A Town Without Time: Gay Talese's New York

by Gay Talese Narrated by Mike Ortego

Overview

From legendary journalist Gay Talese, a collection of his greatest reporting on New York City.

“Along with Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe and others, Mr. Talese has been acclaimed as a virtuoso of the novelistic New Journalism.” -Wall Street Journal

“They fly in quietly-unnoticed, like the cats, the ants, the doorman with three bullets in his head, and most of the other offbeat wonders in this town without time.” -from “New York Is a City of Things Unnoticed,” Talese's first Esquire story, 1960

For over six decades, Gay Talese has told New York stories. They are the stories of daring bridge builders, disappearing gangsters, intrepid Vogue editors, unassuming doormen who've seen too much. They are set in the star-studded salons of George Plimpton's apartment, in the tense newsroom of a still burgeoning New York Times, in an electric studio session with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recording their debut.

With the wit, elegance, and depth of insight that has long characterized his work, Talese's New York reporting showcases a master of the form at his finest, making intelligible the city's vibrant beating pulse, capturing the charming, the eccentric, and the overlooked. Whether prowling the night streets to discover the social hierarchy of alley cats, or uncovering the triumph and terror of building the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, or plunging into the hidden, sordid world of a recently blown-up apartment building, Talese excavates the city around him with a reporter's eye and an artist's flair, crafting delightful, profound, indelible portraits of the people who live there. Spanning the 1950s to today, the fourteen pieces in this collection are a time capsule of what New York once was and still is-Talese proves time and time again that, even as the city changes, his view of it remains as timeless as ever.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Bartleby and Me is an ambler, in which [Talese] appears to give his finger to the form by filigreeing a couple of his ironclad hits and then tacking on a new gargoyle of a tale….It’s a plot for the ages.”  — New York Times Book Review

“Talese’s conversational style—openhanded, easygoing, characterized by fact-rich yet perfectly balanced sentences—invites the reader to sit back and relax. His book proved just the right tonic for my downcast spirits.”  — Washington Post on Bartleby and Me

“A smooth and enchanting wordsmith, Talese delivers a lovely testament to the ‘unobtrusive if not kindred Bartleby personalities’ of New York City. It’s a delight.”  — Publishers Weekly

“New readers will discover an astute observer. . . . Candid testimony from a new-journalism icon.”  — Kirkus Reviews on Bartleby and Me

“[A] virtuoso of the novelistic New Journalism. Now 91, he has published a short and charming second memoir, Bartleby and Me. … [ending] with a previously unpublished piece about Nicholas Bartha, the 66-year-old internist who blew up his 19th-century Neo-Grecian townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in July 2006—with himself in it. The meticulously reported account—including a fascinating social history of the property at 34 E. 62nd St.—shows that Mr. Talese has lost none of his artistry. Over seven decades, from apprentice journalist to master of the form, Gay Talese can take pride that he did it his way.” — Wall Street Journal

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191775579
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/03/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged