The brazen age : New York City and the American empire : politics, art, and bohemia

A brilliant, sweeping, and unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950, __The Brazen Age__ opens with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s campaign tour through the city’s boroughs in 1944. He would see little of what made New York the capital of modernity—though the aristocratic FDR was its paradoxical avatar—a city boasting an unprecedented and unique synthesis of genius, ambition, and the avant-garde. While concentrating on those five years, David Reid also reaches back to the turn of the twentieth century to explore the city’s progressive politics, radical artistic experimentation, and burgeoning bohemia. From 1900 to 1929, New York City was a dynamic metropolis on the rise, and it quickly became a cultural nexus of new architecture; the home of a thriving movie business; the glittering center of theater and radio; and a hub of book, magazine, and newspaper publishing. In the 1930s, the rise of Hitler and World War II would send some of Europe’s most talented men and women to America’s shores, vastly enriching the fields of science, architecture, film, and arts and letters—the list includes Albert Einstein, Erwin Panofsky, Walter Gropius, George Grosz, André Kertész, Robert Capa, Thomas Mann, Hannah Arendt, Vladimir Nabokov, and John Lukacs. Reid draws a portrait of the frenzied, creative energy of a bohemian Greenwich Village, from the taverns to the salons. Revolutionaries, socialists, and intelligentsia in the 1910s were drawn to the highly provocative monthly magazine __The Masses,__ which attracted the era’s greatest talent, from John Reed to Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, John Sloan, and Stuart Davis. And summoned up is a chorus of witnesses to the ever-changing landscape of bohemia, from Malcolm Cowley to Anaïs Nin. Also present are the pioneering photographers who captured the city in black-and-white: Berenice Abbott’s dizzying aerial views, Samuel Gottscho’s photographs of the waterfront and the city’s architectural splendor, and Weegee’s masterful noir lowlife. But the political tone would be set by the next president, and Reid looks closely at Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, and Harry Truman. James Forrestal, secretary of the navy under Roosevelt, would be influential in establishing a new position in the cabinet before ascending to it himself as secretary of defense under Truman, but not before helping to usher in the Cold War. With __The Brazen Age,__ David Reid has magnificently captured a complex and powerful moment in the history of New York City in the mid-twentieth century, a period of time that would ensure its place on the world stage for many generations. "A brilliant, sweeping, and unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950, The Brazen Age opens with Franklin Delano Roosevelt's campaign tour through the city's boroughs in 1944. He would see little of what made New York the capital of modernity--though the aristocratic FDR was its paradoxical avatar--a city boasting an unprecedented and unique synthesis of genius, ambition, and the avant-garde. While concentrating on those five years, David Reid also reaches back to the turn of the twentieth century to explore the city's progressive politics, radical artistic experimentation, and burgeoning bohemia. From 1900 to 1929, New York City was a dynamic metropolis on the rise, and it quickly became a cultural nexus of new architecture; the home of a thriving movie business; the glittering center of theater and radio; and a hub of book, magazine, and newspaper publishing. In the 1930s, the rise of Hitler and World War II would send some of Europe's most talented men and women to America's shores, vastly enriching the fields of science, architecture, film, and arts and letters--the list includes Albert Einstein, Erwin Panofsky, Walter Gropius, George Grosz, André Kertész, Robert Capa, Thomas Mann, Hannah Arendt, Vladimir Nabokov, and John Lukacs. Reid draws a portrait of the frenzied, creative energy of a bohemian Greenwich Village, from the taverns to the salons. Revolutionaries, socialists, and intelligentsia in the 1910s were drawn to the highly provocative monthly magazine The Masses, which attracted the era's greatest talent, from John Reed to Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, John Sloan, and Stuart Davis. And summoned up is a chorus of witnesses to the ever-changing landscape of bohemia, from Malcolm Cowley to Anaïs Nin. Also present are the pioneering photographers who captured the city in black-and-white: Berenice Abbott's dizzying aerial views, Samuel Gottscho's photographs of the waterfront and the city's architectural splendor, and Weegee's masterful noir lowlife. But the political tone would be set by the next president, and Reid looks closely at Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, and Harry Truman. James Forrestal, secretary of the navy under Roosevelt, would be influential in establishing a new position in the cabinet before ascending to it himself as secretary of defense under Truman, but not before helping to usher in the Cold War. With The Brazen Age, David Reid has magnificently captured a complex and powerful moment in the history of New York City in the mid-twentieth century, a period of time that would ensure its place on the world stage for many generations."--Publisher's description "A brilliant, sweeping, and unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950, The Brazen Age opens with Franklin Delano Roosevelt's campaign tour through the city's boroughs in 1944. He would see little of what made New York the capital of modernity--though the aristocratic FDR was its paradoxical avatar--a city boasting an unprecedented and unique synthesis of genius, ambition, and the avant-garde. While concentrating on those five years, David Reid also reaches back to the turn of the twentieth century to explore the city's progressive politics, radical artistic experimentation, and burgeoning bohemia. From 1900 to 1929, New York City was a dynamic metropolis on the rise, and it quickly became a cultural nexus of new architecture; the home of a thriving movie business; the glittering center of theater and radio; and a hub of book, magazine, and newspaper publishing. In the 1930s, the rise of Hitler and World War II would send some of Europe's most talented men and women to America's shores, vastly enriching the fields of science, architecture, film, and arts and letters--the list includes Albert Einstein, Erwin Panofsky, Walter Gropius, George Grosz, André Kertész, Robert Capa, Thomas Mann, Hannah Arendt, Vladimir Nabokov, and John Lukacs. Reid draws a portrait of the frenzied, creative energy of a bohemian Greenwich Village, from the taverns to the salons. Revolutionaries, socialists, and intelligentsia in the 1910s were drawn to the highly provocative monthly magazine The Masses, which attracted the era's greatest talent, from John Reed to Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, John Sloan, and Stuart Davis. And summoned up is a chorus of witnesses to the ever-changing landscape of bohemia, from Malcolm Cowley to Anaïs Nin. Also present are the pioneering photographers who captured the city in black-and-white: Berenice Abbott's dizzying aerial views, Samuel Gottscho's photographs of the waterfront and the city's architectural splendor, and Weegee's masterful noir lowlife. But the political tone would be set by the next president, and Reid looks closely at Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, and Harry Truman. James Forrestal, secretary of the navy under Roosevelt, would be influential in establishing a new position in the cabinet before ascending to it himself as secretary of defense under Truman, but not before helping to usher in the Cold War. With The Brazen Age, David Reid has magnificently captured a complex and powerful moment in the history of New York City in the mid-twentieth century, a period of time that would ensure its place on the world stage for many generations." -- Publisher's description A brilliant, sweeping, and unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950, The Brazen Age opens with Franklin Delano Roosevelts campaign tour through the citys boroughs in 1944. He would see little of what made New York the capital of modernitythough the aristocratic FDR was its paradoxical avatara city boasting an unprecedented and unique synthesis of genius, ambition, and the avant-garde. While concentrating on those five years, David Reid also reaches back to the turn of the twentieth century to explore the citys progressive politics, radical artistic experimentation, and burgeoning bohemia. From 1900 to 1929, New York City was a dynamic metropolis on the rise, and it quickly became a cultural nexus of new architecture; the home of a thriving movie business; the glittering center of theater and radio; and a hub of book, magazine, and newspaper publishing. In the 1930s, the rise of Hitler and World War II would send some of Europes most talented men and women to Americas shores, vastly enriching the fields of science, architecture, film, and arts and lettersthe list includes Albert Einstein, Erwin Panofsky, Walter Gropius, George Grosz, Andr Kertsz, Robert Capa, Thomas Mann, Hannah Arendt, Vladimir Nabokov, and John Lukacs. Reid draws a portrait of the frenzied, creative energy of a bohemian Greenwich Village, from the taverns to the salons. Revolutionaries, socialists, and intelligentsia in the 1910s were drawn to the highly provocative monthly magazine The Masses, which attracted the eras greatest talent, from John Reed to Sherwood Anderson, Djuna Barnes, John Sloan, and Stuart Davis. And summoned up is a chorus of witnesses to the ever-changing landscape of bohemia, from Malcolm Cowley to Anas Nin. Also present are the pioneering photographers who captured the city in black-and-white: Berenice Abbotts dizzying aerial views, Samuel Gottschos photographs of the waterfront and the citys architectural splendor, and Weegees masterful noir lowlife. But the political tone would be set by the next president, and Reid looks closely at Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, and Harry Truman. James Forrestal, secretary of the navy under Roosevelt, would be influential in establishing a new position in the cabinet before ascending to it himself as secretary of defense under Truman, but not before helping to usher in the Cold War. With The Brazen Age, David Reid has magnificently captured a complex and powerful moment in the history of New York City in the mid-twentieth century, a period of time that would ensure its place on the world stage for many generations. From the Hardcover edition. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt Visited New York City In 1944 During His Fourth Election Tour, A Raging Storm Failed To Stop Him From Embarking On An Ambitious Fifty-mile Automobile Procession Through Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, And Manhattan. He Saw Little Of What Was Then A Dynamic Metropolis On The Rise. This Would Be, As David Reid Reveals, The Architecture, A Thriving Movie Business, Theater, Radio, And The Beginning Of Television, As Well As Publishing-books, Magazines, And Newspapers. Looming Large Is The Frenzied, Creative Energy Of Greenwich Village, With Its Literary Refugees From Europe, Radicals And Intellectuals Producing Important Works And Publishing Small Journals. But The Times Would Be Determined By The Next President, And Reid Looks Closely At Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace, And Harry Truman, As Well As James Forrestal, Secretary Of The Navy Under Roosevelt, Who Would Become The Secretary Of Defense Under Truman. A Vivid And Colorful Moment In History, Full Of Rich And Unexpected Detail. A sweeping history of the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics that defined New York City in the mid-twentieth-century and ensured its place on the world stage. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited New York City in 1944 during his fourth election tour, a raging storm failed to stop him from embarking on an ambitious fifty-mile automobile procession through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. He saw little of what was then a dynamic metropolis on the rise. This would be, as David Reid reveals, the architecture, a thriving movie business, theater, radio, and the beginning of television, as well as publishing--books, magazines, and newspapers. Looming large is the frenzied, creative energy of Greenwich Village, with its literary refugees from Europe, radicals and intellectuals producing important works and publishing small journals. But the times would be determined by the next president, and Reid looks closely at Thomas Dewey, Henry Wallace,... Prologue. the last hurrah of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Empire and communications City lights Cultural capital The greater city Babylon revisited Wandering rocks City of refuge Exiles and emigres The city at war Words, words, words Books as bullets New York discovers America Limousines on grub street Scenes of writing That winter-and the next A fractious peace New York observed Soldier's home The city in black and white Berenice Abbott's "village in the city" Gottscho's Oz Weegee's dark carnival Greenwich Village: ghosts, goths, and glimpses of the moon Bohemia was yesterday Conciliating nobody: the masses and the villagers Brightness fall Another part of the forest Culture and anarchy: "The sublime is now" 1948: The end of something Verdict Last hurrah at the Waldorf Days without end.