Condé Nast might have wondered why a publisher should feel like the ringmaster of a circus that would put Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s to shame. True, he aimed to create the “most excellent and stunning … Read the article
On a dim winter afternoon, a young Irish immigrant opens the gas taps in his Brooklyn tenement. He is determined to prove―to the subway bosses who have recently fired him, to his pregnant wife―“that the hours of … Read the article
Journey back to New York City in the days in which our nation was a young country, still finding its way—before The Alienist, before Gangs of New York… where the Wall Street as we know it was … Read the article
Critics hated it. The public feared it would topple over. Passersby were knocked down by the winds. But even before it was completed, the Flatiron Building had become an unforgettable part of New York City.
One of my favorite books as a kid was an illustrated chronicle of famous disasters. Pompeii, Titanic, the Chicago Fire. I loved that book. I wore it out. The spine was cracked; the pages came loose. I … Read the article
Instead of deriving from folklore, or quaint colonial customs, or religion, the American emergence of Santa Claus was rooted in late-eighteenth-century politics, in the formation of clubs and societies based around ethnic or cultural groups, which came … Read the article
I was constantly on the prowl to make quality arrests, the important word being quality. I doubt there’s a police officer in New York who couldn’t lock someone up thirty minutes into a shift. There’s … Read the article
Headlines about New York City police officer violence against civilians, including murders, have splashed across the front pages of newspapers and television screen for years. Just recently, a member of the NYPD choked to death Eric Garner, … Read the article
1955. It’s springtime in New York and unseasonably balmy. Cherry blossoms dot Central Park with pale pink, and “Melody of Love” drifts from the radio. The Pajama Game is on Broadway, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis are on … Read the article
Grace Humiston was a celebrated lawyer, a famous detective, and the first female U.S. District Attorney in history. Her specialty was tracking down missing persons, yet she remains largely (and mysteriously) missing from history herself.