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Examines the history of Yankee Stadium and its importance to the people and politics of New York, looking at the teams, mayors, and players involved.
Timed to be released at the start of 2008 spring training, Neil Sullivan's The Diamond in the Bronx chronicles the entire history of a stadium that has been home to the greatest dynasty in sports history, a stadium that will see its final Yankees game in 2008. As Yankee Stadium is about to become a memory, an indelible part of the cultural history of baseball and of New York City, Neil Sullivan's The Diamond in the Bronx offers a fascinating account of its history and its position at the intersection of sports, business, government, and society, Sullivan tells how Yankee Stadium came to be built in 1923, at a time when the Bronx was a burgeoning borough that held middle class housing for immigrants as well as hunting lodges for wealthy Manhattanites, an era when small children could ride the subway, alone, to the ball game, and when many of the ballplayers themselves lived on the Grand Concourse. As the city and the Bronx changed, Yankeedom changed too, and the stadium is now surrounded by of parking lots, symbolic of the team's suburban fan base and the decline of the South Bronx. In recent years the team has threatened to leave New York City, prompting extravagant proposals for keeping it there, including a billion dollar new stadium in Manhattan to be financed with public money. The resulting stadium controversy tells us much about the public's changing views of government and the changing nature of professional sports. For Yankee fans, baseball aficionados, and anyone interested in the increasingly vexed relationship between sports, business, and politics, The Diamond in the Bronx offers a wealth of detail, insight, and historical perspective.
In the middle of New York City lies a neighborhood where all secrets are valuable, all assets are liquid, and all deals are sealed with a blessing rather than a contract. Welcome to the diamond district. Ninety percent of all diamonds that enter America pass through these few blocks, but the inner workings of this mysterious world are known only to the people who inhabit it. In Precious Objects, twenty-six-year-old journalist Alicia Oltuski, the daughter and granddaughter of diamond dealers, seamlessly blends family narrative with literary reportage to reveal the fascinating secrets of the diamond industry and its madcap characters: an Elvis-impersonating dealer, a duo of diamond-detective brothers, and her own eccentric father. With insight and drama, Oltuski limns her family’s diamond-paved move from communist Siberia to a displaced persons camp in post–World War II Germany to New York’s diamond district, exploring the connections among Jews and the industry, the gem and its lore, and the exotic citizens of this secluded world. Entertaining and illuminating, Precious Objects offers an insider’s look at the history, business, and society behind one of the world’s most coveted natural resources, providing an unforgettable backstage pass to an extraordinary and timeless show.
Searching for John Hughes is Jason Diamond’s hilarious memoir of growing up obsessed with the iconic filmmaker’s movies. From the outrageous, raunchy antics in National Lampoon’s Vacation to the teenage angst in The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink to the insanely clever and unforgettable Home Alone, Jason Diamond could not get enough of John Hughes’ films. So, he set off on a years-long delusional, earnest, and assiduous quest to write a biography of his favorite filmmaker, despite having no qualifications, training, background, platform, or direction. In Searching for John Hughes, Jason tells how a Jewish kid from a broken home in a Chicago suburb—sometimes homeless, always restless—found comfort and connection in the likewise broken lives in the suburban Chicago of John Hughes’ oeuvre. He moved to New York to become a writer of a book he had no business writing. In the meantime, he brewed coffee and guarded cupcake cafes. All the while, he watched John Hughes movies religiously. Though his original biography of Hughes has long since been abandoned, Jason has discovered he is a writer through and through. And the adversity of going for broke has now been transformed into wisdom. Or, at least, a really, really good story. In other words, this is a memoir of growing up. One part big dream, one part big failure, one part John Hughes movies, one part Chicago, and one part New York. It’s a story of what comes after the “Go for it!” part of the command to young creatives to pursue their dreams—no matter how absurd they might seem at first.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two young nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe in the vast, swirling world of 1920s New York City. She’s got street smarts, boundless determination, and one unusual skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in a baseball-mad city. From Coney Island sideshows to the brand-new Yankee Stadium, Diamond Ruby chronicles the extraordinary life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bestow. But her fame comes with a price, and Ruby must escape a deadly web of conspiracy and threats from Prohibition rumrunners, the Ku Klux Klan, and the gangster underworld. Diamond Ruby “is the exciting tale of a forgotten piece of baseball’s heritage, a girl who could throw with the best of them. A real page-turner, based closely on a true story” (Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row).
The lost memoir from Lou Gehrig—“a compelling rumination by a baseball icon and a tragic hero” (Sports Illustrated) and “a fitting tribute to an inspiring baseball legend” (Publishers Weekly). At the tender age of twenty-four, Lou Gehrig decided to tell the remarkable story of his life and career. He was one of the most famous athletes in the country, in the midst of a record-breaking season with the legendary 1927 World Series–winning Yankees. In an effort to grow Lou’s star, pioneering sports agent Christy Walsh arranged for Lou’s tale of baseball greatness to syndicate in newspapers across the country. Those columns were largely forgotten and lost to history—until now. Lou comes alive in this “must-read” (Tyler Kepner, The New York Times) memoir. It is an inspiring, heartfelt rags-to-riches tale about a poor kid from New York who became one of the most revered baseball players of all time. Fourteen years after his account, Lou would tragically die from ALS, a neuromuscular disorder now known as Lou Gherig’s Disease. His poignant autobiography is followed by an insightful biographical essay by historian Alan D. Gaff. Here is Lou—Hall of Famer, All Star, MVP, an “athlete who epitomized the American dream” (Christian Science Monitor)—back at bat.
Journalists Craig Thompson and Allen Raymond in 1940 wrote that “...the lower East Side of Manhattan in the first twenty years of the twentieth century was the greatest breeding ground for gunmen and racketeers, since risen to eminence, that this country has ever seen...” Conditions in the pre-Prohibition twentieth century Lower East Side certainly fueled an explosion in gangs and racketeering. Such underworld giants as Meyer Lansky, Louis “Lepke” Buchalter and Salvatore “Charlie Luciano” Lucania were products of that overcrowded and hard environment. But that was just a small part of the area’s underworld history. In this issue, Informer presents a collection of articles representing the seedy and bloody gangland history of the Lower East Side. Material spans many decades of Manhattan’s history. Related article subjects: ∙ End of the Whyos gang. ∙ Historic Photo: Bandits' Roost. ∙ John H. McGurk and Bowery's "Suicide Hall." ∙ The death and life of hoodlum/hero Monk Eastman. ∙ NYC's first Mafia boss? ∙ Italian gang chief with an Irish name: Paul Kelly. ∙ Sai Wing Mock and the New York "Tong Wars." ∙ Frank Lanza's New York firms may have been Mafia fronts. ∙ In search of "Johnny Spanish." ∙ Racketeering future was molded in young Meyer Lansky's neighborhood. ∙ "Death Avenue": Second Avenue, 1910-1924. ∙ 1964 narcotics report included mobster bios. In addition, the issue includes these articles: ∙ New facts about 1928 Mafia conventioneers. ∙ "Bill the Butcher" wasn't from the Five Points. ∙ New and recent true crime book releases. ∙ Looking back from 2023: 150, 100, 75, 50, 5 years ago. Contributors to this issue: Thomas Hunt, Justin Cascio, Patrick Downey, Michael O'Haire, Steve Turner, Matt Ghiglieri.
Filled with insightful analysis and compelling arguments, this book considers the influence of sports on popular culture and spotlights the fascinating ways in which sports culture and American culture intersect. This collection blends historical and popular culture perspectives in its analysis of the development of sports and sports figures throughout American history. American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports is unique in that it focuses on how each sport has transformed and influenced society at large, demonstrating how sports and popular culture are intrinsically entwined and the ways they both reflect larger societal transformations. The essays in the book are wide-ranging, covering topics of interest for sports fans who enjoy the NFL and NASCAR as well as those who like tennis and watching the Olympics. Many topics feature information about specific sports icons and favorite heroes. Additionally, many of the topics' treatments prompt engagement by purposely challenging the reader to either agree or disagree with the author's analysis.