Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are very few classics in the field of pop culture--the academic stuff tends to be too dry and the fun stuff is too quickly dated. This book by Luc Sante is the exception--in fluid prose liberally sprinkled with astute metaphors, Sante tells the story of New York's Lower East Side, circa 1840-1920. The personal histories of criminals, prostitutes, losers, and swindlers bring to life the social and statistical history that the author has meticulously researched. Not limiting himself to the usual sources, Sante finds his history in old copies of Police Gazette as well as actual police, fire, and social service records. Above all, what really makes this book work is the writing, which brings to life a culture of the streets that continues to form a silent influence on our contemporary popular culture.

From Publishers Weekly

Sante exposes the underside of Manhattan's underclass circa 1840-1919, presenting New York then as already a realm of danger and pleasure.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (September 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679738762
• ISBN-13: 978-0679738763
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #781,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written & entertaining tale of the REAL "old New York", July 10, 2001

By	Jeffrey Jotz "You'll know him when you find him" (Rahway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

People who think that New York City reached its low point in the 1970s (or the 1980s) as the Bronx burned and crime seemed to be on every streetcorner sometimes tend to idealize the past. Perhaps it was shaped from movies from the 20s and 30s that seemed to show a simpler NYC, or maybe it was just plain misguided nostalgia.

Sante does a fantastic job of recounting the dark underbelly of New York City in the 19th and early 20th century, going into gory details about the horrible poverty along the Bowery and Lower East Side (areas that have seen extensive gentrification since the late 1980s), the filthy streets and disease outbreaks among the city's immigrant masses, the proliferation of street gangs (some of whom were representing NYC police) and other, well, "low lifes." Sante gives an engaging, well-paced description of the oft-overlooked problems a booming industrial-age city like New York was going through and boldly goes where no historian has gone before.

Required reading if you are a NYC (or urban) history fan.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Reading, November 29, 2001

By	Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Luc Sante's Low Life is fascinating and engrossing reading. It's the story of New York, told from the underside. Luc Sante has given us an excellently researched, excellently written work which explores the seedy side of New York, from about 1840 through 1920. He lets us see how much New York City has changed, yet how much it has stayed the same. The improvements to life in New York are remarkable, not so much for what they are, but for what they improved upon. There is an almost uplifting message from this book: New Yorkers can accomplish anything, can improve everything, can recover anytime. If you know New York at all, or have any kind of interest in the city, I believe you will find this an engrossing, entertaining work.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The closest thing to strolling down The Bowery 100 years ago, October 30, 1999

By	"goodomen1976" (New York City) - See all my reviews

Beautifully written (nice font!) All the dates, names, places, figures and facts, you'll ever need on the history of the Lower East Side. Sante puts the social, ideological, economic, and cultural characteristics of 'low-life' New York in perspective with the rest of the nation. If you enjoyed DREAMLAND or THE ALIENIST, or TIME AND AGAIN, WINTER'S TALE, and even RAGTIME, read this book as a non-fiction compliment and source for all the books hitherto mentioned. Perhaps you'll enjoy Low Life more.