i have heard that people go to new york for two reasons: to follow their heart or to follow their dreams. At least, that’s what I’ve learned from the constant stream of books about New York City that have graced my shelves throughout my reading life. the first time i traveled to new york was, unsurprisingly, for the first reason: a child. and yes, although—also unsurprisingly—that particular love didn’t last, the allure of the city that never sleeps never left me. after all, new york city is one of the (perhaps the) most iconic cities in the world for a reason: art and history; music and architecture; the diversity; noise; endless lines of yellow checkered cabs mark every block; the thin, greasy pizza that, even as a Chicago native, is still embarrassingly my favorite pizza in the world.
and of course, while all the tangible attractions of the big apple are compelling enough, it’s that intangible quality of new york that keeps natives and travelers alike fascinated: the fact that in new york anything can happen; that the city has in its power the possibility of making all the quietest and most private dreams of your heart come true. Perhaps this is why writers have immortalized New York City in nonfiction and novels, poetry collections, and memoirs, and why readers will never get enough.
You are reading: Best nonfiction books about new york city
here are 11 of the best non-fiction books about new york city.
1. the town: 400 years of beats and bohemians, radicals and scoundrels, a story of greenwich village by john strausbaugh
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Any reader who’s ever been obsessed with Greenwich Village lore (Charlie Parker! Edna St. Vincent Millay! Allen Ginsberg! Oscar Wilde’s Bookstore! The Whitney!) needs to get a copy! from the village: 400 years of beats and bohemians, radicals and rascals, a history of greenwich village by john strausbaugh, the most interesting, readable and comprehensive history of everything that made greenwich village the icon cultural it is today.
2. waterfront: a walk through manhattan by phillip lopate
See Also: A Brief History of Firearms Law | Violence Policy Center
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if you’ve ever fantasized about having a one-on-one brain-picking moment with phillip lopate (and seriously, who hasn’t?), then his book, waterfront: a walk around manhattan is probably the closest you will get to the real thing. Taking readers on a sensory journey down the Manhattan waterfront in a way only Lopate could, this book covers the historic and the modern, the mythical and the forgotten, of the Manhattan waterfront, describing how essential the Manhattan waterfront truly is. coast for spirit and energy. from new york city.
3. metropolitan life by fran lebowitz
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Words cannot describe how much I love Fran Lebowitz – every time I read her frank, funny, and humorous writing, I feel like she is speaking directly to me. sure, metropolitan life, may seem a bit dated now, but there’s no question that this is lebowitz at his finest, and even if the references could be updated, the spirit behind lebowitz’s sentiments about Everything from clock radios to dinner parties in New York are timeless. this one is out of print, so you’ll have to look for it… but it’s worth it.
4. kafka was in style: memoirs of greenwich village by anatole broyard
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another love song to greenwich village, this anatole broyard memoir has been compared to ernest hemingway’s a moving party, in terms of its ability to celebrate and mythologize a very specific city for a moment very specific. in history. art, literature, and sex reign supreme in broyard’s 1940s greenwich village, and kafka was in: memoir from greenwich village will make you wish you were alive during the decade that the Vie bohème was lived at its finest.
5. kids only by patti smith
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if you’re not completely in love with new york city yet, this book will convince you. not just a memoir of the friendship that defined smith’s roaring 20s, which with wild and creatively weird photographer robert mapplethorpe, kids only also reads like a love letter to new york From Smith’s Youth: Where Anything Was Possible, Every Day Was An Adventure, Every Late-Night Conversation Changed Your Life, And That Great Creative Opportunity Was Just Around The Corner. you’ll want to immerse yourself in smith’s new york over and over again.
6. 97 garden: an edible story of five immigrant families in a new york home by jane ziegelman
See Also: A Brief History of Firearms Law | Violence Policy Center
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If you really want to understand a culture, you do it through food and how meals are shared. 97 Orchard: An Edible Story of Five Immigrant Families in a New York Home highlights one of the most celebrated aspects of New York City: international cuisine, which is available on literally every corner. This book, complete with recipes, will tell you how that food came to town in the first place and remind you why certain dishes have become staples of American cuisine, even though they originated an ocean away. /p>
7. the bridge: the construction of the verrazano-narrows bridge by gay talese
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of all the bridges that have become icons in new york city, the verrazano-narrows bridge may not be the best known. But, spanning more than two and a half miles and linking the Brooklyn and Staten Island boroughs of New York City with New Jersey, it is the longest suspension bridge in the United States. So why do you care, you might ask. Because there’s tons of cultural and political drama surrounding the bridge’s history and construction (including the fact that the name of the man who gave it its name, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, is spelled incorrectly on the bridge). Also, if anyone could make an interesting story out of bridge building, it’s a New Jersey native gay tale.
8. The Boy Detective: A New York Childhood by Roger Rosenblatt
See Also: A Brief History of Firearms Law | Violence Policy Center
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right up there with new york fiction favorites like eloise in the square and from the jumbled archives of mrs. basil e. frankweiler, roger rosenblatt’s memoir the boy detective: a childhood in new york ranks among the best stories from a child’s perspective about new york city. At age nine, Rosenblatt imagined he was a private detective, making the streets of Manhattan his playground. In his memoir, Rosenblatt revisits these streets as an adult and reinvigorates that childlike wonder of his youth in New York.
9. mapping manhattan: a love (and sometimes hate) story in maps by 75 new yorkers by becky cooper
See Also: A Brief History of Firearms Law | Violence Policy Center
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To compile this fascinating and impressive project, Becky Cooper walked the streets of Manhattan, handing out blank maps of the borough, asking New York natives to “draw a map of your Manhattan.” The result is this collection of stories and drawings, recounting the complex and intimate lives of people who have lived their entire lives in the city: love stories and tragedies, dreams come true and broken, childhoods and old age and everything in between, and even a few secrets that only the streets of manhattan really know. you’ll love this unique and intimate collection of illustrated narratives.
10. gone to new york: adventures in the city by ian frazier
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a close up portrait of new york by ian frazier, gone to new york: adventures in the city is full of classic new york images both big and small (from trash bags of plastic that litters the trees to the world trade center) and includes one of the most honest and vulnerable accounts of “the morning after” (as the essay is titled) on September 11 that I have ever read. Even if he’s not a native New Yorker, this collection of essays will make him feel like one, if only for a moment.
11. in the old hotel by joseph mitchell
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if it’s true that you can be whoever you want to be in new york, then this collection of essays and articles is a testament to that fact. Throughout his journalistic career, Joseph Mitchell came face to face with some of New York City’s most eccentric residents: street preachers and freak show performers, the myriad fishermen who make up their own subsection of the city. and an almost sacred ticket taker at a bowery cinema, and many others. Upstairs in the old hotel features many of her stories. what is a city without its people, after all?
images: brand asthoff/unsplash
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