New York Diaries - by Teresa Carpenter (Paperback)

About the Book

Writings culled from the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates have been assembled to offer a view of the iconic metropolis of New York. Includes excerpts from the writings of Henry Hudson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Andy Warhol, and many others

Book Synopsis

New York is a city like no other. Through the centuries, she's been embraced and reviled, worshipped and feared, praised and battered--all the while standing at the crossroads of American politics, business, society, and culture. Pulitzer Prize winner Teresa Carpenter, a lifelong diary enthusiast, scoured the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates to assemble here an almost holographic view of this iconic metropolis. Starting on January 1 and continuing day by day through the year, these journal entries are selected from four centuries of writing--revealing vivid and compelling snapshots of life in the Capital of the World.

"Today I arrived by train in New York City . . . and instantly fell in love with it. Silently, inside myself, I yelled: I should have been born here!"--Edward Robb Ellis, May 22, 1947

Includes diary excerpts from Sherwood Anderson - Albert Camus - Noël Coward - Dorothy Day - John Dos Passos - Thomas Edison - Allen Ginsberg - Keith Haring - Henry Hudson - Anne Morrow Lindbergh - H. L. Mencken - John Cameron Mitchell - Julia Rosa Newberry - Eugene O'Neill - Edgar Allan Poe - Theodore Roosevelt - Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Alexis de Tocqueville - Mark Twain - Gertrude Vanderbilt - Andy Warhol - George Washington - Walt Whitman - and many others

"The most convivial and unorthodox history of New York City one is likely to come across."--The New York Times

"A must-read for anyone who has fallen in love with the Big Apple."--New York Journal of Books

"An absolute masterpiece."--The Atlantic

Review Quotes

"The most convivial and unorthodox history of New York City one is likely to come across."--The New York Times

"A must-read for anyone who has fallen in love with the Big Apple."--New York Journal of Books

"An absolute masterpiece."--The Atlantic

"An impressive range . . . The voices from the past we hear in these entries reassure us that we're all part of a great cosmic parade."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR

"Fascinating . . . too compelling to put down."--Whitney Matheson, USA Today

"Required reading . . . as comprehensive as it is revealing, making the city come alive."--Susannah Cahalan, New York Post

"My newest favorite browse."--Alexander Nazaryan, New York Daily News

About the Author

Teresa Carpenter is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Missing Beauty. She is a former senior editor of The Village Voice, where her feature articles on crime and the law won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981. She lives in New York City's Greenwich Village with her husband, writer Steven Levy, and their son.