You Must Remember This: An Oral History of Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II - Softcover

Kisseloff, Mr. Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801863066 ISBN 13: 9780801863066

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Jeff Kisseloff brings together 137 New Yorkers who witnessed daily life in Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II. Dividing the city into ten neighborhoods and devoting a chapter and about a dozen voices to each, Kisseloff offers a brief introduction, then lets the eyewitnesses speak for themselves. We hear a survivor's account of the harrowing Triangle Shirtwaist fire as well as tales of the sweatshops, the settlement houses, and the immigrants from around the world who poured into the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. There are vignettes of John Reed, Louise Bryant, Eugene O'Neill, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. We read of the bloody beginnings of the seamen's union and, down the street from the docks, visit with Thomas Wolfe and Edgar Lee Masters in the Hotel Chelsea. In Harlem, the Savoy and the Cotton Club were in their heyday, as were Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, and Adam Clayton Powell.

Kisseloff offers a brief historical introduction to each of the ten neighborhoods and provides rare photographs of the people and places. From the pushcarts of the Lower East Side to the farms on Manhattan's northern expanse, from the Schirmers and the Steinways on the West Side to the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and the rest of the social register across the park, these eyewitnesses to another age engage us in a unique conversation between an all-but-bygone time and our own.

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Kisseloff is a native New Yorker whose grandfather owned a dry goods shop on Orchard Street. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and currently works out of his Westchester County home as a freelance writer.

From the Back Cover

In You Must Remember This, Jeff Kisseloff brings together 137 New Yorkers who witnessed daily life in Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II. Dividing the city into ten neighborhoods and devoting a chapter and about a dozen voices to each, Kisseloff offers a brief historical introduction, then lets the eyewitnesses speak for themselves. We hear a survivor's account of the harrowing Triangle Shirtwaist fire as well as tales of the sweatshops, the settlement houses, and the immigrants from around the world who poured into the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. There are vignettes of John Reed, Louise Bryant, Eugene O'Neill, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. We read of the bloody beginnings of the seamen's union and, down the street from the docks, visit with Thomas Wolfe and Edgar Lee Masters in the Hotel Chelsea. In Harlem, the Savoy and the cotton Club were in their heyday, as were Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, and Adam Clayton Powell. Throughout the book, Kisseloff engages us in a unique conversation between an all-but-bygone time and our own.

Reviews

Kisseloff interviewed 137 New Yorkers when compiling this oral history of the wicked city. LJ's reviewer found that "the speakers are a diverse lot the accounts are vivid and down to earth. We catch the distinct flavor of the neighborhoods as they were" (LJ 6/1/89). The author divides the city into ten sections, corralling people's memories by neighborhood. Along with personal remembrances, there are vignettes about famous New Yorkers, e.g., John Reed, Eugene O'Neill, and Billie Holiday. This edition has been updated with a new preface by Kisseloff and is the only paperback version currently available.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801863066
• ISBN 13: 9780801863066
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 664