Perfectly evoking the sights and sounds of the summer of 1978 in Brooklyn, Suzanne Corso makes an acclaimed fiction debut with this powerful coming-of-age tale, told from an adult perspective, of family, best friends, first loves, and big dreams waiting to come true. Samantha Bonti is fifteen years old, half Jewish and half Italian, and hesitantly edging toward pure Brooklyn. She lives in Bensonhurst with her mother, Joan, a woman poisoned with cynicism and shackled by addictions; and with her Grandma Ruth, Samantha’s loudest and most opinionated source of encouragement. As flawed as they are, they are family. And this is home—a tight-knit community of ancestors and traditions, of controlling mobsters, compliant wives, and charismatic young guys willing to engage in anything illegal to get a shot at playing with the big boys. Yet Samantha has something that even her most simpatico girlfriend, Janice Caputo, doesn’t share—a desire to become a writer and to escape their insular, overcrowded little world and the destiny that is assumed for all of them. Then comes Tony Kroon. He’s a gorgeous mobster wannabe, a Bensonhurst Adonis whose seductive charms Samantha finds irresistible—even when she knows she’s too smart to fall this deep . . . but Samantha soon finds herself swallowed up by dangerous circumstances that threaten to jeopardize more than her dreams. Grandma Ruth’s advice: Samantha had better write herself out of this story and into a new one, fast.

The Brooklyn Stories is a collection of tales chronicling varied characters in sizzling conflicts regarding major values.For example: Will a philosophy professor overcome heartbreak and anger at romantic betrayal to collaborate with his triumphant rival on writing the novel they both cherish? Can a high school teacher and former Marine, reared in a criminal family, protect from that family’s murderous intent his innocent best friend? Can a brilliant boxer clean the ‘hood’s mean streets of brutal thugs and win back the girlfriend that his neglect permitted to be savagely assaulted? How do multiple survivors of a violent school invasion deal with the aftermath of the tragic event? These are just some of the vivid characters and conflicts gracing the pages of this collection.

For the first time, here is Brooklyn's story through the eyes of its greatest storytellers. Like Paris in the twenties or postwar Greenwich Village, Brooklyn today is experiencing an extraordinary cultural boom. In recent years, writers of all stripes—from Jhumpa Lahiri, Jennifer Egan, and Colson Whitehead to Nicole Krauss and Jonathan Safran Foer—have flocked to its patchwork of distinctive neighborhoods. But as literary critic and journalist Evan Hughes reveals, the rich literary life now flourishing in Brooklyn is part of a larger, fascinating history. With a dynamic mix of literary biography and urban history, Hughes takes us on a tour of Brooklyn past and present and reveals that hiding in Walt Whitman's Fort Greene Park, Hart Crane's Brooklyn Bridge, the raw Williamsburg of Henry Miller's youth, Truman Capote's famed house on Willow Street, and the contested streets of Jonathan Lethem's Boerum Hill is the story of more than a century of life in America's cities. Literary Brooklyn is a prismatic investigation into a rich literary inheritance, but most of all it's a deep look into the beloved borough, a place as diverse and captivating as the people who walk its streets and write its stories.

"Being a member of a large, caring, Italian-American family is not only a privilege and a great gift, but it also bears an obligation. It comes with a requisite responsibility-the active participation in the helpful caring for others." A man reflects on a lifetime of love, unforgettable friends, and a dedicated family in the nostalgic memoir, "The Third Attic and Other Brooklyn Stories." Vincent Manago reminisces on a boyhood spent in 1950s and 1960s Brooklyn, New York with his Italian-American family. Readers will delight in hearing of Vincent's search for the elusive "Third Attic," a secret room reportedly hidden within the yawning reaches of the attics of the local church that was built in part by Vincent's grandfather during the dawn of the twentieth century. Learn of the young Jewish couple who help their Italian neighbors in a time of need, only to have the kindness repaid in the most unexpected way during World War II. Experience Vincent's life through adolescence in Brooklyn, his young loves, and his chance meeting with the woman who would become his wife. These stories and more help reconstruct the nuances of a life well lived, in an era that has long since passed.

Brooklyn. The most populous borough in New York City. Birthplace of the Dodgers, Sweet'n Low, and Season 21 of "The Real World." With more than 400 years under its belt, the borough is filled with a history of both sweet and savory moments. It's hard to imagine Brooklyn as anything other than a concrete jungle. Who would guess that that first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here? Or that the world's oldest subway is hidden beneath the streets of Boerum Hill? Or how an airplane fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the street in Park Slope? Hundreds of people pass by the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park everyday. Virtually no one stops to read the plaque. If they did, they would learn that it is actually a grave, holding up to 15,000 bodies. Author Allison Huntington Chase, Brooklyn's own Madame Morbid, takes readers on a journey beyond the brownstones, to discover the hidden, macabre and bizarre throughout Brooklyn history.

'Ten Years Fresh" gives you a peak behind the scenes of NYC's largest Hip-Hop cultural event, The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Penned by Wes Jackson, the entrepreneur, historian, educator and self described 'Hip-Hop nerd' behind it all. Wes speaks on the highs and lows of the first ten years of The Festival. From its humble beginnings in a parking lot in Williamsburg to attracting thousands to Brooklyn every year, Wes puts us right in those meetings with managers, agents, the NYPD and everyone in between. From getting the blessing of KRS ONE to bringing Kanye West to Brooklyn to debuting Kendrick Lamar it's all there. A great read for fans, artists, aspiring executives and all lovers of Hip-Hop.

From Paris to Rio, everyone’s curious about hot, new Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Experience, Ellen Freudenheim’s fourth comprehensive Brooklyn guidebook, offers a true insider’s guide, complete with photographs, itineraries, and insights into one of the most creative, dynamic cities in the modern world. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge at dawn or sunset, discover thirty-eight unique Brooklyn neighborhoods, and experience the borough like a native. Find out where to go to the beach and to eat great pizza, what to do with the kids, how to enjoy free and cheap activities, and where to savor Brooklyn’s famous cuisines. Visit cool independent shops, greenmarkets, festivals, and delve into the vibrant new cultural scene at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barclays Center, and the lively exploding neighborhoods of DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Bushwick. Included in the book are essays and the pithy, sometimes funny comments of sixty cultural, literary, and culinary movers and shakers, culled from exclusive interviews with experts from the James Beard Foundation to the cofounder of the famous Brooklyn Book Festival, as well as MacArthur “genius” award winners, to young entrepreneurs, hipsters, and activists, all of whom have something to say about Brooklyn’s stunning renaissance. Neighborhood profiles are rich in user-friendly information and details, including movies, celebrities, and novels associated with each neighborhood. There are also 800 listings of great restaurants, bars, shops, parks, cultural institutions, and historical sites, complete with contact information. Targeting the independent, curious traveler, The Brooklyn Experience includes a dozen “do-it-yourself” tours, including a visit to Woody Allen’s childhood neighborhood, and amazing Revolutionary and Civil War sites. Freudenheim draws clear—and sometimes surprising—connections between old and new Brooklyn. Written by an author with an astounding knowledge of all Brooklyn has to offer, The Brooklyn Experience will guide both first-time and repeat visitors, and will be a fun resource for Brooklynites who enjoy exploring their own hometown.