100 New Yorkers: A Guide to Illustrious Lives & Locations

by Julia Holmes

100 New Yorkers profiles musicians, painters, photographers, a journalist who donned disguises to get the inside scoop, comedians, crooners, politicians, a clairvoyant—even a pirate—and the places associated with them in the city. It describes affairs and love stories, profound and enduring friendships, feats of the imagination, lurid scandals, and fabulous parties, along with moments of unexpected humor—such as the description of young Edgar Allan Poe, who routinely draped a white sheet over his head to walk solemnly through his stepfather's dinner parties. Throughout, 100 New Yorkers features the incomparable panorama of the city—the drama surrounding the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1880s, the music coming out of smoky Harlem lounges in the 1940s, and the bustle of Coney Island in its heyday. Beautifully designed by Milton Glaser—himself an iconic New Yorker—this book features one hundred intriguing black-and-white photographs.

100 New Yorkers Diane Arbus, Tallulah Bankhead, Henry James, Jacob Lawrence, John Lennon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Dorothy Parker, Edgar Allan Poe, Jackson Pollock, Diego Rivera, Babe Ruth, Sojourner Truth, Diana Vreeland, Weegee, Walt Whitman, and eighty-five more.

248 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[mehg-hen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great, particularly if you live in New York and can relate to all the places that are mentioned and can even go there. You can't really think "Jackson Pollack is not a person, he's a national treasure" after you learn the exact address and neighborhood where he was a crap roommate to his family members, and that his day job was polishing city monuments and where he would go drinking and buy his art supplies. There are all sorts of notNYC able people I've never heard of (like famous poets) and they even traced George Washington's route in NYC, including where his house was (under the caisson of the Brooklyn Bridge), where he got his favorite cologne (scent is still available), and where Mark Twain went drinking (still the same bar). Very fun. Also, lives are traced from the beginning to the end, so if, say the guy who photographed Lincoln (Matthew Brady) died a forgotten pauper, you'll find out where that all happened. Great guide book.