Nightshift NYC [Hardcover]

Russell Leigh Sharman (Author), Cheryl Harris Sharman (Author), Corey Hayes (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0520252713 | ISBN-13: 978-0520252714 | Edition: 1

New York is the city that never sleeps. This luminous book peels back the cover of darkness over the city as it hums along in the night, revealing a hidden world populated by the thousands of women and men who work and live the nightshift. Written with beauty and grace, Nightshift NYC weaves together cultural critique, vivid reportage, and arresting photographs to trace the inverted logic of the city at night. Russell Leigh Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman spent a year interviewing and shadowing fry cooks and coffee jockeys, train conductors, cab hacks, and dozens of others who keep the city running when the sun goes down. Investigating familiar places such diners and delis, they explore some less familiar ones as well--taking us on a walking tour of homelessness in Manhattan, onto a fishing boat out of Brooklyn, and into other little-known corners of the night. Traveling past the threshold of voyeurism into the lives of real people, they depict a social space entirely apart--one that is highly structured and inherently subversive. Together, these stories open a compelling view on contemporary urban life and, along the way, reveal the soul of the city itself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No book has ever examined the nature of nighttime work in the city . . . in as great depth and descriptive power."--New York Times

From the Inside Flap

"Poetically written, sympathetic, and engaging, Nightshift NYC opens up an unexplored world of the experiences of those who work at night in New York. An excellent read."--Kirin Narayan, author of My Family and Other Saints

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520252713
• ISBN-13: 978-0520252714
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intrepid City Dwellers Take Note...., October 31, 2008

By 

Adam Howell Barker (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nightshift NYC (Hardcover)

It wasn't God that told that Kebab guy to be on that corner by the club at 3am. He is there every night.

As a dedicated city dweller with lots of experience on and off the beaten track in NYC it is a rare occasion to have an author introduce you so carefully and lovingly to a world that you see in rare (blurry?) fragments. Welcome Nightshift NYC. The nightshift is right around the corner every night and even the intrepid and young see it all too fleetingly.

A clear-eyed depiction of the city's 1 in 10 workers who keep the city moving through the night, each and every night. If you are lucky you may know a few of them already. In Nightshift NYC you meet a luminous cross section. Co-authors Cheryl Harris Sharman and Russell Sharman give 18 easy reading chapters each focused on an individual or nightshift occupation. It's a tour of the city you live in but don't know... empty subway platforms? Cross town drives without traffic? You get it all on the nightshift. Peppered with deeply researched nuggets on how the city developed as well as the history of nighttime labor, the text is at once deeply thoughtful and approachable.

This is a must read for the resident of the city who keeps their eyes open to the constant wonders of city life. Hardened New Yorkers beware... there is something you don't know about your city! Meet the people who sacrifice sleep, health, and family to see that you get home at the end of a long night and make sure your bagels are fresh in the morning. Nightshift NYC is a penetrating look at cities that would benefit visitors and city residents alike. Or better yet, read a chapter a night... before going out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Glimpse into the hidden actions of New York's landscape, December 18, 2008

By 

Joshua J. Wall "jjfw" (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nightshift NYC (Hardcover)

Nightshift NYC was a fascinating read. It provides a great glimpse into the myriad of people whose lives revolve around that time when New York sleeps (or parties) and showed the underbelly of urban life that offsets the more formalized daytime facade. It was well timed, full of fascinating and funny stories, and kept me going throughout. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Lastly, as someone who lived in New York for four years but has since moved away it instilled that longing to return to the city with its odd and compelling living arrangements, working schedules, and diversity. It also, oddly enough, installed an odd desire to go and visit more 24 hour diners in midtown, something I rarely felt the compunction to do when I lived there...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Other New York, November 30, 2008

By 

Kevin Norowitz (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightshift NYC (Hardcover)

"There is a pulse to the city and it never stops beating."
In Nightshift NYC, Russel and Cheryl Sharman do a fantastic job at providing an unsuspecting reader with a full-fledged jolt of what work on the nightshift really means as well as the extent to which it exists. The easy-to-read ethnography follows nightshift workers from "Nightfall" to "Daybreak" all over NYC, to locations such as Penn Station, JFK, and the Emergency Room, as well as your favorite bodega. The Sharmans give the unvarnished picture of what the nightshift actually looks like. Nightshift NYC conveys the sacrifices that nightshift workers make for those of us who work by day and play at night- issues ranging from the upset circadian clock to the ever-present alcohol. Adding to the exclusive glimpse is the photo essay by Corey Hayes- candid photos taken around the nightshift.
One of my favorite lines was "I've been here 15 years and I don't know where is the keys!"- The Sharmans give Sunny, as well as other deli owners, taco vendors, taxi cab drivers and the likes, the time of night to give their frank opinions and reasons for working the nightshift. Their sincere reflections are humorous, but at the same time thought provoking. The book is highly informative through the personal encounters- a real eye opener to the struggles that hide in the darkness of the nightshft.