, real or imagined, historical or contemporary, serves as the embodiment of the progress-at-any-price “Atlanta spirit.” Since the city possesses no natural advantages—such as access to a harbor or navigable river, proximity to mineral deposits, or dominance over an agricultural hinterland—Atlanta’s sole reason for being has always been its potential for development. The Atlanta spirit is governed not by the city’s past but by its purportedly boundless future.”
