Books

Downtown: My Manhattan
The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat
A History of Knowledge
Ancient Inventions
MacArthur's Victory: The War in New Guinea, 1943-1944
Afghanistan Cave Complexes 1979- 2002 (Fortress S.)
The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World
A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair
Medieval Cookery: Recipes and History (Cooking Through the Ages)
A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
English Cathedrals: A History
The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest
Compass: A Story of Exploration and Innovation
One Hell of a Gamble
Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
The Search for the Panchen Lama
Weimar Culture - the Outsider as Insider
Code-Name Bright Light: The Untold Story of U.S. POW Rescue Efforts During the Vietnam War
The Best and the Brightest
U-boat War Patrol: The Hidden Photographic Diary of U-564
Untitled Intellectual Property
The Guide of the Perplexed
Say It in Yiddish
Instruments of Darkness: The History of Electronic Warfare,1939-1945

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a gem of a tour through Manhattan...
Romancing the Island
Start Spreading the News...
A Lyrical and Lucid Glance at New York
Pete Hamill's Downtown

Downtown: My Manhattan
Pete Hamill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Drinking Life: A Memoir
Why Sinatra Matters
Forever: A Novel
The Gift: A Novel
Piecework: Writings on Men & Women, Fools and Heroes, Lost Cities, Vanished Calamities and How the Weather Was

ASIN: B000JGG9I2

Book Description

A rich historical and personal portrait of Manhattan from the bestselling writer who is for many the living embodiment of the city.

Manhattan, the keystone of New York City, is a place of ghosts and buried memory. One can still see remnants of the British colony, the mansions of the robber barons, and the speakeasies of the 1920s. These are the places that have captivated the imaginations of writers for centuries. Now Pete Hamill brings his unique knowledge and deep love of the city to a New York chronicle like no other.

During his 40 years as a newspaperman, Pete Hamill has been getting to know Manhattans neighborhoods and inhabitants intimately, bearing witness to their greatest triumphs and tragedies. From the winding, bohemian streets of Greenwich Village to the seedy alleyways of the meatpacking district and to the weathered cobblestones of South Street Seaport, Hamill peels back the layers of history to reveal the citys past, present, and future.

More than just history or reporting, this is an elegy by a native son who has lived through some of New Yorks most historic moments, and who continues to call this magnificent, haunted city his home.

Customer Reviews:

a gem of a tour through Manhattan..........2007-04-20

being an ex-NYer and having been changed forever by the years I lived there this book was a whirlwind tour through my favorite city. Pete Hamill knows his history and takes you through the history of buildings, people and the vibrant city that it's always been. Parsing bits of his own life with the life of the city it's like being on personal guided tour by one of NY's finest writers. My only problem was it was too short, I wanted to read more.

Romancing the Island.......2006-09-20

Mr. Hamill takes on every bit of New York and discusses why he loves even the worst parts of it. He crafts a walk downtown thru the 1800's past buildings and men who shaped this city and produces a novel that inspires.

Start Spreading the News..........2006-08-28

This book was much more than I had expected. Thinking that it would be more autobiographical, I was pleasantly suprised to find that it was really the story of New York City, specifically the downtown area of Manhattan. Being a native New Yorker, Hamill gives great insight not only into the historical facts surrounding the city's origin, but also its lore, its people, its music, its drama, and its tradition. This book is so heaped with history, yet it reads so easily like a great love story. Like most New Yorkers, the names and faces of those who came before are soon forgotten, but Hamill brings them back to life again in a very real way. He leaves us with this feeling of connectedness to our past and a sense of longing nostalgia for old New York. However, he reminds us that New Yorkers do not live in the past and that self-pity is a mortal sin. The story of New York is very much one of constant difficult change, earned renewal, progressiveness, tolerance and optimism. These traits have been a part of the city since its origins and more important than ever as we see these traits come alive once again after 9/11. This book is a treasure to anyone who loves New York and wants to understand its history and its people without having to sift through textbooks that only gives facts. Put your vagabond reading glasses on and be a part of it.

A Lyrical and Lucid Glance at New York.......2006-02-24

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.

Pete Hamill's Downtown.......2006-02-22

Ex-newspaper editor of the New York Post and New York Daily News, Pete Hamill, was born in Brooklyn, moved around a bit, and returned to Manhattan where he lives and works. Having intimate knowledge of a city so revered, respected, and loved, but also scary and intimidating such as New York City, is surely grist for many a writer. Each time there are different aspects a writer will concentrate on, and many times one will not see what the other does, hence the many books on or about this awe-inspiring place. Mr. Hamill has a fluidity about his account which makes for easy, interesting, and page-turning reading about "his" downtown in Manhattan. It's a compelling read as Hamill tells the history of New York - easy to follow and it all fits into place - unlike other confusing "historical" accounts I've come across. From the late 1700s and through the 1800s and 1900s, so much exquisite change flourished in the then, and now, ever-growing city of New York. He not only covers the buildings and streets and avenues, but also the many peoples (the Dutch, the English, the Germans, Russians, Italians, Irish, and so many more) who so long ago had a huge hand in shaping the city.

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Downtown: My Manhattan

Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0739453750

My Neighborhood Downtown: The Children's View of Their Lower Manhattan Home

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My Neighborhood Downtown: The Children's View of Their Lower Manhattan Home
Kara Pranikoff's Second Grade Class
Manufacturer: Oomf Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0971739706

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Downtown: My Manhatten
Pete Hamill
Manufacturer: Books On Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Wonderful town.(Downtown: My Manhattan New York)(Book Review): An article from: Irish Literary Supplement

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Wonderful town.(Downtown: My Manhattan New York)(Book Review): An article from: Irish Literary Supplement
Vivian Valvano Lynch
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Irish Literary Supplement, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1597 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wonderful town.(Downtown: My Manhattan New York)(Book Review)
Author: Vivian Valvano Lynch
Publication: Irish Literary Supplement (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Page: 22(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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