New York Night: The Mystique and Its History

What a wonderful book this is! Mark Caldwell strikes the perfect balance between entertainment and information as he takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through more than 350 years of New York City history. But this is, by no means, a dry recital of names, dates, and accomplishments. Caldwell explores the life of New York City that begins when the sun goes down. Along the way we meet unforgettable characters such as George Templeton Strong, Ned Buntline, Madame Restell, Earl Carroll, Billie Holiday, and Walter Winchell as we travel from Fort Amsterdam to the discos and night clubs of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties. The book is well-researched and well-written.

Revealing a city's intrigues is quite a job, and New York's would seem impossible, but Caldwell is plainly up to the job. He makes events( famous and not so) vivid and lyrical, and the people who make those events unforgettable. Sometimes bizarre, sometimes touching, this history of the world's most exciting place after dark is gorgeously written in a funny and sensitive way. Nicely researched. I liked it.

By virtue of an almost unimaginable amount of research going back to the mid-seventeenth century and continuing to 2004 Caldwell has constructed a magical and fascinating story of New York City. This book is an instant classic.