Description
Book SynopsisFor more than a century, Times Square has mesmerized the world with the spectacle of its dazzling supersigns, its theaters, and its often-seedy nightlife. This work offers a portrait of the street life, politics, economics, and cultural forces that mold America's urban centers.
Trade ReviewThe strength of this book lies in Chesluk's ability to ground his ethnographic inquiries with a historically informed sensibility of the cultural career of redevelopment efforts in Times Square. Unique and innovative, Money Jungle represents an important contribution to urban anthropology and to the studies of cities generally. -- John Hartigan Jr. * Department of Anthropology, University of Texas *
Money Jungle is a compelling ethnography that takes the reader on a layered and vivid tour of the people and forces that produce urban change. With his imaginative and multifaceted approach to an iconic site, Chesluk makes a strong contribution to anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies. -- Lorna A. Rhodes * author of Total Confinement: Madness and Reason in the Maximum Security Prison *
Alternately Herculean and Sisyphean, the struggle to clean up Times Square has never been chronicled with more thoroughness or insight, nor with greater sensitivity to the ramifications of the attempt. -- Charles Ardai * founder and editor of Hard Case Crime *
The strength of this book lies in CheslukÆs ability to ground his ethnographic inquiries with a historically informed sensibility of the cultural career of redevelopment efforts in Times Square. Unique and innovative, Money Jungle represents an important contribution to urban anthropology and to the studies of cities generally. -- John Hartigan Jr. * Department of Anthropology, University of Texas *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
About the Photographs Chapter One
Brilliant Corners: The Redevelopment of Times Square\ Chapter Two
Magnificent Spectacle: Real Estate, Theater, Advertising, and the History of Times Square Chapter Three
The New Spaces of Times Square: Commerce, Social Control, and the Built Environment Chapter Four
The Midtown Community Court: Intimacy and Power in an Experimental Courtroom Chapter Five
Times Square Ink.: Redevelopment of the Self Chapter Six
"Visible Signs of a City Out of Control": Images of Order and Disorder in Police-Community Dialogue Chapter Seven
"It Doesn't Exist, But They're Selling It": The Debates over "Air Rights" Chapter Eight
Conclusion: The Meanings of Times SquareNotes
Index
