Back Where I Came From

by A.J. Liebling, Philip Hamburger (Adapted by)

A collection of New Yorker columns describes the ups and downs of life in New York in the 1930s and some of the unusual people who made the city the way it was

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Abbott Joseph "A. J." Liebling was an American journalist who was closely associated with The New Yorker from 1935 until his death.

Reviews

[Nog · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to report that Joe's first published book doesn't stand up to the test of time. For the most part, he lets his colorful New York subjects speak for themselves, but they don't tend to be either very articulate or compelling. Perhaps in 1938 your average New Yorker reader chuckled with derision at the folks depicted, but at least we get to hear their speech patterns rendered and their very real struggles to "make it" without the benefit of a decent education. We see the genesis of Joe's obsession with boxing and horse racing here, done with more aplomb and humor in his later writings. 2 1/2 stars, I guess. His writing gets much better in the 40's and 50's.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid four stars. Back where he came from was New York City for Liebling; his interest here is in people, mostly New Yorkers with some transplants from elsewhere to the city. Between his sense of humor and his interest in the offbeat, oddballs, and just general human quirkiness it’s a very enjoyable book. He’s particularly good at writing people’s speech just the way they speak it, there’s probably good material here for a study on various types of New York accents, circa 1938 anyway.

[Heidi Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love A.J. Liebling's writing. His work reflects the times in which he wrote, so don't be surprised when you stumble over something that lacks the insight we tend to espouse these days, but if you can see your way around the ways of the early 20th century, you're going to enjoy yourself. Anyway, the historical viewpoint of the way Liebling and the people of his day thought is an education in itself!

[Harriett Milnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A.J. Liebling was a writer for the New Yorker, back in the 1930s. The title, Back Where I Came From, refers to New York City. The stories are interesting: he zeros in on something, like people who can rock on rockerless chairs and interviews the person. Sometimes he makes racial or religious stereotype statements, which sort of ruined the charm of the stories for me.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining step back into real history. I took it a chapter at a time, as each chapter is a stand alone short story.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dude could just flat-out write and had an amazing knack. He had such a great knack for uncovering characters. There are so many here. It's a wonderful window to a New York that is long gone.

[Evan Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Liebling when I took a course at Columbia University called "Nonfiction Narrative Writing," taught by Kennedy Fraser, a New Yorker writer. This is the only graduate course in writing I ever took. Mostly, we just read Liebling. I do not write like him and could not, but his work is profoundly inspiring. I quote him in the forst chapter of my book, Hella Nation.

[Synthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is composed of vignettes of people during the 1930s, a time of prohibition and the Great Depression. He points back to the 1980s going forward at times but the book is mostly descriptive of the areas of
NYC and their inhabitants- the characters and places that make NYC his home- a view into the city from a New Yorker's perspective.

[Kate Blumenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liebling is a great writer but I could not connect with his New York; it was too fantastical-seeming to me. However, it was a very good book for Fred to read out loud to me.

[keith koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great 1930' writing about New York small time hustlers, boxers and cornermen, professional eaters and professional fasters, jockeys and yeast farmers. Amazing stuff. And he uses the word "anent".