Back Where I Came From

Back Where I Came From collects essays by journalist A.J. Liebling about New York City in the 1930s and early 1940s. The pieces first appeared in The New Yorker magazine, where Liebling worked as a staff writer. The book chronicles life in various New York neighborhoods through profiles of local characters, observations of street scenes, and accounts of urban traditions. Liebling focuses on working-class areas and immigrant communities, documenting their customs, enterprises, and daily routines. Liebling's reporting captures prizefighters, gamblers, hustlers, shopkeepers, and other figures from Manhattan's less polished quarters. His narratives move between neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, Harlem, and Times Square. The essays paint a portrait of a vanishing New York while exploring themes of assimilation, class mobility, and the preservation of cultural identity in America's great melting pot. Through careful observation and dry wit, Liebling records both the persistence and transformation of immigrant life in the pre-war metropolis.

Readers portray this collection of Liebling's New Yorker essays as a sharp-eyed look at 1930s New York City characters and culture. The book receives attention for its detailed observations of boxers, bookmakers, and street personalities. Likes: - Clear, economical writing style - Humor in depicting urban scenes - Authentic portrayal of Depression-era Manhattan - Historical value as a snapshot of the era Dislikes: - Some essays feel dated in their references - Writing can be dense and slow-paced - Cultural context needed for many vignettes - Period-specific slang can be hard to follow Review Data: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (62 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (8 ratings) Reader quote from Goodreads: "Like sitting at a bar with a smart, funny friend telling stories about the old neighborhood." The limited number of online reviews suggests this book has a small but dedicated following among journalism and New York City history enthusiasts.

Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell Like Liebling's character sketches of New York, Mitchell's collected essays present portraits of eccentric personalities and vanished corners of mid-century New York City.

Here is New York by E. B. White The book captures the essence of New York through precise observations of street life, neighborhoods, and the city's character during the same era as Liebling's work.

The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig This memoir documents life in pre-war Europe with the same journalistic eye and attention to social detail that characterizes Liebling's observations of New York.

My Life in France by Julia Child Child's experiences in post-war France mirror Liebling's perspective as an American chronicling the food, culture, and characters of a specific time and place.

About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made by Ben Yagoda The book examines the history and culture of The New Yorker magazine, where Liebling worked, through profiles of its writers and their contributions to American letters.

🗞️ A.J. Liebling was considered one of America's greatest press critics, coining the famous quote "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." 📝 The book, published in 1938, captures vivid portraits of New York City life during the Depression era through a series of interconnected essays originally written for The New Yorker magazine. 🥊 Liebling was an avid boxing fan and wrote extensively about the sport; this interest is reflected in several chapters of the book where he describes the boxing scene in New York's neighborhoods. 🎭 The author spent significant time in the city's less reputable areas, including Tenth Avenue and the Tenderloin district, giving readers rare glimpses into the lives of gamblers, hustlers, and street characters of 1930s Manhattan. 🗽 Before writing this book, Liebling studied at Dartmouth and the Sorbonne in Paris, bringing a uniquely educated perspective to his street-level observations of working-class New York life.