I was first introduced to Joseph Mitchell on a bookring of Up in the Old Hotel and Other Stories, and I've been wanting to read more of his stories. I found this book on a recent trip to the Book Warehouse, and am looking forward to reading it.

From the cover -
On the centennial of Joseph Mitchell's birth, here is a new edition of the classic collection containing his most celebrated pieces about New York City. Fifty years after its original publication, The Bottom of the Harbor is still considered a fundamental New York book. Every story Mitchell tells, every person he introduces, every scene he describes is illuminated by his passion for the eccentrics and eccentricities of his beloved adopted city.
All of the pieces here are connected in one way or another - some directly, some with a kind of mysterious circuitousness - to New York's fabled waterfront, the terrain that Mitchell brilliantly made his own. They tell of a life that has passed - of vacant hotel rooms, deserted communities, once-thriving fishing areas that are now polluted and studded with wrecks. Included are "Up in the Old Hotel," a portrait of Louis Morino, the proprietor of a restaurant called, (to his disgust) "Sloppy Louie's; "The Rats on the Waterfront," which has inspired countless writers to attempt portraits of these most demonized New Yorkers; and "Mr. Hunter's Grave," widely considered to be the finest single piece of nonfiction to have ever appeared in the pages of The New Yorker.
Here is the essential work of a legendary writer.

Sadly, MaryZee passed suddenly in September 2012. MaryZee's daughter is now ready to rehome her mom's books and I was willing to collect and redistribute them to keep her literary legacy alive.

My TBR pile is huge, but this book called to me, so I will hang onto it for now.

This book was one of many that came from the library of a friend who passed away. I don't know why it caught my eye, but it looked intriguing. The dust jacket promused a look at New York City and its harbor as it used to be and a chance to enjoy really good writing. It definitely delivered. I found it an enjoyable read, with captivating prose, even though I don't know that I would have cared about the subject matter one way or another if I ran across it somewhere else. It was in many ways a soothing escape. Even the piece about rats.

I think my favorite entry was Mr. Hunter's Grave, although Dragger Captain was also quite good. I don't know enough about New York City to know for sure that all of these pockets of life are long gone, but I think they must be. The stories feel timeless in some ways, but very ancient in others, and evoke the idea of a simpler time and way of life in one of the most complicated places on earth.

This book is going to meet-up with me and hopefully going home with someone else.

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This book came home with me from today's BC-in-DC meeting.

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