Nineteen literary greats share their private passions for the world's
most famous park.
A wild night outdoors with Bill Buford. A football tradition with
Nathaniel Rich. A jog around the reservoir with Mark Helprin as he
"protects" Jacqueline Onassis from imagined harm. The 843 carefully
planned acres of Central Park have not only crept into the hearts of its
38 million annual visitors, but also into the life and work of a diverse
array of writers who come to revel in its natural remedy for urban
chaos.
In Central Park, a dozen exclusive pieces commissioned especially for
this work are accompanied by a handful of beloved classics. Francine
Prose reflects on open-air performances by Nina Simone and James Brown;
Jonathan Safran Foer writes a creation myth of the park; Buzz Bissinger
meditates on how the park defined his early life; and Marie Winn
definitively answers Holden Caulfield's question of where the ducks go
when the ponds freeze over.
This vibrant collection presents Central Park in all its diverse glory,
with an ode at every turn to a fifty-one-block swath of special New York
magic. A must-listen for the thousands who consider the park their own,
and a keepsake for the many more who visit, it will be a standard for
years to come.
