Downtown

I'm not entirely sure how much I liked this book. There were parts in where Pete Hamill really raised my brow on some insightful tidbits on the history of Manhattan, but there were a lot of lulls where it was hard to keep reading. In the end I figured this read jumped between a five star book and a three that it was good enough.Hamill has a great writing style and can play up nostalgia very well. He made me feel like some of the things that no one alive today could be old enough to remember seem like something that happened yesterday. In a sense it almost did in terms of relative time, when the Dutch carved out the first settlement on the island, to when the British captured the city in the war, to when the bums got the boot on the lower east side. Walking around knowing what I know now from this book really is fascinating that way. I also did a bit of fact checking myself on some of the specific details he mentioned, and it would seem didn't skimp on the research. This is no wikipedia research paper, his dates and facts check out.Another thing that I like is that he kind put my mind to ease a bit. This change quickly here in New York, especially the things you love. Veselka is mentioned, a wonderful Polish diner, one that I do care about, and I want it to be around forever like it seemingly has been. But nothing lasts forever, as Hamill points out. The trick is to not anguish over the loss and accept it. Veselka will be gone one day, but hopefully by then I will have found something else to move my love to. I always felt especially angry at what happened to my home in Manhattan, Tribeca, because of how real estate fiends came in and essentially forced everyone out to make way for Bed Bath and Beyond as well as over paid yuppies. After reading Downtown, and seeing how change like this is part of my home town history, and to appreciate being there when it was beautiful made me a little less upset.The reason this book want a life changing five star knock out is that sometimes I managed to get bored. The sentimental parts do kind of drone on and on. I think when Hamill wrote about the parts where he wasn't around to witness the events were more interesting simply because more of the facts but still delivered in a clever way. Then you get to the point where he is born. From there it gets mushy. I liked it better when he was able to remove himself a little more and focus on the shared history rather than his personal one. Sometimes it was interesting, but often it wasn't.

Pete Hamill's "Downtown: My Manhattan" is part of the latest spate of books that combine personal New York City experience and New York City history, as do Colson Whitehead's "The Colossus of New York" (in a way) and Phillip Lopate's "Waterfront". However, Hamill's is as different from those two other books as those two books are different from each other. I don't know what is causing these authors to write such material--maybe the nostalgia brought about by the horrors of 9/11--but I'm glad they did.Nostalgia is the key word for Hamill's "Downtown". And it is not just the strong, personal nostalgia that Hamill luxuriates in: it's also the nostalgia that every true New Yorker feels for his City. Whether it was the Dutch or British who longed for their roots in the "Old World", as did the Irish, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Asians, Latinos, etc., or the people born here who cherish the memories of people and places now locked forever in the past, New York's ever-changing "scene" quickly compels our present into history. Hamill's sensitivity to this is brilliantly conveyed on every page.However, "Downtown" is by no means a treacly, misty-eyed glimpse backward. It is a studied and educational examination of several of New York's neighborhoods--some well-known, some not. The pieces about the Bowling Green area and Times Square were the most fascinating.What, to me, is special about this history is how it intertwines with other histories: with America's history, with Hamill's history, with my history, and, if you are a New Yorker, your history. I could not put down "Downtown"; in fact, I read it cover to cover in two sittings (I had to go to sleep) and then read it again. It's that amazing a book.

... arrived in EXCELLENT condition !!!

this book will. be most appreciated by an old New Yorker who. can reminess as Pete takes them down memmory lane.

If you want to learn as much as you can about NYC this is an excellent beginner’s course. Hamill is sometimes pedantic but you can speed read through those sections. As a frequent visitor who enjoys NYC, I now have a deeper appreciation of this wonderful city.

Very interesting read. I highly recommend it. So much information and history about NYC, even for those familiar with the city!

Thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspects intertwined with personal memories by the author. As someone who used to travel to Manhattan weekly, I appreciated Hamill's love of the place.

Great book crappy condition. Brown liquid stain. Stinks of cigarettes. Highlighting and pencil underlining throughout book. Hey it was used but used roughly!

After returning from a holiday there this summer, I really found this book a very interesting read. The historical facts were so very well described that it almost took me back to when I walked the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn not so long ago. I also loved reading about the immigrants and the different settlements across New York. He has a very unique way with words.

Pete Hamill did know NY upside down. The book is great.