Speedology: Speed on New York on Speed

by Timothy Levitch

Draws on Buddhism, Baudelaire, Marshall McLuhan, and the Marx Brothers to present a "state of mind" tour of Manhattan that considers the area as a portrait of humanity and an opportunity for personal understanding. Original.

Genres: Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Tim "Speed" Levitch (born 1970) is an American actor, tour guide, speaker, author and voice actor. His nickname is derived from his trademark fast talking style. Levitch has appeared in multiple films and has had his poetic and philosophical works published in books and periodicals.

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hearing Levitch proclaim that the "ongoing WOW is happening right Now!", my curiosities of the man lead me to this book. And what a delight it was.

The whole point of Levitch's book is too reveal to us, I think, that we are most certainly lost, and that bliss is found in exclaiming to ourselves that being lost is perfect. Levitch fills each page with metaphors that tingle the brain and fancy our flesh. He constantly points us to a place where we can see things just as they are. I didn't realize how well known Levitch was until I stayed with a Polish friend of mine in NYC who told me many of people come to NY looking for him! And why not? The man is outrageous in a world that seems so un-outrageous. What Levitch is really trying to do is bring human beings back to humanity, to show us all that every moment is a chance for us to move closer to the erotic and chaotic current Happening!

[Jimmy Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, he wrote a book, but the life that he has lived thus far is more riveting than so many books that I've read. Once described by Richard Linklater as "one of the greatest extemporaneous thinkers of contemporary society", Levitch is the existential pill that we've all, at one point, had a difficult time swallowing, but once under the influence, we realize that life is short, and how uncannily cathartic it has been to realize that a man, one man, could remind us that life is, in its naked form, definitely worth living.

[Adam Stauthamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speed knows how to talk about New York like the whore that she is.

[Becca Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

After discovering "The Cruise" in a small video store in Santa Cruz, I fell in love with Timothy "Speed" Levitch. It made me want to travel to New York and have him tell me all about the terracotta buildings and the poets who lived in them.

I managed to track down this book, which is no longer in print, and was hoping to be taken on a word-journey through New York. I have to admit, I was disappointed. Levitch speaks better than he writes.

[Cheers1836 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often wonder what it would be like to see a city as Speed does. I often try. Reading through his tours over asphalt and concrete, we find ourselves moving through layers and centureies of suppressed narratives: individual, economic, cosmic.

If you want to see New York City with fresh eyes, read this.

[Laura Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a former NYC sightseeing bus driver, Speedology describes New York City in ways you never would, yourself. A short, funny, and educational read.

[Kate Tobiczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timothy "Speed" Levitch is the man.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone travelling to Manhattan.