Just Kids from the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
"A down-to-earth, inspiring book about the American promise fulfilled." —President Bill Clinton
"Fascinating . . . . Made me wish I had been born in the Bronx." —Barbara Walters
A touching and provocative collection of memories that evoke the history of one of America's most influential boroughs—the Bronx—through some of its many success stories
The vivid oral histories in Arlene Alda's Just Kids from the Bronx reveal what it was like to grow up in the place that bred the influencers in just about every field of endeavor today. The Bronx is where Michael Kay, the New York Yankees' play-by-play broadcaster, first experienced baseball, where J. Crew's CEO Millard (Mickey) Drexler found his ambition, where Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dava Sobel fell in love with science early on and where music-making inspired hip hop's Grandmaster Melle Mel to change the world of music forever.
The parks, the pick-up games, the tough and tender mothers, the politics, the gangs, the food—for people who grew up in the Bronx, childhood recollections are fresh. Arlene Alda's own Bronx memories were a jumping-off point from which to reminisce with a nun, a police officer, an urban planner, and with Al Pacino, Mary Higgins Clark, Carl Reiner, Colin Powell, Maira Kalman, Bobby Bonilla, and many other leading artists, athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs—experiences spanning six decades of Bronx living. Alda then arranged these pieces of the past, from looking for violets along the banks of the Bronx River to the wake-up calls from teachers who recognized potential, into one great collective story, a film-like portrait of the Bronx from the early twentieth century until today.
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Arlene Alda. (2015). Just Kids from the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History. Henry Holt and Co.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Arlene Alda. 2015. Just Kids From the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History. Henry Holt and Co.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Arlene Alda, Just Kids From the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History. Henry Holt and Co, 2015.
MLA Citation (style guide)Arlene Alda. Just Kids From the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History. Henry Holt and Co, 2015.
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- bioText: Arlene Alda graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hunter College, received a Fulbright Scholarship, and realized her dream of becoming a professional clarinetist, playing in the Houston Symphony under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. She switched careers when her children were young and became an award-winning photographer and author who has written nineteen books, including Just Kids from the Bronx. She is the mother of three daughters and the grandmother of eight. She and her husband, actor Alan Alda, live in New York City and Long Island.
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"A down-to-earth, inspiring book about the American promise fulfilled." —President Bill Clinton
"Fascinating . . . . Made me wish I had been born in the Bronx." —Barbara Walters
A touching and provocative collection of memories that evoke the history of one of America's most influential boroughs—the Bronx—through some of its many success stories
The vivid oral histories in Arlene Alda's Just Kids from the Bronx reveal what it was like to grow up in the place that bred the influencers in just about every field of endeavor today. The Bronx is where Michael Kay, the New York Yankees' play-by-play broadcaster, first experienced baseball, where J. Crew's CEO Millard (Mickey) Drexler found his ambition, where Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dava Sobel fell in love with science early on and where music-making inspired hip hop's Grandmaster Melle Mel to change the world of music forever.
The parks, the pick-up games, the tough and tender mothers, the politics, the gangs, the food—for people who grew up in the Bronx, childhood recollections are fresh. Arlene Alda's own Bronx memories were a jumping-off point from which to reminisce with a nun, a police officer, an urban planner, and with Al Pacino, Mary Higgins Clark, Carl Reiner, Colin Powell, Maira Kalman, Bobby Bonilla, and many other leading artists, athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs—experiences spanning six decades of Bronx living. Alda then arranged these pieces of the past, from looking for violets along the banks of the Bronx River to the wake-up calls from teachers who recognized potential, into one great collective story, a film-like portrait of the Bronx from the early twentieth century until today.- reviews
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- source: The Huffington Post
- content:
"A loving portrait of a borough . . . Every story is a gem."
- premium: False
- source: Publishers Weekly
- content: "A fabulous collection of 65 brief oral histories . . . . There are few readers who won't be touched by this affectionate look backward, which is as much about the universal state of childhood as the specific borough of the Bronx."
- premium: False
- source: Kirkus Reviews
- content: "Whether it was the women's changing room at Loehmann's department store, riding a bike to Pelham Bay Park or running to an apartment block to fetch someone for a telephone call at the corner store, living in the Bronx made an impression on all of them as they worked their way up the American dream ladder. . . . Entertaining and informative cherished memories from a diverse group from the Bronx."
- premium: False
- source: New York Daily News
- content: "An amazing cross section of personal stories that takes the reader through the Bronx in the eyes-and the words-of some of the borough's most famous sons and daughters."
- premium: False
- source: President Bill Clinton
- content: "Arlene Alda must be a great listener because all kinds of amazing people tell her remarkable things in Just Kids from the Bronx. No matter where you grew up, you'll find this a down-to-earth, inspiring book about the American promise fulfilled."
- premium: True
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November 24, 2014
Alda has compiled a fabulous collection of 65 brief oral histories from a wide range of people who began their lives in the Bronx. The assortment of childhood memories begin as far back as the 1920s, move through the 1940s and 1950s, and end with those born in the late 1980s. Contributors include Carl Reiner, Colin Powell, and—among younger names—dancer Amar Ramasar and Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. While the borough’s underdog status is acknowledged (Odgen Nash’s “The Bronx? No Thonx?” gets quoted), the general tenor is fond and wistful. Mary Higgins Clark sets the tone by dubbing the area one of “only three places in the world that have a the in front of their names: the Vatican, The Hague, and the Bronx.” Stories often recall the mundane: stickball in the streets, trying to get “home before dark,” the unforgettable smell of bakeries and delis. Al Pacino recalls teachers who changed his life, and an urban planner remembers his mother drilling him on the subway system before sending him off alone at age 9. There are few readers who won’t be touched by this affectionate look backward, which is as much about the universal state of childhood as the specific borough of the Bronx.
- premium: True
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December 15, 2014
Short essays connected by a common thread: a childhood spent in the Bronx.Through the voices of more than 60 interviewees, Alda (Except the Color Grey, 2011, etc.) presents a kaleidoscope of images from these vignettes of life in the New York borough. The pieces span from the late 1920s to the early 1990s and capture the evolution of a neighborhood. Since the Bronx was originally settled primarily by Jewish, Italian and Irish immigrants, the initial stories are rich with details about life during the Depression and World War II and its aftermath. Then the narrative gradually shifts with the progression of time to personal reflections from newer arrivals comprised of African-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. These short slices of life offer intimate glimpses into the childhood memories of well-known people such as Colin Powell, Milton Glaser, Abe Rosenthal and Al Pacino. Whether it was the women's changing room at Loehmann's department store, riding a bike to Pelham Bay Park or running to an apartment block to fetch someone for a telephone call at the corner store, living in the Bronx made an impression on all of them as they worked their way up the American dream ladder to become productive and prosperous members of society. Amar Ramasar, principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, sums up the essence of these narratives, writing, "Manhattan wasn't home until recently, when I moved there. It was always associated with work and studying, but the Bronx is different. It was, and I think always will be, home, comfort, love." Other contributors include Carl Reiner, Regis Philbin, Dava Sobel, Maira Kalman, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bobby Bonilla. Entertaining and informative cherished memories from a diverse group from the Bronx.COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from May 25, 2015
Memories of the serenity and cleanliness of the Bronx river and its population of snapping turtles; taking turns answering the one phone in the building; lively congregations on rooftops; playing outside at a time when sports were spontaneous and free, in a culture of letting
kids play outside: these are just a smattering of the memories in the 60-plus stories shared by a myriad of people who grew up in the Bronx. The storytellers range from 92-year-old Carl Reiner to 23-year-old Eric Zeiglerand and include political figures such as Colin Powell and celebrities such as actor Al Pacino and author Mary Higgins Clark. Though the stories are as diverse as the people telling them, there is a common thread of warmth and fondness in their childhood memories. The stories highlight America’s rich roots and a core attitude that schools and parents, as well as teachers and temples, were an important part of the storytellers’ communities and lives. The numerous voices presenting these oral histories are flowing, velvety, glib, humorous, and always passionate. Though not all the narrators have as clear or resonant a voice as one of the main narrators, actor Alan Alda (the author’s husband), the variation adds to the overall sense of diversity and the authenticity of the stories. This is an informative and heartwarming retrospective of life in the Bronx, in addition to an enlightening look at the changes in our society and culture. A Holt hardcover.
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"Fascinating . . . . Made me wish I had been born in the Bronx." —Barbara Walters
A touching and provocative collection of memories that evoke the history of one of America's most influential boroughs—the Bronx—through some of its many success stories
The vivid oral histories in Arlene Alda's Just Kids from the Bronx reveal what it was like to grow up in the place that bred the influencers in just about every field of endeavor today. The Bronx is where Michael Kay, the New York Yankees' play-by-play broadcaster, first experienced baseball, where J. Crew's CEO Millard (Mickey) Drexler found his ambition, where Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dava Sobel fell in love with science early on and where music-making inspired hip hop's Grandmaster Melle Mel to change the world of music forever.
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