The World of Jimmy Breslin

by Jimmy Breslin

An invaluable collection of early columns by one of New York’s sharpest minds
In the 1960s, as the once-proud New York Herald Tribune spiraled into bankruptcy, the brightest light in its pages was an ebullient young columnist named Jimmy Breslin. While ordinary columnists wrote about politics, culture, or the economy, Breslin’s chief topics were the city and Breslin himself. He was chummy with cops, arsonists, and thieves, and told their stories with grace, wit, and lightning-quick prose. Whether covering the five boroughs, Vietnam, or the death of John F. Kennedy, Breslin managed to find great characters wherever he went. This collection includes some of Breslin’s most famous early writing. Here are the unforgettable New Yorkers Sam Silverware and Larry Lightfingers, the celebrated interview with President Kennedy’s gravedigger, and the classic “People I’m Not Talking To Next Year.” But the most important voice here is Breslin’sâ as vibrant as ever. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Jimmy Breslin including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Genres: Journalism, History, Nonfiction, Politics

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Jimmy Breslin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and author. He wrote numerous novels, and pieces of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City. He was a regular columnist for the newspaper Newsday until his retirement on November 2, 2004.

Among his notable columns, perhaps the best known was published the day after John F. Kennedy's funeral, focusing on the man who had dug the president's grave. The column is indicative of Breslin's style, which often highlights how major events or the actions of those considered "newsworthy" affect the "common man."

Reviews

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Way Journalism Used To Be

Breslin has written about a wide variety of subjects in this collection. From his beloved New York to places all over the world. He looks at subjects with a singular approach. Many have tried to imitate him, but they just reveal themselves as people on a fool's errand.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Earle Breslin (October 17, 1928 – March 19, 2017) was an American journalist and author. Until the time of his death, he wrote a column for the New York Daily News. He also wrote numerous books, one of which was entitled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?" It chronicles the 1962 New York Mets first season.The book chronicles the first season for the New York Mets, an expansion team. The title of the book supposedly came from a remark made by Mets manager Casey Stengel expressing his frustration over the team's spectacular ineptitude. Just from this book alone, I thought Jimmy Breslin was a sports writer. Wrong!! The topics of his column were much deeper than that.

Jimmy Breslin is known for his straightforward reporting style that relates major news to the common man. The book is divided into 10 chapters.

1. How He Is Cared for and Fed: One of the things we learn is that he had measles as an adult, Funny!!
2. How His Column Grew
3. In Which Some of His Friends Are Mentioned
4. In Which Negroes Are Just People: Many of the riots of his era are described and with a perspective I appreciated.
5. In Which He Has Some Difficult Times
6. How He Saw the War in Viet Nam: I also appreciated his unique perspective on this war.
7. In Which He Sees the Dark Side of Life
8. In Which Erin Goes Blaah
9. How He Owns New York
10. How He Sold His Heart to the Newspaper

These columns might be somewhat 'dated' as they come from an era that occurred 50 years ago.

I appreciated reading them. They helped me get to know Breslin's unique, somewhat caustic, personality better.

4 stars.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jimmy Breslin was an undeniable stylist as a writer and journalist, and nothing was more his style than the voices of human people speaking in a natural way. This book is a cage filled with voices, a time capsule to a time when journalism mattered and people read it to learn real things about the world, their neighbors and neighborhoods, and themselves. Damon Runyon isn't walking through that door again, and neither is Jimmy Breslin, but this book is a stellar reminder of why Breslin and his work mattered so very much.

[Bill Saltarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read a booked based on old fashioned journalism, this book will transport you back to that time.

Jimmy Breslin is from a world that has passed, where a good headline would increase newspaper circulation. His references and jokes are dated. He comes from a world where graft is acceptable and honor is what makes a true man. I wonder if he would been as successful in this current age of TMZ & CNN?

If you want to read a period piece about journalist who had the pulse of NYC, this is your read.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1971. I remember becoming interested in the leading journalists of the era.

[David Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovingly compiled and annotated (by his editors) collection of Breslin's best from the New York Herald Tribune, '63-67, the work that made his reputation. His columns on JFK's ER doctor and his gravedigger, as are ones reported from Harlem and from the march on Montgomery, detailed and powerful, from Vietnam, in which he asks black soldiers about unrest back home, and from the streets of New York. Great stuff.