Laurie Gwen Shapiro’s latest book is The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George
Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon, published by Viking.
Laurie Gwen Shapiro
By Laurie Gwen Shapiro
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Culture They Were the Good Kids on the Lower East Side
The three alter kockers looked much younger than their years when they greeted each other at the Seward Park Library on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mentally sharp, with considerable color in their skin and dyed hair, they seemed giddy that they’d been chosen to be the first formal interview subjects for The New York Public…
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Culture The 100-Year Vision of Moscot Eyewear
There’s an old Yiddish expression my Lower East Side grandmother Ida was fond of: “When luck happens, offer it a seat.” Luck happened. My family has been loyal customers of Moscot Eyewear for nearly 100 of its 100 years; my bespectacled elderly father will buy from no one else, and my grandparents bought there when…
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Culture The Syrupy Tale of How Jews Invented Kedem and Modern America
Pour yourself a glass of wine — this is a story that needs a little extra time set aside. It’s a twisty tale of three centuries, and how improbable connections made New York City into the city it is today, and how difficult it is to keep moving forward without destroying what lies behind. Let’s begin then,…
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Culture The Man Who Can Make a Cheetah Jump
When inventor Dan Kainen opens the first page of his novelty book “Safari” for me at the bar of Greenwich Village’s Knickerbocker Grill, the cheetah on the first page springs to life. A woman nursing her drink leans over. Soon, a small crowd with cocktails in hand gathers around, mesmerized by the eight pages of…
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The Schmooze Into Wilderness of Errol
Because Errol Morris believes in the power of eye contact, he invented unpatented machines called the Interrotron and the Megatron that allow his documentary subjects to look directly at his face on a projected screen while he is in another room. This unusual method lends a startling intensity and intimacy to his mesmerizing films. It…
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The Schmooze Mr. Tropper’s Novels
Here’s a brief cheat sheet on Jonathan Tropper’s literary oeuvre. Plan B St. Martin’s Press (2000) Four New York City former college friends try to kidnap a drug-addicted friend and get his life back on track. The Book of Joe Delacorte Press (2004) A thinly veiled novel by a first-time author (based on a Connecticut…
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Culture Jonathan Tropper Never Gave Up on Dream
When I stepped into the living room of Jonathan Tropper’s large house in the unpretentious Westchester suburb of New Rochelle, I had a nervous pause: Had I caught him at a bad moment? It looked like he had just moved in, and most of his furniture hadn’t yet arrived. The walls were bare, and there…
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