{"product_id":"gowanus-crossing-a-brooklyn-boyhood-hardcover","title":"Gowanus Crossing: A Brooklyn Boyhood - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eVincent Coppola\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrooklyn is a mythic place\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ea\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003end the Gowanus Canal, p\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eestilent and fertile, i\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003es its Nile. \"Yous stay outta t\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ehat f*cking water,\" Uncle \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eHoney used to warn us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWe never listened.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMid-century Gowanus: Decades before the Whole Foods went up and the lofts were refurbished, a raucous, unruly, proudly Italian American enclave clings to the banks of the noxious canal. The Mafia and the Catholic Church--two centuries-old, rigidly hierarchical institutions defined by oppressive codes of silence--dominate the neighborhood. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eGowanus Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e, Vincent Coppola brings the world of his childhood ferociously to life. A second-generation Italian American, Coppola grew up in old Gowanus, a bookish kid for whom Park Slope, to say nothing of Central Park, might as well have been the moon. His journey through and eventually out of the neighborhood is harrowing, hilarious, and populated with a cast of characters who burst off the page: a four-foot-tall wiseguy who walks a lion on a leash, a predatory priest, mobbed-up undertakers, Coppola's three wayward brothers, and a host of assorted schemers, scammers, mobsters, bookies, gamblers, and certifiable crazies. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCombining Frank McCourt's gimlet eye with the exuberant menace of a Scorsese movie, \u003ci\u003eGowanus Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e captures a lost world in all its glory.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVincent Coppola\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of five nonfiction books. A former \u003ci\u003eNewsweek \u003c\/i\u003ereporter, Coppola has written feature stories for \u003ci\u003eTalk\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMen's Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWorth\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAtlanta \u003c\/i\u003emagazines. Coppola's story of his mother's battle against cancer was awarded the William Allen White Gold Medal by the University of Kansas. He is a 1977 honors graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.96 x 8.54 x 5.59 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 09, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48119336730836,"sku":"9781250904126","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0823\/3785\/7748\/files\/g5PbbgNKM59781250904126.webp?v=1781698648","url":"https:\/\/bookschoices.com\/products\/gowanus-crossing-a-brooklyn-boyhood-hardcover","provider":"Books Choices ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}