A Town Without Time

From legendary journalist Gay Talese, a collection of his greatest reporting on New York City.

“Along with Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe and others, Mr. Talese has been acclaimed as a virtuoso of the novelistic New Journalism.” —Wall Street Journal

“They fly in quietly—unnoticed, like the cats, the ants, the doorman with three bullets in his head, and most of the other offbeat wonders in this town without time.” —from “New York Is a City of Things Unnoticed,” Talese’s first Esquire story, 1960

For over six decades, Gay Talese has told New York stories. They are the stories of daring bridge builders, disappearing gangsters, intrepid Vogue editors, unassuming doormen who’ve seen too much. They are set in the star-studded salons of George Plimpton’s apartment, in the tense newsroom of a still burgeoning New York Times, in an electric studio session with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recording their debut.

With the wit, elegance, and depth of insight that has long characterized his work, Talese’s New York reporting showcases a master of the form at his finest, making intelligible the city’s vibrant beating pulse, capturing the charming, the eccentric, and the overlooked. Whether prowling the night streets to discover the social hierarchy of alley cats, or uncovering the triumph and terror of building the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, or plunging into the hidden, sordid world of a recently blown-up apartment building, Talese excavates the city around him with a reporter’s eye and an artist’s flair, crafting delightful, profound, indelible portraits of the people who live there. Spanning the 1950s to today, the fourteen pieces in this compelling nonfiction collection are a time capsule of what New York once was and still is—Talese proves time and time again that, even as the city changes, his view of it remains as timeless as ever.

This landmark collection of New York stories reveals the city in all its glory and grit:

Iconic New York Moments: Go inside a tense recording session with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, witness the terror and triumph of building the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and step into the star-studded salons of George Plimpton. A Master of the Form: Discover why Gay Talese is celebrated as a pioneer of New Journalism, with elegant, insightful prose that has shaped narrative nonfiction for decades. The Unseen City: From the secret social lives of alley cats to the untold stories of unassuming doormen, Talese reveals the hidden worlds and offbeat wonders thriving just beneath the surface. Literary Nonfiction: Explore a defining collection of essays that captures over sixty years of history, showcasing the wit and artistry that make Talese’s reporting timeless.