In One Era & Out the Other

by Sam Levenson

Like Levenson the performer, Levenson the writer is gentle, sentimental and a hyperbolic storyteller, whose metier is a happy combination of Golden's Lower East Side nostalgia binges and Alan King's jovial assaults on contemporary idiocies of the new generation and its beleaguered parents. Levenson does the New York shtik -- the bracing hard life (""We had a permissive father. He permitted us to work""); culture and excursions (""Next time I take you anyplace I'm gonna leave you home!""); commerce (butcher-bargaining vs. today's supermarket); food (things that melt in the mouth and harden in the stomach, viz., ""a delicate potato pancake could be reborn as a hockey puck""); love and marriage and death. Levenson's low-keyed style allows him to slip into both genial sermonizing and solemn matters with ease. A nice man, a nice book for the family circles with East Side ties.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Humor, Comedy

Paperback

First published April 13, 1999

About the author

Sam Levenson was an American humorist, writer, teacher, television host, and journalist.

Reviews

[Rogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in New York at a garage sale, for 25 cents. I still have it after seven years, though the pages and cover have fallen out of the paperback binding.

I love In One Era & Out the Other. I picture Sam talking the entire time with a thick New York accent (I'm from Michigan, so I just hear it all as New York, lol). I'm currently 25, no particular outstanding upbringing or background of any sort. This book caught me and it became a favorite.

Something about the entire book brings me nostalgia for things I've never experienced. Some may call it outdated, I call the latest Iphone outdated. There will always be something new, and culture always seems to be changing. So call anything outdated, your comment already is, lol.

Every chapter just walks me through his life. I feel like he brought an extra pair of his shoes out of his closet and let me walk around his life with him. I highly recommend this book if you want something to make you feel good, remember the old times, and yet still have relevance to the new times. Renew that spark, that desire to raise your kids right, read to them, build a real community and experience real life.

If you have an open mind and an open heart, this book will draw you in and you'll have your own copy on a shelf for safe keeping. Happy reading, enjoy!

[Thư Vũ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is warm, very funny and at times a little sad. It gonna be my favorite book for 2020.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 2 out of 5]

A G-rated stand-up comic regular on Ed Sullivan, Sam wrote this book featuring some funny tales from his '20s, '30s and '40s Lower East Side of New York growing up experiences, more not that funny, and a lot of tilting at the windmills of societal change.

[Venus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Levenson is one of the greatest forgotten comedians. His books are poignant and hilarious. From how he would stop off at nickle and dime theatres on his way to take out the trash, to whitewashing his apartment, to his stories as a teacher, Levenson is a lost treasure just waiting to be re-discovered.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting concept - an autobiography with wit and satire plus an added, heaping dose of social commentary. Keep in mind this was published in 1973 and the political and social climate of the time. Mr Levenson is quite outspoken with enough humor to make the medicine go down. Be cautioned - his commentary has a healthy dose of speaking about sex ed and 1970's movements of "free love" thinking, quite bluntly spoken in his humorous voice but still more than I'd want to hand over to my tweens.

[Ken K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoir of a Jewish-American growing up in New York. Much stereotypical Jewish humor, many on-liners. The last couple of chapters are a lament about how modern standards are not the same as what the author grew up with.

[Jc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated. For new readers who are 1) not Jewish-American; 2) not from the New York City area; 3) not over 60; or some combination of those, the book may not make any sense at all. While I laughed a lot through much of the book, I felt the humor was lost later on as the author forgot he was a comedian and became very preachy about what the "new generation" (i.e., those who were ~17-28 in the early 1970s) needs to learn from their elders. The early part reminded me of many people and families that I knew in the NY area in the 1960s. Book starts off as a Catskills comic act, and ends as a lecture from a conservative Rabbi. Most of the issues were no longer issues even 5-10 years after the book was published. So, if you know the region or the time the book speaks of, you may enjoy it. If the world he speaks of is completely alien to you, the book will be too.

[Kriti Vajpeyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one book that I can read over and over again. Why? Well, because the narration is so relatable. In this book, Sam talks about how we grew up in tough financial circumstances, in a big family, and only one person supplying the finances.

In one era, out the other shows how the generation gap develops over time, and how we could deal with it with plenty humor. I would recommend this book to each and every individual. It's funny, it's sensitive and is an eyeopener for those who think that their own circumstances are unique.

Alas! The book is out of print. I would have bought several copies for keepsake.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was given to me by a friend as a hand-me-down.

This is a comical memoirs sort of book. My favorite part was when the extended (Jewish) family is over for dinner. After dinner was the "organ recital": "oh my kidneys", "oh my heart" "oh, my liver"...

[Barbara]

wish I hadn't lost my copy--

[Clint Morey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

B+. nonfiction, humor, mom's stash, keep

[Susankw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taught mom and Phyllis at Tilden h.s. Send to Jonathan.

[Rani Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read this book six times! Charming! Nostalgic! Wise.