Customer Reviews

Times Square Red, Times Square Blue

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chip Delany, the writer/critic with the eight-inch... beard, has done it again. Two books in one, and both will give you lots to think about.

The first ("warm") half is an account of the now-vanished culture of random sexual encounters that once flourished in the Times Square area, especially in the porno theaters: alternately funny and tragic, and quite authentic, as I can attest from my own visits to the Adonis in ancient times.

The second ("cool") half is (indirectly) on the same subject: it's an essay dealing with the difference between "contact" and "networking" (I won't try to explain... read the book). Even though it never mentions the Internet by name, it says a lot about what the Internet is about, and what it's doing to us.

Samuel Delaney has done the near imposible - he has written a book that is both titillating and informing. Dividing his cogent 21st Century social philosophy into two parts is at first disconcerting: Why are we reading (buying) a book that lets us in on the gossip of firsthand observation of Times Square New York, then in a page turn becomes a sophisticated academic treatise on our current social problems, in the City, and in a Country? Once past this mirage of a hurdle Delaney makes it patently clear why he chose this format. If we are introduced to a problem in a seductive manner, we pay closer attention to the bigger issues. This superb little book is illuminating in its exploration of where we are in our interpersonal relationships, our interplay with those around us (street, neighborhood, city, country), and our current drive to homogenize our world. Beautifully written, immensely readable, and a very important contribution to our social perceptions!

A remarkable book, with both the frankest discussion of people's sexual desires and needs of any book I've read in years, and a compelling argument about the crucial role places like the old Times Square play in the life of a city. A paeon to America's cities and an intimate history of a culture being destroyed. Delany's masterful prose makes this brief book a treat to read. A great stocking stuffer for the intellectually and sexually adventurous.

I always thought of Samuel Delaney as a writer of science fiction, my least favorite genre, so this is my first book by him. I was impressed and delighted. The worst thing I can say about it is that Mr. Delaney has a love of dependent clauses strung along inside comma-copious sentences that were sometimes hard to read. But he has awesome insights too, and compassion and wisdom lace every page. Makes me wish I was old enough to partake of that culture.

The book was delivered in the promised time period and condition. It's a great book, that I have read before. I wanted to have a copy to read again and then to give it to a friend who I know would be interested in it. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

A confused "Amazon Customer" is repeatedly inserting blurbs from other periodicals into the "customer review" section of this page, AND failing to give "star" ratings to these inserts -- thus steadily dragging down the star-rating of this book. Since the blurbs are positive and have been repeatedly entered, I assume this "Amazon Customer" wants people to be interested in the book. Well, by failing to give a star rating, you're doing exactly the opposite! So either stop inserting blurbs altogether, or start giving them star ratings. This book is too cool to be muddied up by your confusion.

This book promises to be a history and social commentary on Times Square's sleazy recent past. But in reality the book is told from a very narrow and restrictive point-of-view (. . . )There's nothing wrong with that except he practically ignores the fact that the West 42nd Street sex shops, peep shows, and massage parlors were also an attraction for heterosexual men. The reader will get painfully tired of reading endless descriptions of Delaney's sexual exploits among the XXX theater crowd. Additionally, the handfull of black and white photos of the empty storefronts of the "Forty Deuce" were taken after most of the shops had been driven out of business. Without good photos of the way 42nd Street used to be, the vibrant nature of the area is greatly diminished and Delaney's text doesn't make up for it. If you are looking for a social history of the old Times Square, something balanced and better illustrated, try Josh Alan Friedman's "Tales of Times Square" instead.