A Singular Education

A Singular Education: A German Bachelor in New York (1964–1974) recounts the turbulent first decade that German-born author Gunter Nitsch spent in New York City. Fresh off the boat in April 1964 as an idealistic twenty-six-year-old confirmed bachelor with just $400 to his name and no prospects, his journey of discovery eventually takes him to elegant receptions and white-tie events at fine hotels, as well as to a Head Start classroom in Harlem, to the home of an unrepentant Nazi on Staten Island, to a wild "clothing optional" party in Greenwich Village, to sit-ins at Hunter College, and even to a cockfight in the South Bronx. Along the way, several people unexpectedly offer him help; many others insist on blaming him for World War II. With self-deprecating humor and the unique perspective of a recent German immigrant, A Singular Education is set against a backdrop of the prejudices—against African Americans, Jews; anyone, in fact, considered "the other"—that remained deeply ingrained in the American psyche at the time.