From the staff of New York Magazine comes the perfect gift for the Manhattanite in all of us. My First New York is a glorious collection of recollections and reminiscences as fifty of the city’s most famous residents recapture the kicks and thrills of first arriving in the Big Apple. Actors and athletes, rock stars and porn stars, writers, artists, and politicos—from Yogi Berra to Liza Minnelli, from Chloe Sevigny to Andy Samberg to Diane Von Furstenberg—they all share their hilarious, touching, frightening, amazing early big city adventures in My First New York.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
As noted by E. B. White in his 1948 essay “Here Is New York,” there are roughly three New Yorks: that of the commuters, who “give the city its tidal restlessness”; that of the natives, who “give it solidity and continuity”; and, finally, the New York of the settlers, who, born elsewhere, “came to New York in search of something,” and they give the city its passion. In this breezy celebration of the city, expanded from a recent feature in New York magazine, 50 famous residents describe their first days in the city—days variously exhilarating, overwhelming, terrifying, or inspiring, but invariably unforgettable. It’s a diverse cast of characters, including Dan Rather, Chuck Close, Judy Collins, Keith Hernandez, Lauren Hutton, Ira Glass, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and many notable others. Some arrived as early as the 1930s, others just last year, but certain recurrent themes emerge: adventures in taxis or on the subway, less-than-ideal apartments, movable feasts of culture, overshooting the Manhattan exits off the George Washington Bridge, feelings of endless possibility. Yogi Berra needed only five words: “New York? It was big.” --Brendan Driscoll
Review
“These small, glittering essays make a reader feel that the sheer force of all these dreams, this persistence, might in fact rub off on you.” (Los Angeles Times )
“No matter how rich and famous they become, newcomers generally suffer through the most absurd living conditions as a rite of passage to becoming New Yorkers. It’s proven by the boldfaced contributors to My First New York.” (New York Post )
“A breezy celebration of the city. . . . 50 famous residents describe their first days in the city—days variously exhilarating, overwhelming, terrifying, or inspiring, but invariably unforgettable.” (Booklist )
“As wacky and wonderful as NYC itself.” (Modern Tonic )
“At time hilarious and heartbreaking, all these stories are inspiring—just like life in NYC.” (Star )
“Celebrate[s] all the quirkiness, beauty, creativity, eccentricity, and artistry that is New York City.” (Pop Matters )
“No matter how rich and famous they become, newcomers generally suffer through the most absurd living conditions as a rite of passage to becoming New Yorkers. It’s proven by the boldfaced contributors to My First New York.” (New York Post )
“A breezy celebration of the city. . . . 50 famous residents describe their first days in the city—days variously exhilarating, overwhelming, terrifying, or inspiring, but invariably unforgettable.” (Booklist )
“As wacky and wonderful as NYC itself.” (Modern Tonic )
“At time hilarious and heartbreaking, all these stories are inspiring—just like life in NYC.” (Star )
“Celebrate[s] all the quirkiness, beauty, creativity, eccentricity, and artistry that is New York City.” (Pop Matters )
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My First New York is a lot like the city itself, dirty, glamorous, lonely, bizarre and full of wonder. Together these stories really paint a picture of a bunch of different facets of New York City. If you've never been you'll want to go and if you have, you'll recognize something from your own memory of the city.
There is something so uplifting reading about people's first experiences in the city instead of say a random memory, people go there with so much hope and promise and to see if the city fulfills that promise, that's all part of the fun. You never know what will happen until you go there.
The essays vary in length and tone but they all contribute something, some of my favorites include essays by James Rosenquist, Liza Minnelli, Parker Posey, Mike Myers, and Jenny Joslin. At times some of the essays came off as people bragging about people they knew and how they were there when this and this happened but I think it comes with the territory, these people were there making history.
This book IS New York City and I'd highly suggest it to New Yorkers and those that wish they were New Yorkers. I feel like I can open it anytime and get a taste of the city.
There is something so uplifting reading about people's first experiences in the city instead of say a random memory, people go there with so much hope and promise and to see if the city fulfills that promise, that's all part of the fun. You never know what will happen until you go there.
The essays vary in length and tone but they all contribute something, some of my favorites include essays by James Rosenquist, Liza Minnelli, Parker Posey, Mike Myers, and Jenny Joslin. At times some of the essays came off as people bragging about people they knew and how they were there when this and this happened but I think it comes with the territory, these people were there making history.
This book IS New York City and I'd highly suggest it to New Yorkers and those that wish they were New Yorkers. I feel like I can open it anytime and get a taste of the city.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Byron Reimus
Format:Hardcover
For anyone who lives, has lived or dreams about living in New York City, these vivid, truthful, mostly joyful memory-stories will be a home run of reading. I could quibble with the relatively narrow range of writers/celebrities featured here to speak to the Big Apple experience, but the fact remains that nine out of ten of the stories published resonate in a way no other book published on NYC life does in quite the same way.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was recently in NYC for the first time and this book was a great reminder of what fun it was.
Very interesting to read and well worth the time if for no other reason than André Aciman's beautiful proses.
Great read and 5 stars all the way.
Dennis
Very interesting to read and well worth the time if for no other reason than André Aciman's beautiful proses.
Great read and 5 stars all the way.
Dennis
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By lazytime
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read most of these pieces when they first appeared as a New York magazine cover story in 2009. While it IS a good little compilation worth keeping, they should have included even more people than they did. This final product feels a bit lacking to me, considering I have the issue a lot of these were first published in. Some of the stories are very well written and thoughtful, but others are obviously phoned-in or fall flat. The concept is great though, and it would make a nice gift, especially for someone moving to or new in NYC.
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