Low Life

This book provides an arresting and entertaining view of what New York was actually like in its early days.

It is not the familiar saga of mansions, avenues, and robber barons, but rather the story of the city's slums, teeming streets, and various forms of vice and entertainment.

The book is divided into four parts, examining the topography of Manhattan, opportunities for vice and entertainment, the forces of law and order, and the city's tides of revolt and idealism.

It is a provocative book about urban life, evoking the mythology of the modern metropolis and its relevance to the present and future of all cities.