Book description
1927. First Edition. 415 pages. No dust jacket. Blue cloth with gilt lettering. Clean pages. Notable tanning to endpapers and page edges. Previous owner's name to front endpaper. Some gutter cracking. Mild wear and bumping to spine, board edges and corners, with crushing to spine ends. Minor tanning to spine,…
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Why read it?
1 author picked East Side, West Side as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book is a largely forgotten historical novel that is itself a historical artifact: a swooning love-letter to New York, published in 1927 when the city seemed to be the unique locus of urban industrial modernity.
The story goes like this: It's New York at the start of the 20th century. Through gritty determination, native intelligence, physical strength, and sheer goodness, John Breen, a penniless orphan, attains success and true love, against all odds and temptations. Though not a Jew, as “Fighting Lipvitch,” Breen becomes the hero-pugilist of the Jewish Lower East Side—and a favorite of “uptown swells.” But Breen…
From Michael's list on The best and most compelling novels in which anatomy plays a key role.
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