Quite good. It moves very quickly and contains a completely astonishing amount of information that will change your view of NYC forever. In places it's just too much. ( )

Quite good. It moves very quickly and contains a completely astonishing amount of information that will change your view of NYC forever. In places it's just too much. ( )

Quite good. It moves very quickly and contains a completely astonishing amount of information that will change your view of NYC forever. In places it's just too much. ( )

I am a huge fan of historical writing, especially social history. I care about the broader political context that informs most history, but I also really want to know about the little things, too - what people ate, what they were wearing, what they did for fun, how they lived day-to-day. This book will give a sense of all of that (plus the politics) & more.

Luc Sante was an advisor on the movie, The Gangs of New York, & if you keep the way that movie looked in your head you might get a sense of the New York he is writing about. Sante explores Manhattan in four aspects from 1840 to 1919 - Topography, vice & entertainment, law & order, & revolt & idealism. Jammed into these four aspects are stories of classic New York characters like Boss Tweed & Butcher Poole, but also many less well-known people like Bald Jack Rose & Leftie Louie.

Sante argues that New York is all about the New & tends to ignore its history, but that its ghosts are drifting there - just below the surface. This book captures these ghosts & makes them visible to the reader through clear prose & fascinating stories. This is an excellent example of what good writing & interesting social history can be to a reader. Fascinating & wonderful & you should go read it right now. ( )

A detailed and well documented look into the physical and cultural development of New York's non-society scene of the 19th century. Chapters on Saloon Culture and Housing paritcularly revealing. Assigned reading for LES hipsters. ( )