A Thousand and One Afternoons in Chicago (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780226322742)

In 1921, Ben Hecht wrote a column for the Chicago Daily News that his editor called "journalism extraordinary; journalism that invaded the realm of literature." Hecht's collection of sixty-four of these pieces, illustrated with striking pen drawings by Herman Rosse, is a timeless caricature of urban American life in the jazz age, updated with a new Introduction for the twenty-first century. From the glittering opulence of Michigan Avenue to the darkest ruminations of an escaped convict, from captains of industry to immigrant day laborers, Hecht captures 1920s Chicago in all its furor, intensity, and absurdity.

"The hardboiled audacity and wit that became Hecht's signature as Hollywood's most celebrated screen-writer are conspicuous in these vignettes. Most of them are comic and sardonic, some strike muted tragic or somber atmospheric notes. . . . The best are timeless character sketches that have taken on an added interest as shards of social history."--L. S. Klepp, Voice Literary Supplement

Author: Ben Hecht
ISBN-10: 0226322742
ISBN-13: 9780226322742
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Language: English
Published: 07/01/2009
Pages: 296
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.60w x 0.90d