Capital of the World: A Portrait of New York City in the Roaring Twenties Hardcover - 2011

From the publisher

In the same absorbing style that characterized his bestseller Lost Hollywood--here complemented by more than twenty archival photos--David Wallace presents a richly detailed, reader-friendly chronicle of the Prohibition-era personalities and events that made New York City the cultural and financial capital of the world. Sex, sin, song, work, sports, play--all these aspects of New York and more are told through a rich array of anecdotes and "inside" profiles of the individuals that personified them in a defining decade. The Roaring Twenties swept through other cities, too--including Paris, London, and Berlin. But New York City roared the loudest, and what happened in the Big Apple during that era of social, economic, and cultural prosperity forever altered the way people lived. As no book has to date, " Capital of the World" brings alive this giant of a city in this dizzying time--a period that saw Prohibition, the rise of the Mafia, the birth of radio and mass communication, and the beginnings of gossip as a business. This was also an era abuzz with the arts, film, fashion, jazz, and speakeasies. An era in which a burgeoning new media popularized baseball, boxing, and other sports as never before. This was when women achieved the right to vote, and when the automobile revolutionized the lives of millions. And New York City was at the center of it all. Among the many personality driven themes so richly addressed in "Capital of the World" * Sherman Billingsely's Stork Club and Prohibition * Martha Graham and modern dance * Babe Ruth and sports * David Sarnoff and radio * Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker, and the rest of The Round Table * Lucky Luciano and organized crime * Mayor Jimmy "Gentleman Jim" Walker and politics * Madam Polly Adler and the brothels * Walter Winchell and the birth of gossip journalism * The Cotton Club and the Harlem Renaissance * And much more...

About the author