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New York night : the mystique and its history

New York Night: The Mystique and Its History

The Beatnik movement is only sparsely covered even though their world of jazz night-clubs certainly is worthy of research. The s are almost completely glossed over, as are the s and s. While the previous chapters had gone into depth about all manner of groups and their entertainments, from political bigwigs in Tammany Hall and its pseudo-secret society predecessors to Yiddish theater of the late 19th century and the speakeasies and jazz of the s and 30s, the 60s and 70s are only covered by two major events - Stonewall and disco primarily disco and the gay New York citizen.

Caldwell himself is gay, and it makes sense that he would be interested in this subject, but there are other books devoted to both topics. His sudden focus on the gay movement is jarring and feels out of place with the tone of the rest of the book.

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Discos, for example, catered to straights as well as gays and the only disco he gives much coverage to is Studio 54; while it was important in the history, there were dozens of other discos and clubs dotting NYC's landscape at the time and the focus given to it strikes me as a bit lazy, as everyone and their brother knows about th rise and fall of Studio Glaringly absent in the 70s, especially, are the nascent hip-hop and punk scenes. Both were culturally important, but both are largely ignored.

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Gang life is likewise largely ignored, with a mention of the notorious Capeman murders to suffice. The book ends on an anti-climactic note, in post-Guiliani Times Square, with Caldwell visiting a strip club a straight one, mind you , where Caldwell observes the sadness and desperation in the eyes of all participants. I would definitely recommend the book for anyone interested in the nightlife between New Amsterdam and the s.

For anyone interested in events after that, another book is clearly needed. Apr 02, Margaret rated it it was amazing. I first heard of this book while facilitating a video conference with Katherine Marsh regarding her novel, The Night Tourist. During the interview, she mentioned using this book as a resource. Listening to her describe her grandmother's stories about how NYC came alive at night, I was intrigued enough to purchase and read the book.

Consequently, I also purchased a copy for my son and my brother. While certainly not easy to read, New York Night is a magical book.

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Lists with This Book. Caldwell English, Fordham Univ. Amanda Jackson rated it it was ok Sep 18, The hours between dusk and dawn are when we are most urgently free, when high meets low, when tongues wag, when wallets loosen, when uptown, downtown, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, male, and female so often Who among us cannot testify to the possibilities of the night? Discos, for example, catered to straights as well as gays and the only disco he gives much coverage to is Studio 54; while it was important in the history, there were dozens of other discos and clubs dotting NYC's landscape at the time and the focus given to it strikes me as a bit lazy, as everyone and their brother knows about th rise and fall of Studio And if there is one place where the grandness, danger, and enchantment of night have been lived more than anywhere else -- lived in fact for over years -- it is, of course, New York City. Cathy rated it liked it Oct 19,

Cathy rated it liked it Oct 19, Paulinerose Soden rated it really liked it Dec 28, Kathy M rated it really liked it Jan 15, Hope rated it it was ok Jul 23, David rated it really liked it Nov 10, Mary Jane rated it it was amazing May 28, Tammy rated it liked it Feb 10, Ann Rittenberg rated it it was amazing Jun 11, Heidi rated it liked it May 13, Amanda Jackson rated it it was ok Sep 18, Jeanna rated it liked it Nov 04, Maureen rated it liked it Jul 04, John added it Jun 09, To the mysterious, shadowed intersections of music, smoke, money, alcohol, desire, and dream?

The hours between dusk and dawn are when we are most urgently free, when high meets low, when tongues wag, when wallets loosen, when uptown, downtown, The Mystique and Its History. Who among us cannot testify to the possibilities of the night? The hours between dusk and dawn are when we are most urgently free, when high meets low, when tongues wag, when wallets loosen, when uptown, downtown, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, male, and female so often chance upon one another.

New York Night: The Mystique and Its History [Mark Caldwell] on donnsboatshop.com * FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Who among us cannot testify to the. New York Night will delight history buffs, New Yorkers in love with their home, and anyone who wants to see how human nocturnal behavior.

Night is when we are more likely to carouse, fornicate, fall in love, murder, or ourselves fall prey. And if there is one place where the grandness, danger, and enchantment of night have been lived more than anywhere else -- lived in fact for over years -- it is, of course, New York City. From glittering opulence to sordid violence, from sweetest romance to grinding lust, critic and historian Mark Caldwell chronicles, with both intimate detail and epic sweep, the story of New York nightlife from to the present, featuring the famous, the notorious, and the unknown who have long walked the city's streets and lived its history.

New York Night ranges from the leafy forests at Manhattan's tip, where Indians and Europeans first met, to the candlelit taverns of old New Amsterdam, to the theaters, brothels, and saloon prizefights of the Civil War era, to the lavish entertainments of the Gilded Age, to the speakeasies and nightclubs of the century past, and even to the strip clubs and glamour restaurants of today. Admitting that night did not begin a life of its own until the 18th century, he wanders from the start and never stops.

He describes black funerals in the 18th century and boarding-house life in the 19th.

New York night : the mystique and its history

He justifies a digression on the dreadful Tombs prison, circa , with the phrase, "the Tombs was particularly terrible at night. He details a heat wave, then somehow segues into discussion of a perceived rise in the illegal drug trade.

In one curious and lengthy passage, Mr. Caldwell chronicles the death of Madame Restell, "the highest-profile abortionist in New York and indeed the country," who took her own life one, well, morning. Caldwell takes so many detours and strays into so many cul-de-sacs that readers may be forgiven for wondering if they'll ever make it to the final destination, whatever that's supposed to be. Once, describing the life and citing the diary of one William Dunlap, who lived in Greenwich Village in the 's, Mr.

New York Night: The Mystique and Its History

Caldwell even admits that his stretch is acrobatic: Caldwell confesses—Dunlap was a temperance advocate who avoided the nocturnal drinking rounds. Caldwell were a less talented writer, his readers might be tempted to blow out the candle. But he can be a vivid storyteller, scene-setter and phrasemaker.

When Trinity Church caught fire, "flames pounded the sanctuary and nave, then slapped at the tower, roaring up to the wooden pinnacle. Caldwell's broad sweep is welcome when he writes about the gaslights, the buses and subways, and the other new technologies that gave life to the night. There's a wonderful passage when he quotes a writer visiting a brothel.