|
|
Sold Out
Book Categories |
A classic work on Broadway sharpers, grifters, and con men by the late, great New Yorker journalist A. J. Liebling.
Often referred to as “Liebling lowlife pieces,” the essays in The Telephone Booth Indian boisterously celebrate raffishness. A. J. Liebling appreciated a good scam and knew how to cultivate the scammers. Telephone Booth Indians (entrepreneurs so impecunious that they conduct business from telephone booths in the lobbies of New York City office buildings) and a host of other petty nomads of Broadway—with names like Marty the Clutch and Count de Pennies—are the protagonists in this incomparable Liebling work. In The Telephone Booth Indian, Liebling proves just why he was the go-to man on New York lowlife and con culture; this is the master at the top of his form, uncovering scam after scam and writing about them with the wit and charisma that established him as one of the greatest journalists of his generation and one of New York’s finest cultural chroniclers.
The title of this 1942 collection of Liebling's early New Yorker pieces refers to those lowlife entrepreneurs whose offices were the telephone booths of New York City, where they waited for associates to call them since they didn't even have a nickel to phone on their own. The 10 essays, profiling a variety of scamsters and promoters, showcase Liebling's dry wit, his sharp commentary on the mores of the time and his knack for eliciting hilarious quotes (a carnival operator explains that a so-called Hawaiian dancer ``was not a Hawaiian but she had once eaten some Hawaiian pineapple''; a ``pillar'' of the hat-check industry observes, ``Better a kid who takes ten in tips and knocks a buck, than a dummy who gets half the tips and turns in all she gets. But please don't use my name, because on such a question I hate to quote myself''). Not all of the businessmen in the book are as low on the totem pole as telephone booth Indians. Liebling takes on, and shows no mercy to, such luminaries as the ``head man'' of the Scripps-Howard newspapers and the Shubert brothers theater moguls. For example, he quotes J. J. Shubert as shouting during a rehearsal, ``There is only one captain on this ship, the director and me!'' (Oct.)
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Ma Himmelman
reviewed The Telephone Booth Indian on July 12, 2014
The Telephone Booth Indian
I read this book in bits and pieces sometimes over and over again. Like Joseph Mitchell's stories it reminds me of the New York my father told me about, the New York I remember very vaguely from early childhood with the pre-memory sense of familiarity which could have come from the stories your parents told you.
This is a fantastic book to read if you want to become a good writer, and if you like this book I suggest reading some Joseph Mitchell.
Login|Complaints|Blog|Games|Digital Media|Souls|Obituary|Contact Us|FAQ
CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? CLICK HERE!!! X
You must be logged in to add to WishlistX
This item is in your Wish List
X
This item is in your Collection
The Telephone Booth Indian
X
This Item is in Your Inventory
The Telephone Booth Indian
X
You must be logged in to review the productsX
X
X
Add The Telephone Booth Indian, A classic work on Broadway sharpers, grifters, and con men by the late, great New Yorker journalist A. J. Liebling. Often referred to as Liebling lowlife pieces, the essays in The Telephone Booth Indian boisterously celebra, The Telephone Booth Indian to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
X
Add The Telephone Booth Indian, A classic work on Broadway sharpers, grifters, and con men by the late, great New Yorker journalist A. J. Liebling. Often referred to as Liebling lowlife pieces, the essays in The Telephone Booth Indian boisterously celebra, The Telephone Booth Indian to your collection on WonderClub |
