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stronlibrarianvibes's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book because I have an interest in nightlife, gay culture, the 1970s, and disco. Okay, really, I'm a nerd. I've wanted to read this book for a long time, and I have to say, I was actually disappointed with it. I couldn't tell what the author's point was in writing the book: was it an elegy for the nightlife that Studio 54 ushered in, a condemnation of an oversexed, overindulged, celebrity class, was it a mixture of the two? The title is misleading; it really should be something akin to Studio 54's impact on the nightlife of New York City. That's what it really is. The first third is the development of Studio 54, the second third is actually Studio 54, and the final third is what came after Studio 54.
Interestingly, the author ends with the story of Michael Alig, the club kid who brutally murdered and dismembered another club kid. He glosses over the story, but I'd be interested to read something that really academically tracks how we get from Studio 54 to Michael Alig. I think the author was going for that, but his thoughts were too scattered.
Interestingly, the author ends with the story of Michael Alig, the club kid who brutally murdered and dismembered another club kid. He glosses over the story, but I'd be interested to read something that really academically tracks how we get from Studio 54 to Michael Alig. I think the author was going for that, but his thoughts were too scattered.
stronlibrarianvibes's review
2.0
I picked up this book because I have an interest in nightlife, gay culture, the 1970s, and disco. Okay, really, I'm a nerd. I've wanted to read this book for a long time, and I have to say, I was actually disappointed with it. I couldn't tell what the author's point was in writing the book: was it an elegy for the nightlife that Studio 54 ushered in, a condemnation of an oversexed, overindulged, celebrity class, was it a mixture of the two? The title is misleading; it really should be something akin to Studio 54's impact on the nightlife of New York City. That's what it really is. The first third is the development of Studio 54, the second third is actually Studio 54, and the final third is what came after Studio 54.
Interestingly, the author ends with the story of Michael Alig, the club kid who brutally murdered and dismembered another club kid. He glosses over the story, but I'd be interested to read something that really academically tracks how we get from Studio 54 to Michael Alig. I think the author was going for that, but his thoughts were too scattered.
Interestingly, the author ends with the story of Michael Alig, the club kid who brutally murdered and dismembered another club kid. He glosses over the story, but I'd be interested to read something that really academically tracks how we get from Studio 54 to Michael Alig. I think the author was going for that, but his thoughts were too scattered.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
3.0
This is a pretty good social history of the New York club scene, focusing primarily on Studio 54, but looking at other clubs, as well. The book works well when its author is telling stories of the clubs, their owners, and their denizens. It works less well when the author inserts himself into the narrative. In the end this book suffers a bit from the "I don't know what I want to be" syndrome. On the one hand it wants to be a social history, but on the other hand it kind of wants to be a memoir. It doesn't completely fill either role well, although it's definitely interesting and entertaining.
verityw's review against another edition
2.0
This really surprised me: it takes a fascinating subject and makes it hard to follow and dare I say it - dull. The author was part of the scene at the time and I think that affected his ability to pick a narrative through line and make it make sense. Characters appear for a couple of pages and then vanish again. It jumps from club to club but also around in time a bit. I learnt a few new things, but not nearly as much as I expected and it was hard going all through. I would definitely read more about this time period and this club scene - it just needs more focus.
pdestrienne's review against another edition
Inspired by Hollywood Crime Scene's episode on Studio 54, I decided to pick up this book. I found the writing to be scattered and the pace plodding and today I realized, after taking a break from reading it for the weekend, that I was deeply unexcited about continuing through it and life is too short.
sshabein's review
4.0
I got this book from Net Galley, and I'm not sure if it was an e-ARC or what, but there are a lot of typos throughout. I haven't seen the finished edition, but it's worth noting.
Besides that, this is an interesting journey through New York nightlife from the late 60s to the mid-90s, primarily centered around Studio 54 (understandable, considering their massive presence for a long time and how they changed things), but there are lots of interviews and a handy "Cast of Characters" at the back of the book because there are a LOT of names to keep track of. Maybe there are no earthshattering revelations to people who lived through the time, but for someone who was only a teenager binging on Behind The Music episodes and such about this time, it's a fascinating book.
Besides that, this is an interesting journey through New York nightlife from the late 60s to the mid-90s, primarily centered around Studio 54 (understandable, considering their massive presence for a long time and how they changed things), but there are lots of interviews and a handy "Cast of Characters" at the back of the book because there are a LOT of names to keep track of. Maybe there are no earthshattering revelations to people who lived through the time, but for someone who was only a teenager binging on Behind The Music episodes and such about this time, it's a fascinating book.
kat2112's review
2.0
Second reading, May 2015
The Last Party was originally published in 1997. By coincidence, it came out around the same time filming of 54 with Michael Myers began, but one did not beget the other. I read the book when it first came out, and eighteen years later I'm transferring entries on my hand-written book log to Goodreads. Now, the log had four stars on this entry, but after some digging I found what I had written on Amazon all those years ago:
I admit it was the subject matter that prompted me to pick up this book, but I was disappointed. If anything, The Last Party is a much better chronicle of 54's history than that Michael Myers film, but it is essentially a slow-moving story.
That doesn't sound like a four-star review I'd write, so when I see Party has been re-released this year and slightly updated, I figure why not re-familiarize myself with the story and see if my opinion has changed. Journalist Haden-Guest (half-brother of Spinal Tap's Christopher) may be better known in some circles as a frequent guest, and while The Last Party chronicles the "Nightworld" as a whole - its early chapters a brief guide to popular discos of the time - it's clear in the 70s there was only place to party.
Party, though, isn't exclusive to Studio 54. Studio is perhaps the best known of the New York clubs that thrived in the brief disco era, but Haden-Guest touches on a myriad of imitators and (often unsuccessful) competitors. Party reads like a hybrid of micro-history and memoir, as Haden-Guest injects his personal experience in numerous vignettes within the book. It's a muddle story that plows through Studio 54, which enjoyed a life akin to a shooting star - an incredibly bright flame out and gradual fizzle into darkness. As you read a book like this, you might expect gossip to turn your hair white. You get snatches (heh) of it, but overall the book is a roll call of club promoters, developers, and people who are more New York/nightlife famous than world famous. There's a lot to muddle through and if you stick with Party you may ask yourself how a book about a place once considered the most exciting on the planet comes off so dull.
Yes, the slow-moving assessment remains. The book isn't much of a party for me, but you're into peeling back glitter for the seamy underbelly of nightlife you'll get more tales of creative accounting than blind item coke snorting here.
The Last Party was originally published in 1997. By coincidence, it came out around the same time filming of 54 with Michael Myers began, but one did not beget the other. I read the book when it first came out, and eighteen years later I'm transferring entries on my hand-written book log to Goodreads. Now, the log had four stars on this entry, but after some digging I found what I had written on Amazon all those years ago:
I admit it was the subject matter that prompted me to pick up this book, but I was disappointed. If anything, The Last Party is a much better chronicle of 54's history than that Michael Myers film, but it is essentially a slow-moving story.
That doesn't sound like a four-star review I'd write, so when I see Party has been re-released this year and slightly updated, I figure why not re-familiarize myself with the story and see if my opinion has changed. Journalist Haden-Guest (half-brother of Spinal Tap's Christopher) may be better known in some circles as a frequent guest, and while The Last Party chronicles the "Nightworld" as a whole - its early chapters a brief guide to popular discos of the time - it's clear in the 70s there was only place to party.
Party, though, isn't exclusive to Studio 54. Studio is perhaps the best known of the New York clubs that thrived in the brief disco era, but Haden-Guest touches on a myriad of imitators and (often unsuccessful) competitors. Party reads like a hybrid of micro-history and memoir, as Haden-Guest injects his personal experience in numerous vignettes within the book. It's a muddle story that plows through Studio 54, which enjoyed a life akin to a shooting star - an incredibly bright flame out and gradual fizzle into darkness. As you read a book like this, you might expect gossip to turn your hair white. You get snatches (heh) of it, but overall the book is a roll call of club promoters, developers, and people who are more New York/nightlife famous than world famous. There's a lot to muddle through and if you stick with Party you may ask yourself how a book about a place once considered the most exciting on the planet comes off so dull.
Yes, the slow-moving assessment remains. The book isn't much of a party for me, but you're into peeling back glitter for the seamy underbelly of nightlife you'll get more tales of creative accounting than blind item coke snorting here.
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