You Must Remember This: An Oral History of Manhattan from the 1890's to World War II

By Jeff Kisseloff

Book Overview

Jeff Kisseloff brings together 137 New Yorkers who witnessed daily life in Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II. Dividing the city into ten neighborhoods and devoting a chapter and about a dozen... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151879885
• ISBN13: 9780151879885
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
• Length: 622 Pages
• Weight: 2.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Great opening to a great book

Upon opening this book, and seeing my grandfather's name in the opening line, I knew it would be an interesting read. He was descibed perfectly, even though some could say that is not a good thing. Anyways, great job.

A Tree Grows In Manhattan

Personal stories for readers who enjoyed Betty Smith's Brooklyn or Joseph Mitchell's character monologues. We see that America has always been built by English-as-a-second-language immigrants. It's not just Manhattan as much as it is the human experience.

19th century history buff

one of the best written books on these subject thati have ever read, and i have read many.bits of history from those who lived it. no long boring pages, just short very useful and amusing stories. absolutely love this book. sorry it took me so long to order it.

Like a trip back in time

If that slow, plodding Ric Burns series on PBS was the official history of New York City, "You Must Remember This" is the indispensible people's history: actual voices from the turn of the century (the last century) telling what it was really like to live in the immigrant Lower East Side, the Hell's Kitchen waterfront, Jazz-era Harlem, the last stretches of rural Inwood. With this and "The Box," Kisseloff is hands-down the most perceptive and consistently fascinating oral historian I've read, and yes, that's counting Studs Terkel. Buy one for yourself, and one for a history-lovin' friend.

fascinating first person account of life in early nyc

kisselhoff manages to recount one of the most interesting periods of history through not only one persons view - but hundreds. By interviewing the people who created and witnessed history, the reader is taken back to a time when stickball was played on the streets and egg cream sodas were the rage. recounted by witnesses, the history of ny is a must read for everyone!