This is a wonderful collection of Pete Hamill's writings. The majority of these short tales were previously published as NY Daily News articles (where they were always the best part of that day's edition) or in various short story publications. If I'm not mistaken, the majority of the newspap...
With A Drinking Life, Hamill has written the great American proletarian memoir. Which is no small feat considering, aside from his working class roots, Hamill has become anything but a proletariat. I’m not disputing he was a hard working journalist who put his time in writing for the New York Pos...
More reviews at The Story Within The StoryNew York City of the mid-1930s is in the grips of the Great Depression and Dr. James Delaney is alone with his work. While he tends to the sick and injured all around his neighborhood, his daughter has left for Mexico and his unforgiving wife has vanishe...
When I was a kid there was a headline in the newspaper that read "Ford to city - Drop Dead". This was in the bad old days of the early 1970's when NYC was on the ropes financially. Diminutive Abe Beame was Mayor and they were seeking federal funds to bail out the city. It was a rotten time fin...
This book review was written 4 months or so after I read the book. Thus the lameness.I do remember that I really liked it. So much that I've been looking for other Pete Hamill books since then. In addition, I know I really liked it at the time, as I listed this book in the Book Talk Forum (on ...
Just finished this wonderful book a little while ago. I probably would never have picked it up, because between the cover and the name it sounded like chick-lit and I'm not that much of a fan. However, this book has broad appeal and specially to guys. It's the story of a young man who joins the N...
Let me first say that I love Sinatra and I don't know much about history. With that said, I loved reading about his life through the perspective of Pete Hamill. He writes in a way that focuses on the romance of FS's life. The challenge of an Italian singer coming out of the depression and as an A...
Dwight and his mother were going down the stairs of the house on Gates Avenue, he to school and she to work, and the horn man was coming up. He was a large man, with hooded eyes that made him look Asian, tan skin, a wrinkled blue suit, and dirty black-and-white shoes. He had a cheap canvas suitca...
The huge crate was safely stored in Van Zandt’s warehouse. Mr. Partridge shouldered his heavy bag, refused Cormac’s offer to carry it for him, grabbed two smaller satchels in each hand, and they set off together into the town. They walked up the slope of Wall Street, heading west, and the crowds ...
He lived on the first floor fight, with his wife, Mae, his son, Jackie, and his daughter, Marilyn. Everybody in the building thought they were strange people. For one thing, Big Jack was a Giant fan. We never knew another Giant fan, though there was a rumor that a Yankee fan lived on Ninth Street...