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A review by oceanlistener
Downtown: My Manhattan by Pete Hamill
3.0
In all of the reminiscences and personal history, parts of this book felt a bit self-indulgent. I would not have enjoyed it if I hadn't lived in New York City.
But I did live in New York City for a time, and I love the histories of places I've lived. I liked the unique bits of history for different regions of the city- some recent, some a bit more ancient. Many of the obvious bits are avoided in favor of lesser-known tidbits. It's a personal history, but it's also a personable history, and for that I enjoyed it. It also did not dwell on 9/11, as so many New York books do these days- very nice in that respect.
But I did live in New York City for a time, and I love the histories of places I've lived. I liked the unique bits of history for different regions of the city- some recent, some a bit more ancient. Many of the obvious bits are avoided in favor of lesser-known tidbits. It's a personal history, but it's also a personable history, and for that I enjoyed it. It also did not dwell on 9/11, as so many New York books do these days- very nice in that respect.