Strange and Obscure Stories of New York City
Little-Known Tales About Gotham's People and Places
Tim Rowland
- The
- 1948
- crime
- film
- The
- Naked
- City
- (later
- a
- television
- show)
- ended
- with
- this
- iconic
- line
-
- There
- are
- eight
- million
- stories
- in
- the
- naked
- city.”
- Things
- have
- not
- changed
- either
- before
- or
- since:
- every
- era
- and
- neighborhood
- is
- full
- of
- true
- tales
- and
- legends
- about
- which
- even
- residents
- are
- likely
- to
- be
- unaware.
- Strange
- And
- Obscure
- Stories
- Of
- New
- York
- City
- takes
- the
- reader
- on
- a
- breathtaking
- tour
- of
- the
- five
- boroughs
- in
- search
- of
- these
- accounts.
- Some
- are
- eerily
- fascinating
- in
- their
- own
- right
- while
- others
- explain
- how
- the
- city
- became
- the
- great
- metropolis
- that
- it
- is.Before
- the
- World
- Trade
- Center
- 9/11
- tragedy,
- the
- aftermath
- of
- a
- fire
- aboard
- the
- steamboat
- General
- Slocum
- in
- the
- East
- River
- was
- the
- city’s
- greatest
- disaster.
- The
- 1904
- event
- occurred
- during
- an
- outing
- for
- a
- church
- group.
- The
- loss
- of
- life-1,021
- out
- of
- the
- 1,358
- passengers-devastated
- the
- German-America
- community
- that
- inhabited
- Manhattan’s
- East
- Village.
- To
- escape
- bad
- memories,
- they
- relocated
- to
- the
- Upper
- East
- Side’s
- Yorkville,
- the
- reason
- why
- that
- neighborhood
- became
- celebrated
- for
- its
- German
- restaurants,
- stores,
- and
- breweries.On
- July
- 23,
- 1886,
- not
- long
- after
- the
- Brooklyn
- Bridge
- opened,
- a
- 23-year-old
- named
- Steve
- Brodie
- announced
- that
- he
- survived
- a
- 150-foot
- drop
- from
- that
- span
- into
- the
- East
- River.
- (A
- liquor
- dealer
- offered
- to
- back
- a
- saloon
- that
- Brodie
- wanted
- to
- open
- but
- only
- if
- he
- took
- the
- risk).
- Although
- there
- were
- no
- witnesses,
- news
- of
- the
- alleged
- jump
- made
- headlines,
- with
- The
- New
- York
- Times
- supporting
- Brodie’s
- claim,
- and
- the
- phrase
-
- pull
- a
- Brodie,”
- meaning
- to
- try
- a
- dangerous
- stunt,
- entering
- popular
- parlance.Then
- too
- are
- the
- unsolved
- murders,
- ghost
- stories,
- urban
- legends
- (are
- there
- indeed
- alligators
- living
- in
- the
- sewers?),
- and
- hidden
- histories
- that
- are
- all
- part
- of
- this
- lively
- and
- captivating
- chronicle
- of
- the
- world’s
- greatest
- city.Skyhorse
- Publishing,
- as
- well
- as
- our
- Arcade
- imprint,
- are
- proud
- to
- publish
- a
- broad
- range
- of
- books
- for
- readers
- interested
- in
- history--books
- about
- World
- War
- II,
- the
- Third
- Reich,
- Hitler
- and
- his
- henchmen,
- the
- JFK
- assassination,
- conspiracies,
- the
- American
- Civil
- War,
- the
- American
- Revolution,
- gladiators,
- Vikings,
- ancient
- Rome,
- medieval
- times,
- the
- old
- West,
- and
- much
- more.
- While
- not
- every
- title
- we
- publish
- becomes
- a
- New
- York
- Times
- bestseller
- or
- a
- national
- bestseller,
- we
- are
- committed
- to
- books
- on
- subjects
- that
- are
- sometimes
- overlooked
- and
- to
- authors
- whose
- work
- might
- not
- otherwise
- find
- a home.
