David Nasaw's fine history of public amusements in urban America is such a welcome contribution to contemporary cultural debate...Nasaw unearths fascinating details about everything from the early history of the movies to pre-World War I dance crazes; and he raises fundamental questions about the web of connections joining commercial play, public space and cultural cohesion.
   --Jackson Lears, New York Times Book Review

An effervescent social history.
   --The New Yorker

No other book brings together so much material about so many different urban entertainment forms--and connects their history with a few simple and powerful overarching themes.
   --Warren Goldstein, The Nation

David Nasaw is Professor of History and American Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.