Tales of Times Square

Tales of Times Square captures New York City's most notorious neighborhood during its peak of decay in the 1970s and early 1980s. The book compiles journalist Josh Alan Friedman's firsthand accounts and interviews from his time documenting the area's characters and culture. Friedman explores the ecosystem of adult theaters, massage parlors, and grindhouses that defined this era of Times Square. His reporting covers the full spectrum of people who inhabited this world - from sex workers and theater owners to police officers and neighborhood regulars. The narrative follows Times Square's transformation as real estate developers and city officials begin pushing for its sanitization and redevelopment. Through extensive interviews and observations, Friedman preserves a detailed record of this vanished landscape. The book stands as both journalism and cultural history, examining questions of urban change, morality, and the price of progress in American cities. Friedman's street-level perspective reveals the complex social dynamics and unofficial economies that existed beneath Times Square's lurid surface.

Readers highlight the raw, unflinching portrayal of Times Square's sex industry during the 1970s-80s. Many note the book captures voices and stories that would otherwise be lost to history, particularly from sex workers, theater operators, and street hustlers. Likes: - Detailed first-hand reporting and interviews - Captures the gritty atmosphere of pre-gentrification Times Square - Historical photos and documentation - Balance of humor and serious journalism Dislikes: - Some chapters feel disconnected - Writing style can be uneven - Content too graphic for some readers - Limited broader context about the era Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (89 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (41 ratings) Notable reader comments: "The only book that truly documents this vanished world" - Goodreads reviewer "Like sitting in a dive bar listening to someone tell wild stories" - Amazon review "Important historical record but sometimes feels exploitative" - LibraryThing user

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🎬 Written in the 1980s but covering the 1970s era, Tales of Times Square captures the last gasp of Times Square's grindhouse culture before Disney and corporate interests transformed the area in the 1990s. 🎭 Author Josh Alan Friedman worked as a reporter for Screw magazine and immersed himself in Times Square's peep shows, porn theaters, and strip clubs for seven years to gather material for the book. 🌆 The book features interviews with real Times Square characters including notorious mob-connected strip club owner Mike Umber and legendary burlesque performer Blaze Starr. 📚 The original 1986 edition included stark black and white photographs by Josh's brother Drew Friedman, who went on to become a celebrated illustrator for publications like The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. 🎟️ The area documented in the book once contained the largest concentration of adult theaters and sex-related businesses in America, with 47 porn theaters operating between 42nd and 50th Streets at its peak in the mid-1970s.