
Gotham Rising
New York in the 1930s
Jules Stewart(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Published on 10. December 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-1-350-18594-4 (ISBN)
Description
Often described as the greatest city in the world, New York is one of the iconic cities of the world. Yet much of its architecture and culture which so defines the city we know today only came into being in the 1930s, in what was perhaps the most significant decade in the city's 400 year history.
Jules Stewart shows how, after the roaring twenties, the catastrophic Wall Street Crash and ensuing Depression, New York rose from the ashes and underwent an architectural, economic, social and creative renaissance under the leadership of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. After seizing power, he declared war on the mafia mobs running vast swathes of the city, attacked political corruption and kick-started the economy through a variety of construction and infrastructure projects. At the same time, a cultural revolution was underway as the jazz age and the Harlem Renaissance took hold. From the Empire State Building to the Pastrami Sandwich and the Cotton Club, Gotham Rising tells the story of when the city we know today came of age.
Jules Stewart shows how, after the roaring twenties, the catastrophic Wall Street Crash and ensuing Depression, New York rose from the ashes and underwent an architectural, economic, social and creative renaissance under the leadership of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. After seizing power, he declared war on the mafia mobs running vast swathes of the city, attacked political corruption and kick-started the economy through a variety of construction and infrastructure projects. At the same time, a cultural revolution was underway as the jazz age and the Harlem Renaissance took hold. From the Empire State Building to the Pastrami Sandwich and the Cotton Club, Gotham Rising tells the story of when the city we know today came of age.
Reviews / Votes
[This] book may not be revelatory for many New York aficionados, but its historical digressions, nuggets of forgotten footnotes and the stark contradictions in a city ascendant - but also disproportionately poor, homeless and unemployed - make for riveting reading. * The New York Times * 'Gotham Rising is an insightful look at what New York was like in the 1930s. Jules Stewart takes you from the Great Depression right up to the beginning of World War II' * Manhattan Book Review * Filled with enticing details and vivid portraits of the titans who drove New York in the 1930s, Gotham Rising is a delightful romp through one of the city's most dynamic eras. Jules Stewart deftly weaves history with heroes and villains, with fascinating tales of LaGuardia, F.D.R., and Robert Moses, as well as the men who built the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. * Eric Schmitt, Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times correspondent * "From its opening irreverent quotations from John Steinbeck and E. B. White, Jules Stewart's Gotham Rising: New York in the Thirties offers a roguish romp through a remarkable decade that in many ways still defines much about the great American metropolis...The Harlem Renaissance, Greenwich Village bohemia, Tammany Hall politics, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and all the larger-than-life figures directing so much of the action it's an amazing story, well worth telling.' * Anthony W. Robins, author of New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gothams Jazz Age Architecture *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
474 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-18594-4 (9781350185944)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2016
1st Edition
I.B. Tauris
€26.49
Available for download
Person
Jules Stewart is a journalist, historian and author. He was born in New York and worked there in various guises including a yellow cab driver over the years. His books include Madrid: The History; Albert: A Life; The Kaiser's Mission to Kabul; On Afghanistan's Plains: The Story of Britain's Afghan Wars (all published by I.B.Tauris); Crimson Snow: Britain's First Disaster in Afghanistan; The Savage Border: The Story of the North-West Frontier; Spying for the Raj: The Pundits and the Mapping of the Himalaya and The Khyber Rifles: From the British Raj to Al Qaeda. He lives in London.
Content
List of Illustrations
Foreword by Amor Towles
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
2. The Little Flower and Goliath
3. Trouble in the streets
4. 'I Can't Figger What Dis City is Comin' To'
5. All That Jazz
6. Gotham Gets a Facelift
7. The Thing about Skyscrapers
8. Seventy-Seventh Floor, Please
9. Anything You Can Do
10. You're the Top
11. They All Laughed at Rockefeller Center
12. Village Life
13. Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword by Amor Towles
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
2. The Little Flower and Goliath
3. Trouble in the streets
4. 'I Can't Figger What Dis City is Comin' To'
5. All That Jazz
6. Gotham Gets a Facelift
7. The Thing about Skyscrapers
8. Seventy-Seventh Floor, Please
9. Anything You Can Do
10. You're the Top
11. They All Laughed at Rockefeller Center
12. Village Life
13. Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free
Notes
Bibliography
Index