DOWN 42nd STREET: Sex, Money, Culture, and Politics at the Crossroads of the World - Hardcover

Eliot, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446525715 ISBN 13: 9780446525718

Publisher: Warner Books, 2001

Synopsis

A social history of New York's 42nd Street explores the various ways in which money, politics, sex and culture have shaped the famed boulevard and offers profiles of the famous and infamous characters who have played key roles in its history.

About this title

About the Author

Marc Eliot is the New York Times bestselling author of several biographies, including To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles, Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince, Down Thunder Road: The Making of Bruce Springsteen, and Death of a Rebel: A Biography of Phil Ochs. He is also the author of Rockonomics: The Money Behind the Music and The Whole Truth. A native New Yorker, he divides his time between Los Angeles and New York City.

Reviews

A rambunctious social and political history of Times Square and "the deuce" street slang for 42nd Street covers a lot of territory, but makes its points with wit and an insider's keen insight. Eliot, co-author of Erin Brockovitch's forthcoming advice book Take It from Me! and of Barry White's Love Unlimited, piles up fascinating historic details, from Revolutionary War battles on the nascent site of 42nd Street to the building of Grand Central Terminal; from the growth of New York's theater district to how the business-oriented Committee of 14 attacked prostitution, censored theaters and nearly killed Broadway from 1904 to 1930. Explaining how the street became famous for sophistication and then for sex, grime and crime, Eliot is best when focusing on the economic developments that shaped the area: Vanderbilt bullying city officials to build Grand Central; Ed Koch's deals with developers for redevelopment in the 1980s that destroyed many historic theaters; the Gambino crime syndicate's lost claim on the area to "a rodent of a different sort" the Disney corporation. Comfortable and conversant with a wide range of cultural artifacts and events (Dead End Kids movies, the changing censorship laws of the 1950s and '60s, changing fast food habits of New Yorkers), Eliot paints a lively portrait of urban life. While the book would have been helped by drawing upon newer, groundbreaking critical works such as Samuel R. Delaney's Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, it does present a popular and engaging look at "the crossroads of the world."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

*Starred Review* Best-selling biographer Eliot takes us on a walk down New York City's Forty-second Street, providing historical perspective and insight into the roles played in its development by many famous politicians and celebrities. The author traces the events that make the two-and-one-half-mile trek from the East River to the Hudson River a fascinating journey, from the East Side, which is the daytime home of industry giants, to west of Times Square, an area known for sex, drugs, and lack of police presence. Three fascinating events are explored in depth: the battle to keep Grand Central Station from the wrecking ball; how attracting Disney led to the revitalization of the theater district; and the convoluted tale over many years of politicians, Mob bosses, society figures, and vested interests who struggled to dominate the West Side, which was as colorful as it was deadly. For all those who love New York or are interested in city economics, planning, and development, this narrative proves that truth can be more compelling than fiction. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Warner Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446525715
• ISBN 13: 9780446525718
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336