In this collection of thirty-four sketches, the author captures the extraordinary range of people, experiences, places and feelings that is New York City -- the city behind the glamorous facade of Manhattan, inhabited by people who remember when this was "a great big wonderful town and they were young in its streets."

These sketches, many based on actual incidents, take as their subject the "smaller dramas" of mankind, the chance encounters and random episodes that inform one's life; often twisting suddenly, surprisingly, at the end, they convey strong feelings in little space.  Using all of New York as his broad canvas, Pete Hamill recreates the baffling array of human emotions, from sadness and nostalgia to home and love, with affection, grace and wry understanding.