The Gangs Of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld by Herbert Asbury (

Description: The Gangs Of New York by Herbert Asbury The classic book about gangs in 19th-century New York, now filmed by Martin Scorsese. The story tells of the citys dire abysmal poverty and violence, researched from stories, memory and police records. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Asburys violent, visceral novel was adapted by Martin Scorsese into the biggest film of 2002. Nominated for ten Oscars, winner of two BAFTAs and one Golden Globe, Gangs of New York had a hit cast- Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson.The Gangs of New York is a tour through a now unrecognisable city of abysmal poverty and habitual violence centred around the infamous slum of Five Points, with its rival Irish and American gangs. Cobbled from legend, memory, police records, the self-aggrandizements of aging crooks, popular journalism, and solid historical research, this is a powerful account of New York Citys tumultuos past. Asbury presents the definitive work on this subject, an illumination of the gangs of old New York that ultimately gave rise to the modern Mafia and its depiction in cult films like The Godfather. Notes Asburys violent, visceral novel was adapted by Martin Scorsese into the biggest film of 2002. Nominated for ten Oscars, winner of two BAFTAs and one Golden Globe, Gangs of New York had a hit cast: Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson. Author Biography Herbert Asbury was born into a strictly Methodist family in Missouri in 1889. His pious background and his subsequent rejection of Methodism greatly influenced both his philosophy of life and his career as reporter and author. Indeed, many of his books deal with the darker, seamier side of American life. He is best know for his true crime books set in the 19th and early 20th century America. He died in 1963 of chronic lung problems, the legacy of a gas-attack in France during the first World War. Review Asbury was a realist and mid-Western moralist whose book is, as Gopnik notes, a kind of surrealist collage of the citys secret history -- Robert McCrum * Observer *Like one of the thugs he writes about, he really is an "extraordinary virtuoso in the art of mayhem" * Financial Times * Promotional Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson and others. Kirkus UK Review Charles Dickens upset Americans in general, and New Yorkers in particular, when he wrote of Manhattan in the mid-19th century: All that is loathsome, drooping and decayed is here. He compared it to the worst of Londons slums. Yet it seems that Dickens was if anything being diplomatic, at least according to Herbert Asburys view. The place wasnt so much loathsome as a hell on Earth - a pit of squalor infested by criminals who killed as casually as they swilled ale and Irish whiskey on Friday nights. Asburys book, first published in 1927, has long been cult reading among aficionados of American criminal history and has now been reissued to complement the film of the same name, which is based on the book. This is crime at its most lurid, set against the social history of a city seething with unemployed immigrants desperate to make good at any cost. They lived in abysmal poverty and turned to violence that in many ways eclipsed that of the much better-known gangsters of the Al Capone era. Herbert Asbury was a journalist and prolific writer about the seamier side of American life, and his style is very much of its time - flowery prose with sentences that are sometimes breathlessly long and prone to exaggeration. For instance, are we really to believe that one bandit, Mose, stood eight feet tall and that in summer he went around with a 50-gallon keg of ale dangling from his belt? Or that a delightful lady known as Gallus Mag stood over six feet and kept a jar full of ears she had bitten off her victims? Asbury culled most of his character descriptions from lurid newspapers and magazines, but his essential facts about the gangs and their background were correct. This is an amazing story that has been neglected for too long. (Kirkus UK) Review Text Asbury was a realist and mid-Western moralist whose book is, as Gopnik notes, a kind of surrealist collage of the citys secret history Review Quote Asbury was a realist and mid-Western moralist whose book is, as Gopnik notes, a kind of surrealist collage of the citys secret history Promotional "Headline" Asburys violent, visceral novel was adapted by Martin Scorsese into the biggest film of 2002. Nominated for ten Oscars, winner of two BAFTAs and one Golden Globe, Gangs of New York had a hit cast- Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson. Details ISBN0099436744 Author Herbert Asbury Year 2003 ISBN-10 0099436744 ISBN-13 9780099436744 Format Paperback Imprint Arrow Books Ltd Subtitle An Informal History of the Underworld Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 364.1066097471 Illustrations illustrations Media Book Publisher Cornerstone Language English Pages 384 Publication Date 2003-01-02 Short Title The Gangs of New York UK Release Date 2003-01-02 AU Release Date 2003-01-02 NZ Release Date 2003-01-02 Birth 19710116 Affiliation University of Memphis Position Author Qualifications PhD Alternative 9781448166879 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:907057;

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