New York Stories
The Best of the City Section of the New York Times
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
“There are eight million stories in the Naked City.” This famous line from the 1948 film The Naked City has become an emblem of New York City itself. One publication cultivating many of New York City's greatest stories is the City section in The New York Times. Each Sunday, this section of The New York Times, distributed only in papers in the five boroughs, captivates readers with tales of people and places that make the city unique.
Featuring a cast of stellar writers—Phillip Lopate, Vivian Gornick, Thomas Beller and Laura Shaine Cunningham, among others—New York Stories brings some of the best essays from the City section to readers around the country. New Yorkers can learn something new about their city, while other readers will enjoy the flavor of the Big Apple. New York Stories profiles people like sixteen-year-old Barbara Ott, who surfs the waters off Rockaway in Queens, and Sonny Payne, the beloved panhandler of the F train. Other essays explore memorable places in the city, from the Greenwich Village townhouse blown up by radical activists in the 1970s to a basketball court that serves as the heart of its Downtown neighborhood.
The forty essays collected in New York Stories reflect an intimate understanding of the city, one that goes beyond the headlines. The result is a passionate, well-written portrait of a legendary and ever-evolving place.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The City section of the Sunday edition of the New York Times features vivid accounts of life, past and present, in the five boroughs. Rosenblum, who edits the City section, has collected 40 representative pieces that showcase the ups and downs of life in a metropolis that still exerts a gravitational pull on those seeking their fortune. Many of the essays are by well-known authors, such as Jan Morris, Phillip Lopate and Vivian Gornick, but others, equally winning, are by emerging writers. All of the pieces are engrossing and share a painstaking attention to craft. Mel Gussow dramatically evokes the day in 1970 when the Greenwich Village townhouse next door to him, occupied by members of the radical Weather Underground, was blown apart in an accidental detonation in their basement bomb factory. On a lighter note, Tara Bahrampour recounts the paradigmatic New York experience: searching for an affordable apartment. Field Maloney and Jill Eisenstadt each relate the glory days of Queens's Rockaway Beach as a summer resort, its sad decline and enduring allure. This is both an excellent addition to New York history and a pleasure for casual browsing. B&w photos.
