Down 42nd Street: Sex, Money, Culture, and Politics at the Crossroads of the World Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Down 42nd Street: Sex, Money, Culture, and Politics at the Crossroads of the World Book

In Down 42nd Street, Marc Eliot offers a fascinating and pugnacious history of what may be the most famous street in the United States--or at least the most famously decadent one. "By 1980, [New York's] fabled Manhattan crossroads had become ground zero for the manufacture, exhibition, and distribution of pornography, drug dealing, pedophilia, prostitution, and violent street crime," he writes. Eliot describes 42nd Street's development over time, and he's not afraid to go after a few sacred cows. Here's what he says about the "greatest generation" right after the Second World War: "GIs returning to the U.S. via New York City's harbors and ports were point men in the postwar sex and drug revolution." Today, of course, 42nd Street is a very different place, thanks to a conscious cleanup effort that has brought in Disney and other corporations. Eliot views this trend with a distaste that other may not feel: by the end of the 20th century, he notes with irritation, "42nd Street had become a horizontal Statue of Liberty, a place native New Yorkers avoided like Yellow Fever." All in all, Down 42nd Street is an excellent piece of opinionated urban history told with verve. --John Miller Read More

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  • Product Description

    Down 42nd Street brings to vivid life the fascinating stories embedded in more than two centuries of cobblestone and pavement. Packed with the unforgettable characters who once walked the street, including the famous, the notorious, the entrepreneurial, and the depraved, this colourful social history is a must for everyone who loves New York.

  • 0446525715
  • 9780446525718
  • Marc Eliot
  • 1 November 2001
  • Warner Books
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 352
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