{"product_id":"nightclub-city-politics-and-amusement-in-manhattan-hardback-9780812239973","title":"Nightclub City; Politics and Amusement in Manhattan (Hardback) 9780812239973","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eNightclub City\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003ePolitics and Amusement in Manhattan\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eBurton W. Peretti (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812239973\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 24 April 2007\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e304 pages, 14 illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm, 0.58 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eNightclub City\u003c\/i\u003e tells the behind-the-scenes story of Manhattan's glamorous nightlife at its peak. Packed with colorful characters, terrific original research, and an unusually accessible writing style, \u003ci\u003eNightclub City\u003c\/i\u003e is a gritty social history of America's most glitzy fantasies.\"-Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Meticulously researched. . . . Peretti builds on previous studies of urban nightlife and entertainment, and his contribution is to look at institutions of commercial night life not from the perspective of consumers but from that of the reformer or official trying to tax, control, prohibit, or criminalize the purveyors of pleasure.\"-\u003ci\u003eJournal of American History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Peretti convincingly argues that nightclubs, at the peak of their popularity, played a small but highly significant role in redefining the relationship between America's government and its citizenry. . . . He skillfully wields illustrative quotes, cogent analysis, and an impressive body of archival evidence.\"-\u003ci\u003eJournal of Urban History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the Roaring Twenties, New York City nightclubs and speakeasies became hot spots where traditions were flouted and modernity was forged. With powerful patrons in Tammany Hall and a growing customer base, nightclubs flourished in spite of the efforts of civic-minded reformers and federal Prohibition enforcement. This encounter between clubs and government-generated scandals, reform crusades, and regulations helped to redefine the image and reality of urban life in the United States. Ultimately, it took the Great Depression to cool Manhattan's Jazz Age nightclubs, forcing them to adapt and relocate, but not before they left their mark on the future of American leisure.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNightclub City\u003c\/i\u003e explores the cultural significance of New York City's nightlife between the wars, from Texas Guinan's notorious 300 Club to Billy Rose's nostalgic Diamond Horseshoe. Whether in Harlem, Midtown, or Greenwich Village, raucous nightclub activity tested early twentieth-century social boundaries. Anglo-Saxon novelty seekers, Eastern European impresarios, and African American performers crossed ethnic lines while provocative comediennes and scantily clad chorus dancers challenged and reshaped notions of femininity. These havens of liberated sexuality, as well as prostitution and illicit liquor consumption, allowed their denizens to explore their fantasies and fears of change.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe reactions of cultural critics, federal investigators, and reformers such as Fiorello La Guardia exemplify the tension between leisure and order. Peretti's research delves into the symbiotic relationships among urban politicians, social reformers, and the business of vice. Illustrated with archival photographs of the clubs and the characters who frequented them, \u003ci\u003eNightclub City\u003c\/i\u003e is a dark and dazzling study of New York's bygone nightlife.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. The 1920s New York Nightclub, a Modern Institution\u003cbr\u003e 2. \"The Hostess Evil\"\u003cbr\u003e 3. Tammany Nights\u003cbr\u003e 4. \"War on the Nightclubs\"\u003cbr\u003e 5. Bargain-Counter Broadway\u003cbr\u003e 6. \"Where Fleshpots and Politics Together Meet\"\u003cbr\u003e 7. Nightlife in the La Guardia Era\u003cbr\u003e 8. A New Deal for Nightclubs\u003cbr\u003e 9. Billy Rose and Nightclubs for the Masses\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: The Nightclub in Retrospect\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52555709874456,"sku":"9780812239973","price":37.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/nightclub-city-politics-and-amusement-in-manhattan-hardback-9780812239973","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}