A recommendation secondhand. (Heard on NPR this morning.)
Here Is New York
a book by E.B. White review
(published in 1949)
"The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now; in the sounds of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest editions.
"All dwellers in cities must live with the stubborn fact of annihilation; in New York the fact is somewhat more concentrated because of the concentration of the city itself, and because, of all targets, New York has a certain clear priority. In the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm."
Note: E.B. White is also author of the popular children's books Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan.
Posted by joydriven at December 4, 2003 01:55 PM | TrackBackWow. Thanks for sharing! No doubt writing in the 1940s, White was thinking atomic warfare, but still...
It's stuff like this that makes NPR worthwhile.
Posted by: JRC at December 4, 2003 02:04 PM