Capital of the World: A Portrait Of New York City In The Roaring Twenties - Softcover

Wallace West Point, Col. David Col.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0762780150 ISBN 13: 9780762780150

Publisher: Lyons Press, 2012

Synopsis

In the same absorbing style that characterized his bestseller Lost Hollywood, David Wallace presents a the Prohibition-era personalities and events that made New York City the cultural and financial capital of the world. Sex, sin, song, work, sports, play—all these aspects of New York and more are told through a rich array of anecdotes and “inside” profiles of the individuals that personified them in a defining decade.

 

As no book has to date, Capital of the World brings alive New York during a period that saw speakeasies, the rise of the Mafia, women achieving the right to vote, the birth of radio and mass communication, and the beginnings of gossip as a business. This was also an era abuzz with the arts, film, fashion, jazz, baseball, and boxing.

 

Among the many personality driven themes so richly addressed in Capital of the World:

 

* Sherman Billingsely’s Stork Club and Prohibition * Martha Graham and modern dance * Babe Ruth and sports * David Sarnoff and radio * Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker, and the rest of The Round Table * Lucky Luciano and organized crime * Mayor Jimmy “Gentleman Jim” Walker and politics * Madam Polly Adler and the brothels * Walter Winchell and the birth of gossip journalism * The Cotton Club and the Harlem Renaissance * And much more...

 

 

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In the same absorbing style that characterized his bestseller Lost Hollywood, David Wallace presents a richly detailed, jazzy chronicle of the Prohibition-era personalities and events that made New York City the cultural and financial capital of the world. Sex, sin, song, work, sports, play—all these aspects of New York and more are told through a bountiful array of anecdotes and “inside” profiles of the individuals who personified them in a defining decade. From Mafia boss Lucky Luciano to “Gentleman Jim,” New York’s beloved but controversial mayor Jimmy Walker; from famous madam Polly Adler to comedienne Fanny Brice; from classical music stars Arturo Toscanini and Geraldine Farrar to members of The Round Table, including Alexander Woollcott and Dorothy Parker . . . Capital of the World brings to life the stars and giants of the Big Apple in the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties swept through other cities, too—including Paris, London, and Berlin. But New York City roared the loudest, and what happened there during that time of social, economic, and cultural prosperity forever altered the way people lived.
 
As no book has to date, Capital of the World brings alive this giant of a city in this dizzying age—a period that saw alcohol made illegal, the rise of the Mafia, the birth of radio and mass communication, and the beginnings of gossip as a business. This was also an era abuzz with the arts, film, fashion, jazz, and speakeasies. An era in which a burgeoning new media popularized baseball, boxing, and other sports as never before. This was when women achieved the right to vote and when the automobile revolutionized the lives of millions. And New York City was at the center of it all.

From the Back Cover

In the same absorbing style that characterized his bestseller Lost Hollywood, David Wallace presents the Prohibition-era personalities and events that made New York City the cultural and financial capital of the world. Sex, sin, song, work, sports, play—all these aspects of New York and more are told through a rich array of anecdotes and “inside” profiles.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0762780150
• ISBN 13: 9780762780150
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288