39. Hidden Histories of the Jazz Age New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange by Jonathan Ezra Goldman

I must express my bias outright, as Jonathan Goldman, Joyce Expert, scholar, musician and all around cool guy, is a friend of mine.  This is his third book but the first two, though, compelling were way too academic for me to read.  I was worried about this one, but since I was going to visit him in NYC, I was motivated to get reading.  I did not need to worry about this one being too academic as, while still built on a good academic foundation (a basic thesis, thorough research), it is eminently readable.  

I don't know if this kind of book has a name already.  It was unique in structure to me.  Basically, he goes through all the various non-dominant (re: white, male, Protestant) peoples who have been neglected in history and finds all their little histories.  There is a lot of small bits of info and it can kind of wash over this reader in its totality, but at the same time it weaves a rich tapestry of all the diverse communities and cultures in New York and all the things they were doing culturally and politically.  You really get a great feeling of what a rich, vibrant city New York was and how so much of those strains of fighting for the community over the big corporation are built into its history.  

There are also many crazy little anecdotes and tidbits that pop up that add to the interest.  I can't imagine (but will ask) on the amount and type of research that went into this book.  There is a lot of straight up popular culture that would have been gleaned from the newspapers at the time, but there is also much deeper knowledge of specific movements.  He spends a lot of time on Marcus Garvey, for instance, which would have required a deeper range of primary and secondary material.

I know one specific audience who would benefit from reading this book:  Call of Cthulu RPG fans.  The classic version of the game takes place a little later, in the 30s, but this book is close enough in time and so full of great detail that it would be an ideal aid to the GM.  You could just use it to broaden your knowledge of New York culture history.  Beyond, there are so many individuals, factions, neighbourhoods that can be used for encounters and plot hooks just as is and even more so with a little occult shenanigans added to their behaviours.