New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times (Paperback)

~ Constance Rosenblum (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The City section of the Sunday edition of the New York Times features vivid accounts of life, past and present, in the five boroughs. Rosenblum, who edits the City section, has collected 40 representative pieces that showcase the ups and downs of life in a metropolis that still exerts a gravitational pull on those seeking their fortune. Many of the essays are by well-known authors, such as Jan Morris, Phillip Lopate and Vivian Gornick, but others, equally winning, are by emerging writers. All of the pieces are engrossing and share a painstaking attention to craft. Mel Gussow dramatically evokes the day in 1970 when the Greenwich Village townhouse next door to him, occupied by members of the radical Weather Underground, was blown apart in an accidental detonation in their basement bomb factory. On a lighter note, Tara Bahrampour recounts the paradigmatic New York experience: searching for an affordable apartment. Field Maloney and Jill Eisenstadt each relate the glory days of Queens's Rockaway Beach as a summer resort, its sad decline and enduring allure. This is both an excellent addition to New York history and a pleasure for casual browsing. B&w photos. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A reminder that there are stories still untold in New York, and writers hard at work to find them for us.”

- The New York Times Book Review

“You don't have to have a particular interest in the Big Apple to pick up this book. These are stories of human life in all its quirky richness. . . . New York Stories is a series of love letters to a city that, for all its problems and peculiarities, beckons people from all over the world.”

- Boston Globe

“Rosenblum, who edits the City section, has collected 40 representative pieces that showcase the ups and downs of life in a metropolis that still exerts a gravitational pull on those seeking their fortune. Many of the essays are by well-known authors, such as Jan Morris, Phillip Lopate and Vivian Gornick, but others, equally winning, are by emerging writers. All of the pieces are engrossing and share a painstaking attention to craft. … This is both an excellent addition to New York history and a pleasure for casual browsing.”

- Publishers Weekly

“This collection of engaging stories will appeal to a broad range of adult readers interested in pushing back the concealing vapors of legend to discover the otherwise hidden gears and cogs that keep the enchanted ideal of New York City humming smoothly along.”

- Foreward

“Given the subject matter, it should come as no surprise that the pieces evoke a powerful sense of place. Coming as this does from the pages of the New York Times, it is also no surprise that the material is of high literary caliber.”

- Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814775721
• ISBN-13: 978-0814775721
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #367,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal" of New York, September 29, 2005

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

On occasion, I read two books at about the same time which are an "odd couple" indeed. For example, this book and Dale Maharidge's Denison, Iowa. As editor, Constance Rosenblum focuses on the "glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal" of New York City and the same can be said of Maharidge's perspectives on Denison. Although there are many stunning differences between the two cultures, both exemplify the best and worst of what is often referred to as the "American Experience."

With regard to this book, Rosenblum has assembled a selection of articles which first appeared in the Best of the City section in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. In quite different ways, they reveal what she calls "the essence of one of the world's extraordinary places." The material is organized within four Parts: A Sense of Place, Moods and Mores, New Yorkers, and City Lore. Articles are grouped accordingly although several could be included in several of the four. The variety of subjects and points-of-view seem especially appropriate to New York. For example:

In "The House on 11th Street," Mel Gussow reflects back three decades to when young radicals blew up an elegant brownstone house in Greenwich Village, sharing "echoes of the past" which continue to linger.

In "Nothing But Net," Thomas Beller describes "a patch of asphalt" in a West Village playground which seems like an "empty page in the urban landscape" because it needs players "to give it meaning."

In "The Allure of the Ledge," Ivor Hanson explains why the window washer is "the ultimate risk taker, the ultimate voyeur" while "working close to the clouds."

In "The Ballad of Sonny Payne," Steven Kurutz explains why one panhandler on the F Train, "the man with the white beard and gentle eyes," is so popular, indeed loved.

In "My Neighborhood, Its Fall and Rise," Vivian Gornick discusses the West Farms area of the Bronx, "dreary" in the 1950s and "desolate" in the 1970s, which is beginning to recover.

In my opinion, it would be a mistake to assume that only New Yorkers or those who once lived in New York will fully understand and appreciate the material in articles such as these. On the contrary. To be sure, New Yorkers (i.e. residents of any of the five boroughs) have a distinctive style and personality. At least in Manhattan, the pace of most human activities is often frantic. Yes, some people can seem competitive and perhaps confrontational. Throughout almost 50 years, my own experiences suggest that most New Yorkers can be -- and often are -- friendly and helpful when treated with courtesy and respect. That said, they are far more diverse and complicated than facile stereotypes presume to suggest. Nor can any single volume such as this one do full justice to the nature and extent of their shared culture. Credit Rosenblum on her skillful selection of articles. Credit, also, their authors who explore the "glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal" of a city unlike any other.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Writing New York: A Literary Anthology, edited by Phillip Lopate and available in a paperbound edition. Also the aforementioned 110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11 edited by Ulrich Baer, also available in a paperbound edition.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Spice of Life, August 23, 2006

By	Dave (Great Lake State) - See all my reviews

Welcome to Editor Constance Rosenblum's "New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times."

Scattered across four sections, forty stories are poised, waiting to be set free. Free to voice a singular truth. Free to join a chorus of commonality.

From exploding homes, to pickup basketball as culture, readers are spirited to central park: an island of calm amongst a sea of chaos. Then sip latté ala Starbucks that serves up not only foamy caffeine, but also temporary living space for chronically pigeonholed apartment dwellers. Don't look up, as spiraling heights await degree-wielding window washers, while far below, ocean-spawned breakers seduce urban surf hounds shoreward. Nowhere else, but this land of improbable realities, is it feasible to imagine a hopeful, newly licensed driver who could bake her birthday cakes under the combined heat of forty-plus candles.

Readers of all slants may pluck strands from this fabled city's Golden Fleece; yanking urban myths from whispered shadows into unflinching light. Meet the Collyer brothers who appear, not merely as compulsive collectors, but as fellow human beings lured down a tragic path. Pass by the King of Slugs, a man who cheated the subway, but eventually paid in full. Then chance upon an indiscernible man of the streets and discover he has more than a handful of change; he has a name. Finally, after diving for sunken treasure, sit vigil with a young nurse over a boy who, one day, fell from the sky.

New York, larger than life? No. It is life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great selection!, September 29, 2008

By	footsteps - See all my reviews

I bought this book before travellin for one week to New York City. It enlightens the never-been-before traveller and gives a great scent of the city, dividing it into themes. I like most of the stories and even the ones that don't sound so amazing will teach you something! great buy :)