New Yorkers who incessantly gripe about gentrification have become as grating as the near-constant noise of luxury condo construction yes, even in this economy. But David Freeland s affectionate, detail-packed tome about Manhattan’s forgotten pleasure centers from dance halls to gambling dens adds a lyrical song to the cacophony. Organized geographically and for the most part chronologically, the book explores eight neighborhoods Chinatown, Chatham Square, the Bowery, the East Village, Union Square, the Tenderloin, Harlem and Times Square via their entertainment centers, with the added hook that physical remnants of these historical hot spots still exist. – Time Out NY
David Freeland
David Freeland is the author of the books Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudville: Excavating Manhattan’s Lost Places of Leisure (2009), and Ladies of Soul (2001). His work has appeared in New York Press, No Depression, American Songwriter, Relix, Living Blues, South Dakota Review, Blues Revue, Goldmine, and Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians. He lives in New York.