Steppin' Out: New York Nightlife and the Transformation of American Culture

by Lewis A. Erenberg

The evolution of New York nightlife from the Gay Nineties through the Jazz Age was, as Lewis A. Erenberg shows, both symbol and catalyst of America's transition out of the Victorian period. Cabaret culture led the way to new styles of behavior and consumption, dissolving conventional barriers between classes, races, the sexes—even between life and art. A fabulous era of chorus girls, jazz players, lobster palaces, and hip flasks—the age of Sophie Tucker, Irene and Vernon Castle, and Gilda Gray—tangos through the pages of this ground-breaking, as well as entertaining, cultural history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Music

291 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 1981

Reviews

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of fascinating information about the development of nightlife at the turn of the century. Seriously canted toward a POV of whiteness with some unfortunately dated entrenched racism statements peppered throughout but when you read through that there's nevertheless a lot of fascinating and useful info.

[Kaufmak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick review, a classic of cultural history, paradigm shift in the thinking on early twentieth US history.