Coney Island
by Harvey Stein
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Book Summary Information
Author: Harvey SteinIntroduction: Ric Burns
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-06-17
ISBN: 0393317870
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Book Reviews of Coney Island
Book Review: Very disappointing.
Summary: 1 Stars
Having grown up in Coney Island I found this effort to be extremely substandard. This book takes the most uninteresting pictures of the most uninteresting individuals that I can imagine. Mr. Stein would have done much better to find alot more of the old timers who truly represent the feel and atmosphere of What Coney Island was, not so much the depressing delapidated dangerous neighborhood that it most unfortunately has become. He did not look hard enough to find what is truly representative of the Coney of lore, because had he done so, it's still there, just difficult to unearth. The pictures of the parade just shows how far down Americas greatest playground has gone. Do yourselves a favor and go to the library and pick out any number of other books on Coney Island and then compare. Unfortunately, you might become meloncoly and saddened, for Coney is really just a microcosm of what has become of this nations great cities.
Summary of Coney Island
This beautiful volume of evocative and wildly colorful photographs brings to life the small strip of land on New York's Atlantic coast that for over a hundred years has provided thrills, amusements, and escape to untold millions--Coney Island. Referred to as the "Sodom by the Sea" by the New York Times in 1894, this most famed amusement complex was a twenty-block mecca for rollercoasters, side shows, carnival acts of all kinds, and food without end. Home of Famous Nathan's Hot Dogs, a lively boardwalk, and a white sand beach that at times was so filled you couldn't lie down, Coney Island was the summer destination for generations of city dwellers who couldn't afford the Catskills or the Hamptons. Today, Coney Island remains a vivid living reminder of the past and still attracts sun worshipers and thrill seekers. It has been the favorite subject of photographers for decades. And all who know or ever knew it will rejoice in this book.Veteran photographer Harvey Stein sees Coney Island, New York, as an "oasis of decay, funkiness, hope and joy, uninhibited behavior, and visual stimulation." After an initial enchanting visit to the island as an adolescent, Stein has returned there countless times with his camera. For this book of photographs, he turns his lens on Coney Island's amusements--the neon-ringed Wonder Wheel and famous Cyclone roller coaster--and the boardwalk, where lovers cavort and an elderly man leans against a graffiti-littered wall, holding a reflector under his chin to catch the sun's rays. Stein's film documents the annual Mermaid Parade, in which flame-haired little girls and bejeweled grown men hit the streets in their deep-sea best--sequined bikinis, saran-wrap tails, and body paint. Stein also photographs the area's workers, including the men who sell Pirate Ship tickets and hot dogs and the women who charm snakes and oversee the shooting gallery. And, of course, he turns his camera on the beach-goers--tattooed, dark, light, cavorting, and asleep. Together, these color images convey the sense of Coney Island as an exaggerated amusement park with a broad spectrum of happy visitors. There is a time line in the front of the book that documents fascinating trivia about Coney Island such as the date of the frankfurter debut and the opening of its first roller coaster, but the photos are the star attractions.
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