Brooklyn, New York, is known for its distinctive vernacular, its communal feel on the fringes of a booming city, and its famous bridge, a gateway to the golden opportunities of Manhattan. And Coney Island has garnered its own fame independent of Brooklyn, its parent locale. This work is a collection of essays on the topic of Brooklyn as portrayed in film. It includes a discussion of race relations in films dealing with Brooklyn, the story of Jackie Robinson as shown on film, the changing face of cinematic Brooklyn and some thoughts on a Brooklyn filmgoer's experience. The combination of...

From America's first suburb to its favorite borough, Brooklyn is by all accounts matchless. Taking readers away from the film sets and off the tour buses, borough historian John Manbeck reveals the communities that have defined its diverse neighborhoods, from the early Dutch settlers to today's colonizing hipsters. Through urbanism and war, depression and gentrification, Manbeck's columns, first printed in the Brooklyn Eagle and now collected here, show Brooklyn for what it is a cultural and social nonpareil that just happens to sit across the East River from Manhattan."

Two young women researchers uncover a mystery in the long Island Historical Society that baffles the staff as well as the police. Set in 1930 Brooklyn, the case involves an uncatalogued skeleton in need of an accession number. The bones are guarded by a mysterious caretaker who emerges from the penthouse office of the venerable 75 year old repository. With the appearance of a lawyer, the case escalates into a complicated yarn that weaves history, murder and racial prejudice into the design. Lt. Jared Lewis of the Brooklyn Heights police precinct assists the women to find clues as he directs...