Going Out

The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements

By: David Nasaw

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Paperback | 15 April 1999 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.35 x 1.59 x 0.19

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David Nasaw has written a sparkling social history of twentieth-century show business and of the new American public that assembled in the city's pleasure palaces, parks, theaters, nickelodeons, world's fair midways, and dance halls.

The new amusement centers welcomed women, men, and children, native-born and immigrant, rich, poor and middling. Only African Americans were excluded or segregated in the audience, though they were overrepresented in parodic form on stage. This stigmatization of the African American, Nasaw argues, was the glue that cemented an otherwise disparate audience, muting social distinctions among "whites," and creating a common national culture.

Industry Reviews

David Nasaw's fine history of public amusements in urban America is such a welcome contribution to contemporary cultural debate...Nasaw unearths fascinating details about everything from the early history of the movies to pre-World War I dance crazes; and he raises fundamental questions about the web of connections joining commercial play, public space and cultural cohesion. -- Jackson Lears New York Times Book Review An effervescent social history. The New Yorker No other book brings together so much material about so many different urban entertainment forms--and connects their history with a few simple and powerful overarching themes. -- Warren Goldstein The Nation

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Acknowledgments
Introduction
Dollar Theaters, Concert Saloons, and Dime Museums
""Something for Everybody"" at the Vaudeville Theater
""The Best Smelling Crowd in the World""
The ""Indecent"" Others
The City as Playground: The World's Fair Midways
""The Summer Show""
The National Game
""Laughter and Liberty Galore"": Early Twentieth-Century Dance Halls, Ballrooms, and Cabarets
Talking and Singing Machines, Parlors, and Peep Shows
""The Surest Immediate Money-Maker Ever Kno
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Going Out

The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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The European Mind

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1942

The Crux of War

The Counterrevolution

The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement

The Country Schoolmaster

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The Finest Hotel in Kabul

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Australia's Bush Legends

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A Rebel and a Traitor

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The Golden Menhir

An Illustrated Asterix Album

Fighting for Country

The extraordinary life of Reg Saunders, Australia's first Indigenous military officer, hero of two wars

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