New York Books

what a marvelous book. more than any book i have read on fishing or outdoors, this one is well written. it captures the feelings of the changing of seasons and the hope and dread of how things will be that day. are there fish still in area or have they moved out. what will today bring. one learns a lot about fishing and life and the passion one can have for something. at same time it is not obvious or heavy-handed with some zen philosophy or fishing as allegory. ultimately it is about the love of fishing with a fly rod and sharing that with a few other friends who have the same feelings. while reading this gem of a book, one learns a lot about fishing. i live on the east end of long island but i didnt really know the areas he talked about and the history of some of them. the author really makes the region and the people come alive. it is like you are having breakfast in the local "greasy spoon" with the guys who fish and talk about it. you can see the guys with the bedraggled looks while they try to glean some info on where action is without giving away any of their own secrets. you can see the birds working the water and feel the hard tug. you can also feel the days where nothing working/nothing happening but it isnt dissappointing. the possibilty is almost enough ....but not quite. i have only fished for stripers once with a fly rod but after i read this book i made arrangements to go out to montauk area to try it. if it is 1/4 quarter as good as the author makes it out to be, it will be well worth it.

The Moon Pulled Up An Acre Of Bass

Fishing, cooking, and having a good time with your friends at your favorite vacation house, what could get better than that? That's the "good life" described by Peter Kaminsky in his nonfiction novel The Moon Pulled Up An Acre Of Bass.
Kaminsky shared his humorous fishing stories in October 2000 throughout the whole book. He picked the month of October because of the great fishing experiences he had with bass fishing and many other fish. One of his memorable moments was when he termed the expression "The moon pulled up an acre of bass." He used this term when he stood in amazement and shock while gazing at the water with what he called an "Acre" of bass while the moon glared at his face. Beside being a great fisherman and having a love of fishing, Kaminsky loved other things.
One of the things he loved to do was he loved to cook. He would love to catch fish, have friends over and then cook the fish in his kitchen that he loved. He said the kitchen had "Acres of counter space." Also what he liked to do was to spend time with his friends onshore and offshore. When he was with his friends he became a great fisherman. This happened because all his good fisherman friends gave him all various kinds of advice, which added up to him being a great fisherman. For example, one of his friends taught him how to cast under the wind on a windy day. This was great for him because then he could basically fish whenever he wanted since gusty weather wouldn't make it difficult for him.
Overall I really liked this book because I could connect to it so much. I could do this because I also have a love of fishing and the book takes place on Long Island. I have much background information of Long Island because I live there. As you can see, this book was mainly about Peter Kaminsky and his love of fishing with his friends. Since he and his friends were hilarious, this book turned out to be filled with humor. I really liked this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fishing, comedy, and nonfiction novels.

Reading his first hand account of 30 straight days tracking the Montauk striper, I found ambitious reason to visit the East End for the first time myself. Not only did I meet one of the colorful characters Peter describes, but I romanticized what it'll be like out there in another month as the fall blitz approaches, with Peter's account coloring every image. A superb read for anyone who finds comfort in the flex of a flyrod, and a fantastic primer to anyone who endeavors to interrupt, albeit mildly and temporarily, one of nature's greatest migration of life: the fall blitz off Montauk.

I enjoyed the book and the concept, but the fawning treatment of certain guides (that probably gave Kaminisky free rides) read too much like promotional materials.

The author gives us a great look into not only the stiper fishng world, but the culture and heritage of the east coast. A pleasure to read, cover to cover. Even for those of us that may never see stripers in the salt, this is defintely a worthwhile read.

I read this book this past week during a cross country flight. I have been a Yankees fan since 1959 and have consumed almost every word written on the team. This publication is the very best of anything I have read on the team in the past 43 years. The writing took even familiar Yankees' lore to another level by digging beneath the surface to fully understand how being a Yankee impacted each and every one of the subjects even beyond their playing days. Regardless of the player's era, the author delivered a consistently enjoyable book that flowed and entertained at the highest level.

I think this is the best book that I ever read. I couldn't put this book down. This is a good book for die hard Yankee fans or just people who love baseball. Bill madden goes out to find players from past Yankee seasons. This is a good book I recommend this book for all baseball fans.

Baseball is a game of stories, and Bill Madden has transversed the United States to garner tales from a unique group of alumni, those who played for the New York Yankees through the twentieth century. The title is something of a misnomer. Some of Madden's subjects were never young Yankees. Reggie Jackson cut his teeth in Oakland, Lou Piniella caught fire in Kansas City, and Paul O'Neill even won a World Series ring in Cincinnati in 1990 before arriving at the East Coast. And even with the Yankee "lifers" interviewed for this work, many of the best remembered stories are about established ball players and their antics in their prime. Whitey, Mickey, Billy and Hank were hardly kids the night the Yanks trashed the Copa in 1957-in fact, it was Billy's 29th birthday that sparked the occasion. Yet this tale appears-more than once-among the multitude of memories along this nostalgic trail.

There are some interviews that actually do shed new light on Yankee history-or hagiography, if you will. Marius Russo's inclusion among Madden's subjects is fortuitous. One of the team's lesser known talents over the years, Russo, a left handed pitcher who joined the Yanks in 1938, was included in this work as one of the last living connections to the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig. Russo sheds light on a remarkable Yankee pitching staff of 1939 remembered both for its depth and its sabermetrics. Seven starters finished the season with double figure wins: Ruffing [21-7], Hadley [12-6], Pearson [12-5], Gomez [12-8], Donald [13-3], Sundra [11-1], and Hildebrand [10-4]. Russo, added to the rotation late in the season [why?], went 8-3, including a 7-0 stretch in September. Russo would never win more than 14 games in any of his six Yankee seasons, but one of his most poignant memories involved fallout from the demise of Gehrig. When the Yankee team fell to fifth place in 1940, columnist Jimmy Powers of the New York Daily News reported that the entire team had been infected by Gehrig's "polio," as his affliction was then diagnosed. The report shook baseball and resulted in a $1 million lawsuit against the writer.

Another lesser-known Yankee interviewee was the observant bench jockey and reserve catcher Charlie Silvera, whose entire nine years of backing up Berra, Houk, and Howard produced only 429 at bats. Silvera recalls an obscure but impressive Casey Stengel accomplishment: winning five successive World Series with a depleted roster. The Yankees, under the rules of the day, carried two or three prospects who never made the team but counted against the 25-man roster. Silvera's recollections also highlight one of the secrets of the Yankee dynasty: a network of astute West Coast scouts who steered reports of promising young prospects to the East Coast Yankee front office that took such reporting seriously. Silvera as much as anyone recounts the awe that most players since 1920 have felt about donning the Yankee pinstripes. Silvera and others-including many of the household names--are as proud of their being Yankees as their personal stats as Yankees. In a year where Silvera, for example, did not get his first at bat until June 17 [1949], he still won his first of five consecutive World Series rings.

As all of the interviewed players wore Yankee pinstripes, it is hard at times to separate the individuals from the history of the team itself. And one era that Madden treats with considerable detail is the post 1964 Yankee decline. Some of the best interviews come from Yankees who played or managed through that ten year era: Yogi, Ralph Houk, Mel Stottlemyre, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Ron Blomberg, and Bobby Murcer. There are many theories of the fall of the Roman Empire, nearly as many as to the decline of the Yankees in those years. The author and the players named above are in fair agreement that poor front office management [trading Roger Maris to St. Louis, for example], the failure of certain Yankee veterans to obey "one of their own," Yogi Berra, as manager, the free agent draft, the decline of the farm teams, and parity. One other applicable statistic: I looked up the 1965 Yankee roster, and discovered exactly one African-American in the starting lineup, Elston Howard [whose widow Arlene is the only non-player interviewed for this work], and one black pitcher on the staff, Al Downing.

As an interviewer Bill Madden is more Eddie Lopat than Vic Raschi. The questions arrive to the plate with a gentle thud in the catcher's mitt or get obscured in the dust in front of home plate. Madden has no problem getting his subjects to cry, but he is averse to making them squirm. Thus the free pass to Whitey "Slick" Ford, whose nickname comes from the old expression "city-slicker." Whitey's description of himself as a "professional drinker" in his playing days says nothing and says everything. It is no surprise he does not like to talk about Mickey and Billy, and Madden does not press.

But perhaps we should not be surprised that Madden is no Bob Woodward where investigative reporting is concerned. The author has covered the Yankees for a quarter century. I hardly think he would endanger the source of his bread and butter. It is in his vested interest in continue the legend, and he does this in a warm and congenial way. And we always have Jim Bouton for the hardball accounts.

Author Bill Madden has come up with a first rate book on significant Yankee players who have had distinguished careers with the team over the past several decades. The book reminds me of Roger Kahn's effort on the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950's in which he traveled across the country to visit surviving members of that team. Madden has come up with a similar book on the Yankees with the only difference being the players that were interviewed didn't necessarily play on the same team. The oldest player interviewed by Madden was pitcher Marius Russo who concluded his career in 1946 with Paul O'Neill being the most recent Yankee included in the book. Madden interviewed the late Elston Howard's wife Arlene. Otherwise the book includes interviews only with still-living Yankee greats. The only disappointing omission from the book is Ron Guidry who certainly should have been included. However, Yankee fan or not, this is a first rate book for anyone who considers themself a baseball fan.

There have been a whole bunch of book put out to celebrate the first century of New York Yankee, of which "Pride of October: What it Was to Be Young and a Yankee" by Bill Madden is one of the best. It is also one of the more different, consisting basically of a series of conversations (they would not really be considered "interviews") between Madden and 17 former Yankees (and one very special Yankee widow). The other common denominator, obviously, is that they have to be alive, which sounds stupid when you write it down like this, but matters because it leads to some interesting and poignant choices.

Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin have died, which leaves only Whitey Ford to talk about the hell-raising days in the Fifties. Madden does talk with Hall of Famers Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, and Reggie Jackson, but the chief charm here is in names that do not come to mind. I have all the New York Yankees Topps baseball cards from the year I was born, so I recognize the names Tommy Byrne and Charlie Silvera, but I do not know a lot about them. However, the name that stands out is Marius Russo, one of the last remaining links to Lou Gehrig, because I do not think I had ever heard (or even read) his name before.

I became a Yankee fans in 1965; in other words, the year after they stopped winning championships. So my early memories are watching Mel Stottlemyre hit an inside-the-park grand slam homerun at Yankee Stadium and my biggest (early) heartbreak was when my favorite player, Bobby Murcer, was traded for my father's favorite player, Bobby Bonds. So while "Pride of October" starts with as far back in Yankee history as living voices can remember, it eventually gets up to the teams and players of our lives. Even if, like Ron Blomberg, they never played in a postseason game. When Madden has chapters on Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone back to back, you know you are getting a true cross-section of the guys who have played for the Yankees.

The one exception to this rule is Arlene Howard, the widow of Elston Howard, who was the first African-American ballplayer to play for the Yankees. I totally buy into the argument that the reason the Yankees went from first to worst in the 1960s was because the front office was racist and refused to sign any blacks when they probably could have signed anyone they wanted (Mantle, Mays and Aaron in the same outfield? Sure, why not?). The only way to touch on that issue is for Howard's widow to relate what it was lie, talking forth in the home in Teaneck, New Jersey where the city fathers once tried to keep her and her husband from occupying.

My recommendation is to do what I did, which was basically to only read one chapter a day. Just enjoy the Scooter's stories about his friendship with Gerry Priddy and be offended by the way the Yankees forced him to retire, before moving on to Russo's recollections of the Iron Horse, Cro, and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons. There is a brief section of black & white photographs, that starts with Gehrig and DiMaggio kneeling side by side in Spring Training and ends with Paul O'Neill cleaning out his locker for the last time. The photographs are just the frosting on the cake, because the main treat here is just reading how Madden sat down with each of these individuals, who told their stories, with Madden supplying relevant information to fill in the gaps.

For me--raised on Sherlock Holmes--this novel, first published 1968, is not a detective novel in which morality or heroism triumphs, or in which the hero is able to think his way out. When Conan Doyle invented his hero, he was writing within the context of a moral Victorian society in which Holmes's kind of detective work was able to triumph over perpetrators, or at least able to rationalize his own faults. But the world Sciascia shows us is one in which the police remain silent, and those who inquire and question are punished. Sciascia gives us an intelligent, inquisitive high school teacher, Professor Laurana--not a Sherlock Holmes--but, as a learned and well-meaning man, he is an engaging main character. What sort of society is it in which sensitive, inquisitive people are devalued and ignored?

Professor Laurana's questioning opens doors and others shut. And in a town in which people teach each other to keep quiet, we have to wonder what is being taught. It seems that this society is reduced to primitive survival instincts. Only someone like Laurana can break the vicious circle of crime, but Laurana's emotional vulnerability--his sensitivity to literature--is considered a fault. There are clearly characters who do not like anyone asking questions. And there are two characters who are philosophical and analytical, but their ability to understand human psychology disables Laurana's investigation. It's as though too much belief in moral ambiguity can stop a criminal investigation.

While this novel is a comment on Italian or Sicilian society and politics of the 1960s, this setting could be anywhere in the world. We all must be vigilant that through silence and acquiescence, our world does not become like the one Sciascia shows us.

This short novel (158 pages) has so much wonderful, nuanced writing that virtually every page is enjoyable in and of itself. One Amazon reviewer called "To Each His Own" postmodernist, but it also seems reminiscent at times of 19th Century writing that is more character insightful than plot driven. Sicilian master, Leonardo Sciascia, certainly does provide a plot in this novel - an inexplainable double homicide begins the story, followed by the slow accumulation of clues leading to the unlocking of the mystery by a hapless bystander, who reveals his revelations despite himself. The cautious innocent ultimately wanders into the killers' crosshairs betrayed by his own lust and the quiet complicity of the entire community. And it's lust that author Sciascia suggests is at the bottom of everything in the Sicilian town that is the novel's setting.

This is a highly literate and entertaining read that will encourage most readers to seek out other titles by this terrific author.

This book is a well written mystery. The author sets the crime out before you right at the beginning and gives many leads for you to try and draw your own conclusions. His style of writting is very different, but very interesting. It is the type of book that you must continue to read to find out what the ending is about.

The basic principles of right are: to live honorably, not to harm any other person, to render to each his own." Digest of the Emperor Justinian.

The Latin phrase "suum cuique tribuere" or "to each his own" is one of the three fundamental maxims of the law laid down by the Emperor Justinian. The peculiar interpretation of that phrase in Sciascia's native Sicily forms the emotional core of his brilliant "To Each His Own."

"To Each His Own" begins with a double-murder. A local pharmacist, Manno, receives a death threat in the mail, compiled with words and letters cut and pasted from a newspaper. The pharmacist laughs it off. He considers the letter to be a joke and although these threats are usually taken seriously in his town, Manno leads a blameless life and simply cannot believe anyone intends him harm. So he goes off hunting the next day with his friend Dr. Roscio and, without further ado, both Manno and Roscio are shot dead in the woods.

A police investigation follows but it is doomed to go nowhere. Sciascia paints a very explicit portrait of a society in which everyone knows (or suspects) everything but says nothing, certainly not to the local police. The general consensus (on the surface) seems to be that Manno was killed by a jealous husband and Roscio was an innocent bystander. The matter would have ended there but for the curious intercession of Professor Laurana. Laurana is a history and Italian teacher at the local liceo (high school). He walks into the pharmacy where the police are reading the anonymous letter and quickly spots a clue. The police dismiss his information out of hand. Laurana, however, driven by what appears to be no more than a desire to solve a puzzle, decides to follow up on the clue. In short order he seems to have solved the mystery. Laurana is oblivious to the fact that his musings on the crime pose more of a threat to the murderers than a typical local police investigation. Events play out to their natural conclusion, and in Sciascia's Sicily natural conclusions are not quite so neat and tidy as say in Agatha Christie's parlor room England.

The enjoyment to be found in reading "To Each His Own" is not the mystery itself. The fact of the matter is that, for Sciascia, solving a mystery doesn't require great insight. Rather, it simply requires a willingness to actually see that which is self-evident. As blind as Laurana may be to the danger he puts himself in, he can see well enough to understand why Manno and Roscio were murdered and who murdered them. Laurana's problem is not that he knows more than anyone else in town, Sciascia makes it clear that the actual events do not seem a surprise to anyone. No, Laurana's problem is that unlike everyone else in town, he doesn't bother to hide his knowledge.

Sciascia's writing is both precise and enjoyable. He seems to have a keen eye and affection for his native place, but that affection does not diminish, but likely enhances, the despair he feels for a culture in which silence is golden and in which "to each his own" does not bring to mind Roman traditions of equity but, rather, the critical importance of minding ones own business. "To Each His Own" is a cynical, but highly-entertaining piece or work.

Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

Having read "To Each His Own" (or rather, "Il ciascuno il suo") twice, once in Italian and once in English, I find that each time I found new interesting nuances.

Rich, ambiguous characters fill the novel and leaves one wondering who is considered intelligent and who is considered an idiot in Sicilian terms. It also leaves one wondering what exactly is the crime: the killer or the one that deems himself the investigator? Is it the one who deals in politics or the one breaking the law of "omerta"?The novel explores the mafiosi as an institution, as a family, what it is in the government, the church, the peasant village.

Sciascia's novel is a page-turner for both those who want an easy read detective thriller and also for those wanting to dig deeper into the story's message.

Mr. Yagoda presents the results of his exhaustive research with clarity and style. It's a compelling story and makes a great companion to the Kunkel books on Ross. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Shawn and the Shawn years at the NYer, since many of my favorite writers were nurtured under his watch. The best one-book history of the NYer I know of.

Disclaimer: I love The New Yorker. I have been a dedicated subscriber for ten years (and I am only twenty-six), and I read the magazine for years before subscribing under my own name.

Given my disclaimer, perhaps my five-star rating is self-evident. But not necessarily: As a lover of the magazine, I approached this text skeptically. I was interested in an unbiased review, yes, but likely I would have been wounded by a wholeheartedly negative portrayal.

Yagoda loves TNY even more than I do, if that's possible, yet he truthfully approaches his biography of the magazine. The ugliest facts are laid bare, but in a sympathetic whole.

TNY writers, editors, and staff members are lovingly recreated; Yagoda writes so well that I felt I knew these people, I understood these people, and I physically missed them after turning the last page. Like others who have reviewed this book, I wanted more--more, more, more. I felt astonished and sad to have finished the book. Were it a novel, I'd beg for a sequel, even knowing that sequels rarely live up to the original. Even a second-best second-tome would be better than missing the people and the institution that this book brings to life.

Admittedly, TNY readers will love this book vastly more than those unacquainted with its pages. However, if you are even beginning to approach the magazine, you must read this book. You will understand the weekly journal better than you do now, and you will appreciate it far more. I certainly do.

Bravo, Yagoda!

There are at least two ways to view Ben Yagoda's book ABOUT TOWN: 1) as the history of The New Yorker Magazine, how it was conceived and developed and changed over time, and 2) as a social document reflecting its times. The subtitle of the book "and the World it Made" does not seem quite as accurate unless one considers that "world" to be the corporate culture created by the staff led by Ross and Shawn, the two longtime editors who built the magazine. The New Yorker certainly has influenced the world within which it existed along with many other magazines.

Harold Ross, the founder and first editor of the magazine, with the help of Katherine and E.B.White, Thurber, Dorothy Parker, and many other fine editors and writers launched the magazine in the 1920s. The sophisticated and literary focus of the magazine soon captured the fancy of New Yorkers. During the hard days of the depression the magazine actually gained subscribers as readers enjoyed the humorous repartee and cartoons that helped them laugh at their troubles. Many new readers learned of the magazine during WWII as it was handed around the barracks. The GI bill produced many educated readers who remembering their wartime contact with the magazine now subscibed to it. Following WWII, the magazine included more and more "social conscience" articles, for example, John Hershey's essay on "Hiroshima."

Ross died in the early 1950s, and during the fifties under the editorship of William Shawn, the magazine became relatively banal according to Yagoda who says it appealed to stay-at-home wives who enjoyed articles that reminded them of their college days (among other pieces, Mary McCarthy's tales of her Italian travels were featured). In the 1960s, the magazine once again became more vocal about social issues and the environment.

Yagoda says the best years of the magazine came in the 1970s when writers like Woody Allen wrote wonderful wacky pieces and investigative journalists covered the scandals in
Washington. Following a downturn in subscriptions in 1980s, the magazine was purchased by a media mogul and William Shawn departed. With Tina Brown's arrival, the magazine metamorphed into a Conde Nast publication. Garrison Keillor's comments about Brown's arrival (as he left) are amusing.

Over the years, I have read John Updike, Alice Munro, Jamaica Kincaid, Katherine White, and many of the writers who once wrote for the New Yorker. When I was a child, my mother used to quote Dorothy Parker regularly ("Rivers are damp..."), but I had no idea Parker wrote for The New Yorker until years later (we lived in a rural area and subscribed to the Progressive Farmer!!). When I read Rachel Carson's SILENT SPRING, it changed my life, but I read it in book form when it was first published as a Book of the Month Club selection. I only became aware of The New Yorker magazine when I was in my thirties and a college writing instructor suggested it. Yagoda says many people discovered the magazine when they were students.

As a social document, The New Yorker articles very much reflect the times, and to some extent, at least under Ross, the magazine seemed to be ahead of the times. In reading this book, I was reminded of National Public Radio, which seems to be the main innovator in broadcast journalism these days--though I am told there are all sorts of happenings on the Internet. The in-depth news stories, the essays by various knowledgeable citizens, the political commentaries and Garrison Keilor are all comparable to The New Yorker magazine.

If you are interested in a snapshot of the 20th Century from an educated New Yorker magazine perspective, or in writing and magazine development in general, you will find much of interest in this book. The tales concerning the origins of many innovative features of the magazine are quite good.

Yagoda suggests the magazine pretty much ended with Shawn's departure in the late 1980s. He devotes eight pages at the end of the book to the three editors who followed Shawn. He says the median age of the readership grows older every year (not replacing subscribers) and most of current readership as such is owing to the retention of loyal readers. He quotes some of these readers who no longer actually read the magazine but have not given up their subscriptions. His book goes a long way toward explaining to me why I dropped my subscription a few years ago.

There are two types of writers: those who aspire, no, dream of being published in the "New Yorker", and those who, after several rejections, bitterly deride the very institution they hoped to conquer. I am solidly of the first camp, though give it a few years and I might be a latter-day grouch.

The work of Ben Yagoda brings the magazine alive, from the heyday of such luminaries as Thurber and White to the tough war years, right up through the Shawn era and even right up to (for 1999) the present. Through it all, Yagoda examines the many lives who devoted themselves to this literary exercise in humor and good faith. The most compelling character studies, however, are the two main editors throughout the magazine's history, Harold Ross and William Shawn.

Ross, who founded the magazine in 1925 and managed it through its first twenty-six years, comes across as a gruff, thoroughly Western man who nonetheless saw the need for a magazine like "The New Yorker", and brought it to being through sheer will and fortitude. He also happened to publish significant works by James Thurber, E.B. White, and J.D. Salinger among others. Shawn, taking the reins after Ross's death in 1951, saw the magazine through 30+ years of challange and triumph, only to be forced out in 1987. Throughout the book, Yagoda makes these men the central focus of his tale, but he includes brief looks at literary and other lights of the twentieth century, some who did get published (like Donald Barthleme, Veronica Geng, and John Updike) and some who didn't (Tom Wolfe, whose scandelous expose on the magazine shook it out of its fuddiness).

Overall, the book looks fondly back at the magazine's past, with a hint that it might never reach the same heights of importance it once had. That may very well be, but there's still something to be said for a magazine that is such an institution no one could imagine starting a writing career without considering the possibility of submitting to it.

"The New Yorker" is still the premier magazine in America, and this book explains why, after almost a century, it still carries the weight it does.

"About Town", by Ben Yagoda chronicles the majority of the 80+ years, "The New Yorker", has been contributing its unique journalistic culture to everyone, including, "The old lady in Debuque". Mr. Yagoda's book stands out from many books that have been offered to readers about the magazine for while he certainly is aware of the contributions the magazine has made for over 8 decades; he does not seem to be in awe of it or the people to the point it affects his writing. He clearly admires the magazine, but this does not stop his including a wealth of information that documents the eccentric personalities that shaped the magazine. Some may not find the notes flattering, but he objectively shows some of the magazines famous quirks without committing the blasphemy of a young Thomas Wolfe.

The list of writers who either became major or occasional contributors, reads like an amalgam of winners of the highest literary awards that have been offered. The list of those names repeatedly rejected expands the list even further. The book contains dozens of examples of the famous rejection letters that often are almost apologetic about turning down a piece of work while always writing in the first person plural. Having a piece selected by, "The New Yorker", was often considered the ultimate indicator that a new writer had arrived, that he or she had entered the pantheon of the magazine's literary legends. This was true even if the work accepted for publication may not have appeared for months, or even several years. The reception of the envelope stating a writer's work had been admitted was all many authors needed to have their work given unique value and cachet, publication was a bonus.

Mr. Yagoda also spends a good amount of his book on the cartoons, their artists, and the painful process that started with an idea only to have to run a gauntlet to be published. As hard as this path may have been, the scrutinizing that a written piece received is almost beyond imagining. It is understandable that first time contributors would have their worked scoured and polished, but when some of the 20th Century's finest writers nearly drew blood over commas the action within the building must have been spectacular. There is a story of one writer who sat outside the editor's office for almost 5 hours over the issue of a single comma. This World War I trench warfare standoff continued until the early hours of the next morning. The editor capitulated, but noted to the writer, "you are still wrong".

The story of this fascinating magazine could fill many volumes. If your starting place for gathering an overview of this institution, its editors, staff and writers, is this book, you will have chosen very well. Mr. Yagoda has written a great tribute to those he has chronicled.

Due to ever degrading literary taste of our post-war generation, Stefan Zweig has been forgotten for few decades,in spite of the fact that the first half of the 20th century , Zweig was perhaps one of the most famous and popular authors in the world. He and compatriot Hugo von Hofmannsthal had almost pararell lives.They were both some sort of literary prodigies(Hofmannsthal and Zweig earned their fame in their teens).They began their literary careers as poets and ended up writing various kind of literary genres,including libretto for Strauss. Also both ended up committing suicide. Zweig wrote many memorable fictions ,but only one novel.And, this is "Beware of Pity".
The novel is a kaleidoscope of the Habsburg dual monarchy.Zweig's talent lays on his superb description of human psyche of each characters and representation of comtemporary time. this work well represents decaying , both morally and physically , Habsburg dual monarchy. It shows how anarchoronistic system of mores( of K.u.K) that led otherwise good natured and a bit simple minded Leutenant Hoffmiler conered to the desperate situation. Does Hoffmiler deserve his fate? read book and decide that by yourself. what amazed me was how well Zweig synchronized and symbolized tragic denoument of kekeskalva family with the outbreak of" the war to end all wars". This is both pcychological and historical drama par excellence.One of forgotten masterpiece that recently rediscovered. Thank you NYRB to bring Zweig back.

This is an intense, psychological drama, and a page-turner to boot! What's so great is the wonderful language, the "lofty" writing. I just loved every page, and our poor, tortured hero.

It's a fabulously written book about love instigated by pitty, which can be very dangerous. Worth reading as this kind of thing still happens every day.

...no, not the book by Dave Eggers, but this masterpiece by Stefan Zweig. I came upon this by accident, and bought it, intrigued by the story outline and the reviews below. Only very, very rarely does a book have the power to draw me into the lives of the characters, probably because they're usually just that - characters. Not so here. Here we have flesh and blood and all that entails. I'm still amazed at Zweig's story telling. He's the kind of writer who could make a shopping list fascinating. I lived and breathed every single word in this incredibly beautiful book, and, as has been said elsewhere, the tension becomes almost unendurable. I can hardly do justice to it in a few words. Weirdly, I often found myself smiling, not because it's a funny book, far from it, but just through an appreciation of Zweig's supreme mastery of his art. This is one of those books appearing only a few times in your life that wring emotion out of you whether you like it or not. A heart-breaking, unforgettable and life-enriching experience.

I'd also like to praise the translation, by Trevor and Phyllis Blewitt. At no time is there even a hint that you're reading a translation - something that occurred to me only after finishing the book. On the contrary, it seems to me that the elegance of the language and all the magnificent virtues that contribute to Zweig's humanity and genius have been faithfully rendered. The proof is in my twin disappointments; coming to the end, and learning that there are no further full-length novels by Zweig. I'll definitely be reading all his other works, though.

In the introduction to this book Joan Acocella tells Zweig's story as a writer. One of her claims is that despite his enormous popularity as biographer, essayist, writer of great novellas and stories, this novel is his masterpience. The novel is in essence the story of a feeling, of 'pity' of how it becoming the obsession and duty of the main character turns self- serving and destructive. Briefly , the book revolves around the relationship between a poor Austrian officer Hoffstein and a crippled seventeen year old daughter of a wealthy family Edith Kekesfalvas. After he has inadvertently insulted her by having asked her to dance he becomes bound into a relationship with her, in which she falls deeply in love with him without his truly reciprocating. This is how Acocella reads the protagonist's reasoning and its result after her doctor informs him that it would be disastrous for him to abandon her.

"So he descends ever deeper into hypocrisy. In the process, Zweig gives us a piercing analysis of the motives underlying pity. Gradually Hofmiller realizes how much he enjoys the courtesies paid to him for his emotional services, how it pleases him that when he arrives at the Schloss his favorite cigarettes--and also the novel (its pages already cut) that he had said in passing that he wanted to read--are laid out on the tea table. Nor is it lost on him that his own sense of strength is magnified by Edith's weakness and, above all, by his growing power over the Kekesfalvas, the fact that if he, a poor soldier, does not present himself at teatime, this great, rich household is thrown into a panic, and the chauffeur is dispatched to town to spy him out and see what he is doing in preference to waiting on Edith. Beyond the matter of power, however, Hofmiller finds that the emotion of pity is a pleasure just in itself. It exalts him, takes him to a new place. Before, as an officer, he was required only to obey orders and be a good fellow. Now he is a moral being, a soul."

This end in destruction is somehow a foreshadowing of what would happen to Zweig.Having been betrayed with the rise of the Nazis by the Europe he loves, tried to make a new home and life with his second wife in Brazil. But it does not work out and the both of them are found after having taken fatal overdoes of drugs hands intertwined.

This is very touching story of the (mainly) men who conducted the recovery operations at Ground Zero. The telling is true to the tremendous respect shown to those who perished (nothing titillating) and is inspiring in its humanity and faith. Anyone who has ever worked anywhere will appreciate the turf skirmishes that were waged.

The writing, however, is a bit simple.

I have not even finished reading this book yet, but I am blown away by the extraordinary story this man has to tell, and told with such heart. This is a major contribution to the history of 9/11.

Excellent read. Heartbreaking at times, but well written of the trials and
tribulations of the Ground Zero Recovery mission
This book honors the months day after day the recovery workers devoted to trying to find bodies. Some of the rescue workers suffered emotionally and physically, yet others kept going to the end.
I recommend highly

It was an incredible and accurate account of the heroics and emotions involved in the months of recovery at ground zero. A must read.

This is the story that needed to be told of the many courageous, heroic men and women involved in this search and recovery effort. It is also the story of the courageous, heroic families who lived through this effort with their loved ones. It is a must read.

If you really want to know the history of Coney, this book is a must. I grew up in Brighton Beach during the 50s, and this book was a wonderful read.

The Terra and Belgenio patriarchs arrived in Coney Island at the turn of the 20 th centuty--legend has it that they got on a train and got off at the last stop--Stillwell Ave. This wonderful book put me in touch with them and my parents who lived and died on 15 th and 17 Streets between Mermaid & Neptune Aves. up until the mid 70's. My grandfather Anthony Terra sold ice in the summer and coal in the winter while his wife Maria ran a fruit & vegetable store and raised 6 children--one of whom was my father George, who knew everybody and everybody knew him. This book --the narrative and photos--ignited so many memories for me that I cannot read it without shedding some tears --as I am doing now. Buy the book--you'll love it! Dr Anthony Terra

This is the best book I've ever read on the history Coney Island and I've read every one I could find. It is extremely well researched and written, has incredible photographs and graphics, and a personal story that's moving and deeply felt.

Like many of the other reviewers of this book I grew up in the Coney Island area (Brighton First Street). Coney Island has an almost magical draw for me, so much so that I recently completed writing and illustrating a novel called, "Coney Island Book of the Dead" that takes place in 1956. Charles Denson's book proved to be an invaluable source of facts, lore, and pictures, but, even more importantly, of inspiration. If my novel ever gets published (I'm looking for an agent as of 6/08/07) I hope all of you coneyislandaphiles read it.

Also, you might also be interested in a new book by Charles Denson called "Wild Ride! A Coney Island Roller Coaster Family." I just ordered it.

I actually got a copy of this book from my grandfather -- who was featured in the book. I enjoyed this book so much that I have since bought this book for every friend and relative who has moved out of state. This is a great gift for any occassion... for any Brooklynite.

Like many of the other reviewers, I'm a Coney Island native. Unlike them, I grew in Trump Village, located on the border between Coney and Brighton. Growing up in the 1970's and 80's, central Coney was always a bad neighborhood and I'd only heard vague stories about how great it used to be. While I have since read books and seen documentaries about Coney, Denson's book goes even deeper, especially with his wonderful use of oral history.

I had always been told that before Trump Village and Warbasse, there used to be nothing but empty land in that area. Thanks to this book, I have finally learned the truth, that there used to be a vital, functioning and even happy lower and middle income neighborhood called the Gut, before Fred Trump, Robert Moses and other developers and politicians came along and destroyed all that. Despite it's unfortunate beginnings, Trump still ended up being a decent, affordable place for many middle class Jews and Russian immigrants to live, thanks to this book, I'll always see the ghosts of the homes, theaters and people who came before everytime I go home.

For anyone who is interested in Coney Island or the rise and fall of a city neighborhood, this book is most definitely recommended. And if you grew up in or even near Coney, this book is a must-read.

Rest in peace Dondi, your art will never die! If you liked Subway Art and Spraycan Art then grab yourself of a copy of this absolute gem as Dondi was truly up there with the likes of Seen etc and my favorite Dondi piece still has to be the children of the grave. Buy this as in a few years when it's harder to get your gonna regret it and probably pay a lot of dollar.

i grew up in brooklyn in the 70s and was witness to much of what is shown in this book. there are dozens of train photos from all phases of dondis subway days which i spent much time looking at. what really fascinates me though are the hidden things in these photos. anybody pick up on the iz the wiz throwups in the top photo of page 26. how about the le throwup in the top photo of page 57 or the blade tags inside the windows of the photo on pages 71/72? ever wonder what are those pieces faded beneath so much of dondis work? the birth of graffiti book out recently showed the very beginnings of the graff movement in nyc, but there seems to be a lack of photo/written history of the stuff from that time till the late seventies. i wonder how many people know how cool it is to just sit, relax and look at something like this that you've admired for so long without having to run down a train platform and try and commit to memory the amazing blur that just went by. the interview with dondi was very insightful and actually gave me a renewed appreciation for his work. the book itself is medium sized, hardcover and the paper is of excellent quality. i would love to see more books like this on other just as prominent writers. blade, lee, seen etc.

this is one great book,very well detailed from dondis underground train bombing days plus his days when he was hitting up art gallerys and it even tells you about dondi b4 he was even a writer.plenty of great pics plus lots of top reading too.one of the better graff books.

What can I say an excellent book from an excellent artist, I am sure Dondi and others form the late 70's to early 80's movement in NYC never would have thought that their creations and inovations would become such a world wide hit and change cities across the world. From my early days as a youngster starting out in Graff in 1985 to now as a somewhat maturer but always youthful graff lover I can definately say that this book was like turning back the clock, and boy was I shocked to hear that he was never caught, "I just wish I could say that"!. A well documented and presented book but sad he is'nt here still to have written it himself "RIP DONDI"

This is one of the must-have books if you dig graffities! It features lots of beautiful photos, sketches and actual pages from the Dondi's own black book. Hardcover with slipcover gives a good value for money!

These stories set in Mr. Parkhill's classroom at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults ("English -- Americanization -- Civics -- Preparation for Naturalization") are wonderfully humorous and warm. They reflect a generous humanity and a keen ear for language in author Leo Rosten (1908-1997), who first wrote the stories for The New Yorker using the pen name Leonard Q. Ross.

When Rosten wrote the stories in the 1930s, the debate that had roiled American society over the high levels of immigration at the beginning of the century had ended with passage of the restrictive Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Readers of The New Yorker could well remember the rancor and the stereotyping of the debate.

Rosten countered the prejudice against immigrants by portraying Mr. Parkhill's students, drawn from several national and ethnic groups, as earnest learners eager to know about and join American society by first learning the English language.

When people from different cultures meet, there are bound to be some collisions. A dark side take on those meetings is the ethnic joke. The bright side is this book, finding humor in the encounters that all can smile at.

I read The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N as a teenager in the early 1960s. Though I do not recall negative attitudes about immigration in my family, school, or suburban New Jersey neighborhood in that decade, the book surely shaped my attitudes and feelings about immigrants and immigration in a positive way. Hyman Kaplan taught me immigrants make America a better and richer society.

Each time I look through the book now, I worry whether Rosten crossed any of our modern "PC" redlines that would cause it to be crossed off reading lists. The book's humor ("comic dialect" is the scholar's term) depends on the rendering of accents, not much used at present. I found one use of the N-word (misspelled, in accent, not in anger) by a student character. On the whole, however, the book stands up well.

I give copies of this book to friends who are ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. Leo Rosten's own nights as an ESL teacher, while he was working on his Ph.D., gave him the inspiration for the stories.

The shape of our nation's immigration policy is certainly a licit issue for debate and disagreement. Current immigration has some different countours than in the 1930s. Some voices, however, get carried away and tip over into negative stereotyping. They should take a break, have a cup of coffee, read this book, and meet Mr. Kaplan.

-30-

Having just begun teaching English As A Second Language to a group of Asian adults, a relative thought I might enjoy "The Education of Hyman Kaplan". The novel takes place entirely at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults. There under the tutelage of Mr. Parkhill, Hyman Kaplan, Miss Mitnick, Miss Caravello, Mrs. Moskowitz and an assortment of Jewish and Italian immigrants struggle with the complexities of the English language, anxious to master the language and learn about the history and culture of their newly adopted home. The irrepressible Mr. Kaplan takes center stage in the classroom with his singular logic in using the English language. Abraham Lincoln becomes Abram Lincohen, King George III of England is an autocrap, and Valley Forge becomes Velly Fudges. Kaplan conjugates the tense to die as "die, dead, funeral", and when talking of the contents of a newpaper he can't understand why he must say "it said", instead of "he said", since the paper is decidedly of the masculine gender. It's the Harold Tribune after all. This is a hilarious yet touching book. We are never laughing at Hyman Kaplan's linguistic foibles but with him, as we appreciate the struggles of all immigrants, those seventy years ago, or those today to come to terms with becoming Americans and learning the language that binds us together.

Think you can read an uproariously funny book without laughing out loud? Think again. Adventures of an English-as-a-second-language class for new immigrants in 1950's America.

As a new ESL teacher, my husband thought I'd enjoy this book. H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N* is an irrepressible immigrant to the US, struggling to master English, but that doesn't stop him from communicating at every opportunity. Waves of malapropisms spoken with a thick Eastern European accent don't get in the way of his enthusiasm. Set in the 30's, this is a world where teachers and students are Mr., Mrs. and Miss, immigrants worked in garment factories, and all still believe in the American Dream. Even Mr. Parkhill, the god-like teacher, can't help but be infected by Mr. Kaplan's unique interpretations of the great works of English literature--the Shakespeare story was a classic. Definitely dated, certainly politically incorrect, these stories hail from a simpler, but maybe tougher time--Leo Rosten originally wrote under the name Leonard Ross. A lovely little collection of stories!

This book, along with its sequel, "The Return of H*y*m*a*n K*a*p*l*a*n," (and don't be fooled, those stars are important) is a beautiful work and one that I'm surprised hasn't been rediscovered by critics and readers alike. Originally published as a series of stories in a magazine, these stories were finally collected into book form and later combined with its sequel in a grand form called O, K*a*p*l*a*n, My K*a*p*l*a*n (which is now out-of-print, but worth reading if you find it in a library or rare book store, since it was edited and improved by the author, with new characters and stories).

The stories all revolve around a group of immigrant adults attending the American Night Preparatory School for Adults in New York City in the 1930s. Under the tutelage of the fastidious, but patient and kind, Mr. Parkhill, the book chronicles their challenges in learning the English language. This is in and of itself a masterpiece: Leo Rosten (who had to publish the stories under a pseudonym since he wrote them while living off a fellowship and did not want to let his professors know that he was working on totally unrelated research) has found humor in GRAMMAR!! He not only shows how difficult English is to master, but how irrational and arbitrary the grammatical rules are that we all, as students, desperately try to commit to memory. Moreover, he writes with an expert ear, hearing the subtle differences in the accents and common foibles of English speakers from various language backgrounds. The fact that these passages are life-out-loud funny (and not at all in the sense of laughing at any character's mistakes but at the English language itself for torturing non-native speakers so) is astounding enough.

But this is the story, however, of a true comic hero - Hyman Kaplan. Leo Rosten has created a character as complex and poignant as Shakespeare's Falstaff, or John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius J. Reilly. Hyman Kaplan is a force of nature, yet distinctly human -- irrascible, dogmatic, determined and yet sensitive, noble and joyous. He is a man who refuses to kow-tow to the rules and guidelines of the English language and who truly relishes the joys of wrestling with learning. Since his exuberance leads him into constant conflict with his fellow students, his character is one of the greatest literary devices ever devised by an author. The stars emblazoned in red, green and blue crayon that are part of his signature, only serve as the ultimate monogram, defining this character as one worthy of the ages.

While this book is about efforts by foreigners to assimilate as Americans, it also highlights the glories of America's immigrant, melting-pot past -- a heritage and tradition that is sadly rapidly being forgotten and lost in this modern globalized world. Moreover, with the advent of the politically correct era of hypersensitivity, it is likely that this book will never experience a renaissance of popular support that it richly deserves. This is a true treasure -- I discovered it as a teenager and have often enjoyed returning many times to visit with these charming, inspiring characters. I cannot recommend it enough!

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who is a New Yorker and loves to know everything about the city he loves. He was thrilled with the book, as he'd been reading it already whenever he visited his brother, and said he can never put it down once he picks it up. Covers everything there is to know about NYC. I can't speak for myself, having not read it personally, but the hard core New Yorkers at the table when I gave it as a gift all swore by it!

Wonderful book. Full of tidbits of information about NY. Some I knew already and some were eye-openers! I recommend it to anyone with a thirst for knowledge.

This is a very entertaining book. Good for a coffee table type book.

If there was anything you ever wanted to know about NYC but couldn't find the answer, this book will have it. What an amazing treasure trove of history, information and trivia. This book should be in every library in America.

Looking for very old maps of the Big City, the Mayoral and Presidential elections, Capsules of about every neighborhood in all 5 boroughs, histories of Broadway, Wall Street, MidTown, Columbia and NYU, the New School, and every other educational institution. Music from Classical to Jazz to Pop to Rock (but there is no listing for Sinatra! I think there should be.)How about the incredible skyscapers, docks, restaurants, clubs. And all this goes back to 1624, when the Dutch first settled. And sections on about every leading NYC personality ever. (though for some reason Mantle and Dimaggio are not listed separately, amoung many other famous NYC sports stars ). Even though the book is 10 years old, it is about as timeless as you can get, even with my very few small quibles mentioned!