Synopses & Reviews
From opium dens to the Bowery's suicide saloons, this lively, learned work of outlaw urban history ushers readers through the dark heart of New York City in the years between 1840 and 1919. "A systematic, well-researched historical account of . . . corruption, vice, and miscellaneous mayhem . . . well-crafted and tightly written. Boston Globe. 63 photographs.
Review
"(The author's) mastery of detail makes the opening chapters on Manhattan's landscape his strongest. Sante is a gifted writer about architecture and urban space." Christine Stansell, The New Republic
Review
"Low Life captures the rollicking atmosphere of city life during the period. In his first book, Mr. Sante, a freelance journalist, moves along swiftly, rarely bogging down in numbers, chronologies or social history." Hanna Rubin, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"A guided tour through Manhattan's demimonde of the last century, conducted with exquisite relish by East Village journalist Sante, who speaks with all the authority of an eyewitness....A rich delight. And for hapless New Yorkers who find themselves worn down by the present-day chaos of their city, Sante provides a strangely heartening reminder that nothing much has changed." Kirkus Reviews
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [363]-371) and index.