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In the 1890s, young cocksure Theodore Roosevelt, years before the White House, was appointed police commissioner of corrupt, pleasure-loving New York, then teeming with 40,000 prostitutes, illegal casinos and all-night dance halls. The Harvard-educated Roosevelt, with a reformer’s zeal, tried to wipe out the city’s vice and corruption. He went head-to-head with Tammany Hall, took midnight rambles looking for derelict cops, banned barroom drinking on Sundays and tried to convince 2 million New Yorkers to enjoy wholesome family fun.
The city rebelled big time; cartoonists lampooned him on the front page; his own political party abandoned him but Roosevelt never backed down. Island of Vice delivers a rollicking narrative history of Roosevelt’s embattled tenure, pitting the seedy against the saintly, and the city against its would-be savior.
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Review:
Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2012: Those living in New York City today may be surprised (or not!) to read about the state of their city in the 1890’s; overrun with prostitution, gambling, boot liquor and Tammany Hall, NYC was known as the “Island of Vice.” Enter the ever-ambitious Theodore Roosevelt, years before he became president, who stepped-in as the NYC Police Commissioner and made it his mission to clean up the city. Richard Zacks’ enthusiastic account of this period is a fun read—an adjective rarely used to describe history books. It would be difficult to invent a cast of characters as exuberant and flawed as those involved here, and Zacks brings them all to life with ease. He clearly enjoys the subject, elevating this well-researched book into something memorable. --Caley Anderson
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A Look Inside Island of Vice
| Thompson Street Bar Photo: Jacob Riis called this Thompson Street joint “a downtown morgue.” (Jacob Riis. Museum of City of New York [90.13.4.165]) | The Bowery Photo: The Bowery, under the shadow of the elevated train tracks, bustled at night with colored lights and cane-swirling barkers in places such as the Lyceum Concert Garden. The joint then featured a minstrel show and cake walk. (The New Metropolis by E. Idell Zeisloft (1899) p. 518.) | TR at desk Photo: Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), sworn in as police commissioner on May 6, 1895, soon decided to try to enforce every law on the books and every rule for police conduct. “New York has never been so shocked and surprised in all its two hundred and fifty years of existence,” commented one observer. (Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library (560.22-001)) |
Richard Zacks got his book-writing start specializing in lewd and offbeat history. His An Underground Education and History Laid Bare are classics of their kind. More recently, he is the author of The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd, chosen by Time in 2002 as one of the five best nonfiction books of the year; and The Pirate Coast (2005). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Time, Life, Harper’s, Sports Illustrated, Village Voice, and other publications. He writes in a small office overlooking Union Square in New York City.
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- PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication date2012
- ISBN 10 0767926196
- ISBN 13 9780767926195
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages464
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In the 1890s, young cocksure Theodore Roosevelt, years before the White House, was appointed police commissioner of corrupt, pleasure-loving New York, then teeming with 40,000 prostitutes, illegal casinos and all-night dance halls. The Harvard-educated Roosevelt, with a reformers zeal, tried to wipe out the citys vice and corruption. He went head-to-head with Tammany Hall, took midnight rambles looking for derelict cops, banned barroom drinking on Sundays and tried to convince 2 million New Yorkers to enjoy wholesome family fun. The city rebelled big time; cartoonists lampooned him on the front page; his own political party abandoned him but Roosevelt never backed down. Island of Vice delivers a rollicking narrative history of Roosevelts embattled tenure, pitting the seedy against the saintly, and the city against its would-be savior. Recounts the effort by newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt to shut down late nineteenth-century New York City's brothels, gambling houses, and after-hours saloons. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780767926195
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