Customer Reviews

Back Where I Came From

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Two stories in this book--Broadway Storekeeper and Tummler--are among the best pieces of reportage I have ever read. They offer everything modern journalism lacks--taste, gentle humor, appreciation instead of scorn for the unusual, and a broad, affectionate view of the world. The whole book is a pleasure, but these two stories should be in every anthology of American reporting. Liebling was one of a kind.

I am a sucker for NYC history and the great Leibling serves it up on a silver platter here. The offbeat and oddities that he finds so fascinating remind us of another time. The only thing better is when he recalls Parisian meals from the 20's.

Liebling lovers will appreciate this selection of pieces about NYC in the thirties. He knows his city and its grifters, jockeys, hustlers. He knows them, loves them and was able to write about them as no one else has done before or since.

I love any word that AJ Liebling wrote. Buy this book or any other of his and enjoy some of the best writing on the planet.