On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: nightlife consumers, urban nightlife, winning bar, Old City, Barclay Prime, Alma de Cuba (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

His interest in club life undiminished, sociologist Grazian (Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs) ventures into after-hours Philadelphia for a dishy yet savvy tell-all that brings the city's network of pubs and hotspots fully to life, complete with a host of partiers eager to share. Populated in large part by a 100,000-plus student population, Grazian strips bare the social life of young Philly to reveal "pre-game" prep rituals (dressing, fraternizing, drinking), on-location angst (to appear cool and worldly) and wary assessment of older patrons among them (dinosaurs in their late twenties and beyond). Grazian also brings to life the "hustle" of the industry in vibrant profiles of nightlife institutions, "including the staging of... interiors, the scripting of interactions with customers, the exploitation of attractive women workers, the engineering of creative publicity and... reality-based marketing schemes," showing how these efforts combine to produce the lucrative, exciting and often risky appeal at the heart of the scene. Taking readers to strip clubs, gay bars, the poshest of the posh and a few dives for good measure, this book is a bit like a month of free nights out: the pleasure of the hustle without any of the hassle.
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Review

"If you want to understand the contemporary city, you have to look beyond the office towers and real estate developments to the city at night. Too long ignored, the city at night is a multi-billion dollar industry, a large-scale mating market, and a way station for our ever-extending adolescence. David Grazian takes us on a backstage tour of the ritualistic games, hustlers and attempted hookups, and enduring stories and myths that define the city at night. This book takes nightlife out of the shadows and shows how it is a core concern for understanding the economy and sociology of the modern city."-Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class (Richard Florida 20070716)

"Reading On the Make is like going out on the town with a most amiable, clever, fluent companion-who seems to know everyone you run into. Grazian introduces you to the myriad people who run the Philadelphia scene, and to the affluent young nighttime scenesters; he chats them up and then subjects their complex games of class, gender, and sexual performance to his smart, edgy analysis. The result is at once sobering and drunken fun."--Joshua Gamson, author of The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco (Joshua Gamson 20080101)

"On the Make is where the action is. The settings are the cool bars and restaurants of the big city where adults pretend they look like kids, kids act out being adults, and masters of entertainment create exclusive scenes available to everyone. Drawing from hundreds of stories and years of fieldwork, David Grazian reveals how scenes are made, how the `girl-hunt' works (not) and why some boys like coconut shampoo. Along the way, Grazian is revealed to be a brilliant ethnographer and an imaginative writer."-Peter Bearman, author of Doormen (Peter Bearman 20071217)

"A dazzling and sometimes disturbing portrait of young adults in the urban glamour zone. No other book reveals as much about sex, drugs and money off campus."-Eric Klinenberg, Playboy (Eric Klinenberg Playboy 20080120)

"Grazian ventures into after-hours Philadelphia for a dishy yet savvy tell-all that brings the city''s network of pubs and hotspots fully to life, complete with a host of partiers eager to share. . . . Taking readers to strip clubs, gay bars, the poshest of the posh and a few dives for good measure, this book is a bit like a month of free nights out: the pleasure of the hustle without any of the hassle."-Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly )

"[A] creepily fascinating study of the industry and rituals of the Philadelphia club scene. . . . [Grazian] has a keen eye for the deceptive interplay between the real and ideal."-Toronto Star (Ryan Bigge Toronto Star )

"Grazian offers an unflinching portrait of urban nightlife as a series of hustles. . . . A smart piece of urban sociology as well as a sobering existential comment on the contemporary commodification of the self."--Choice (Choice )

"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the rhythms and beats of nightlife in the metropolis. It is in the best tradition of modernist ethnography and could be used as an exemplar for courses on qualitative methods, urban sociology, social interaction, and consumerist or class culture." (American Journal of Sociology )

"The data are rich and compelling. As a tour guide, Grazian's account of Philadelphia's nightlife is vivid and well organized. . . . On the Make is mot just readable but riveting. It is an exceptional piece of sociology in the finest traditions of qualitative analysis." (Georgie S. Rigakos Canadian Journal of Sociology )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226305678
• ISBN-13: 978-0226305677
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #276,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, engaging, true-to-life narrative, December 18, 2007

By	A. Rosenthal (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a young professional living in Philadelphia, this book hits close-to-home. Grazian provides a compelling, engaging look at the world of urban nightlife through the eyes of his students. A must-read for anyone interested in an academic analysis of what it means to be young and care-free in today's urban world.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "The narrative possiblities of the seemingly mundane...", January 18, 2008

By	Randy Stark "Shaking Up the Whole Game" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A study of downtown Philly, and a bubbly, creative and youthful scene populated by those with discretionary dough. Grazian has his own themes--con games and nocturnal storytelling--and then he's all over the place--advertising, impression management, and night life as rite of passage. Insightful, plenty of good quotes, and a nice balance between the academy and the street. He writes well, but Grazian's street is a bit sanitized. Where are the vermin, the crazy, the addicts, the liars, the dealers, the pimps, the whores, the players and the killazz? The index doesn't contain listings for drugs, gangs, crime. Urban nightlife?