New York in the '50s

The rhythms of jazz and beat poetry punctuate this sweeping, firsthand account of New York City's 1950s literary scene from the Bowery to Spanish Harlem

National bestselling author Dan Wakefield first came to New York City in 1952 with the intention of receiving a proper literary education on the ivied campus of Columbia University. An equally enlightening experience, he quickly found, was hiding in the smoky bars and cafés of Greenwich Village frequented by the most talented writers of...