Book Description

If you want to take a trip down memory lane, this book is for you. Full of humor, wisdom and frank talk, award-winning Yorkville Twins [required reading by college freshmen] is an endearing collection of stories involving immigrants, survival, growing up, coming of age, and learning what it is to be an American. More than a memoir of a 1950s working class neighborhood, it's an experience, a love story of family, friends, neighbors, and the Yorkville of yore, recounting daily life from a historical, social and cultural perspective. "In the 1940s and 1950s, . . . most [urban] people lived in a four- or five-story, walk-up tenement building. Often their apartments had no toilet. Families would share a common toilet in the hallway. There were no showers. The only bathtub in many cases was a washtub located in the kitchen, a tub so small the best a full-grown person could do was sit on the edge and put his or her feet in the water. . . . There was little or no privacy in the railroad style rooms. The time Joe and John Gindele reminisce about is post-war America in a large city. It was a time when news reports, politicians and leaders were believable in the public's mind. It was a time when teachers, priests, and the police were never challenged. It was a time before TV. Some people had telephones. Most didn't. Radio programs which sparked the imagination of children and adults alike were the daily fare." --Anthony Lofaso, author.With 100+ vintage photographs, richly annotated resources, and a multilingual glossary, the book is nostalgic, inspiring, and "laugh-out-loud" entertaining. The twins describe what the city was like then, how it changed, and how they and their family succeeded in living the American dream! It's an American tale full of adventures and misadventures, laughs, sweet memories and sad moments. How did their family ever survive living with these guys who share special bonds and predictive abilities? Readers will (1) Renew childhood memories, (2) Live the immigrant experience, and (3) Have fun doing so.