1980 DJ 1st ABOUT NEW YORK Francis X Clines People & Neighborhoods Stories

Description: Title: About New York Sketches of the City Author: Francis X. Clines Publisher: McGraw Hill (1979) Description:Phenomenal book. The About New York column was started by Meyer Berger. It was continued by McCandlish Phillips and later Francis X. Clines. Others such as Dan Barry, David Gonzales and Jim Dwyer continued this tradition of storytelling with the column running into the 2020s. Francis X. Clines who worked 59 years for the New York Times compiles the best of his About New York column into book form. Stories about people and places that make great reading. A scarce book not usually found in nice condition like this copy is. From the flap:The Big Apple, Gotham, Sodom on the Hudson—anyone who knows and loves New York is likely to tire of the hyped-up images of the city retailed by its politicians, chamber-of-commerce boosters, and numberless critics. Francis X. Clines, who for three years was The New York Times’ roving observer and recorder of city life, goes beyond the sensational and the lurid to capture a clearer and more convincing sense of the city in the pieces collected here. Whether he is interviewing a cop or a crook, a high school student or a retired schoolteacher, Clines brings to his reports a novelist's ear for voice and eye for detail. Taken together, the eighty-five sketches in About New York—which were originally published in theTimes—give a vivid, humorous, and touching portrait of the place and its people. The PrefaceFor three years, The New York Times had me roam its richest story—the city itself - and file reports three times a week on whatever I pleased. Sometimes I would drop in on the Mayor, or a tunnel cop. I would hang around with a blind beggar for a while or go to the race track with a rich landlord, or spend a night watching prostitutes or just listening to the sounds after closing time at the Bronx ZOO. The editors who had me do this, Abe Rosenthal and Syd Schanberg, set no limits because they wanted the story of the quality of the city that defies the usual categories of journalism. This is the story of the city’s ordinary people, how they come to live and die in the city and make peace with it or not. More than any other beat, this is a story of time and place. It is a narrative story more than an analytical one. It would be enough, I thought, to aim for a point years hence and simply try to describe what life looked like and felt like for this instant, to document the obvious truth that each human being is precious in his or her slot of time. While much of the newspaper necessarily watched the headline events, I had the smaller story of plain individuals, the story that, as the photographer August Sander has explained, gets at a larger truth: ‘‘The individual does not make the history of his time; he both impresses himself on it and expresses its meaning.’’ Such a job would be a privilege anywhere, but in New York it was grand fun and frightening opportunity: watching peerless individuals and staring at facets of a gem. There was no method to this job. I have certain prejudices that were indulged. Having been born in Brooklyn of a woman born in Hell’s Kitchen I have an outer-borough curiosity, and a suspicion that the affluent and the privileged have entrée enough to the daily prints. Then again, the finest people turned up on West 72nd Street in Manhattan as fatefully as on 81st Street in Bay Ridge, and the memories of certain blocks and buildings and individuals can never be fully recounted. The city is such a sight that it strikes deep into a witness and summons up all sorts of storytelling ways. For me these ways go back to places like Noone’s Tavern in Bay Ridge thirty years ago when I was a silent youngster trailing my father, on Saturdays, privileged to listen and watch ordinary people searching for a smile in life. These storytelling ways plagiarize the gifts of countless others, particularly the wit and cynicism of newspaper people like Jerry Allan at the Buffalo Evening News and Sheldon Binn at the Times. And these ways are rooted in the splendid love of words and life displayed by the truest New Yorkers such as Bill Farrell at the Times. I have a new assignment now—new people in a different place—but New York will never be done with me. It will outlive all the people I love and all the stories I loved to tell, and it will survive as a memorial to us all, to all the ordinary people at its heart. Washington, D.C. F.X.C.June 1980 Condition:Book is fine with almost no wear. No writing in book. See all photos. Dustjacket very good plus with slight fading to covers on and near spine. Now covered in a protective sleeve. Dust jacket is priceclipped Details:hardcover 316 pages approx. 6 1/2" x 9"First edition 1980McGraw Hill Terms (payment, shipping, tax, returns, feedback, etc.) Please read before buying U.S. bidders only Payment Please pay within 48 hours of winning. eBay managed payments Shipping Shipping will be $7.25 and will be shipped USPS media mail with tracking. We may upgrade your package at our discretion to USPS Ground Advantage. Package will be shipped within 4 business days after payment - usually faster. The USPS can be notoriously slow, it could take 2-3 weeks for delivery. Please take that into account when leaving feedback, that we will ship quickly, but the USPS can take a long time to deliver, and we have no control over delivery time. Why Shipping Costs Are What They Are: eBay users may note that postal rates increased AGAIN on July 14, 2024. That's EIGHT price hikes in 4 years. This was the largest single price increase ever: 10% on media mail. USPS shipping is getting expensive, but eBay also charges sellers 15% on the shipping cost (+ the taxes), in addition to the actual package shipping cost. That fact and the USPS business model has made shipping prices rise quite a bit since 2019. In 2019 a one pound package sent via media mail cost $2.75. Today it is 68% more to send the same package. This is all part of the bi-annual price increases starting in 2020 & the misguided USPS 10 Year Plan - “Delivering For America,” implemented in 2021 which twice per year, every year until 2030 will keep increasing rates, while the USPS continues to lose billions of dollars. Combined Shipping if you Buy or Win Multiple Auctions Multiple book/media auction wins will qualify for combined shipping when possible. Do not pay until auctions you are bidding on are complete. Email to let us know that you will be bidding or have won more than one item. A revised combined invoice will then be sent after you tell us you are done bidding. Otherwise, if you pay before all auctions are complete or pay separately - combined shipping is not available. Sales Tax: If your state has sales tax, it is collected by eBay & then paid to your state tax authority. Sellers do not make money from this but are charged a percentage by eBay on the total sale including tax – insane, but true. Returns No returns. We describe all items conservatively. However, If there is a problem, message us through eBay messages to let us know what the issue is before contacting eBay or initiating a return or leaving feedback and we will work it out. We want satisfied customers. Feedback: After you receive your item and are satisfied, please leave positive feedback and after you do we will reciprocate. Questions There’s no such thing as a stupid question. Please ask any and all questions before bidding. Photos & Descriptions Photos are of the actual item depicted and are part of the description, please view them all. No stock photos, as many other “bulk sellers” listings are used, which doesn’t show the real item you will be receiving. Descriptions are carefully written and detailed so you know exactly what you are bidding on. We reserve copyright to all our own descriptions & photos. About In the used and rare book business for over 35 years and on eBay for over 25 years.

Price: 27 USD

Location: New York, New York

End Time: 2024-11-08T00:02:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7.25 USD