Saturday, June 5, 2010

Book launch event for Dark Harbor at Freebird 6/6

Sunday, June 6, 2 to 6 pm

Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront by Nathan Ward
Refreshments and bonus film to follow
Message from Freebird Books about the event:
This Sunday we celebrate the release of Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront by Nathan Ward with a book launch party in our backyard. Please join us for some BBQ and beer as Nathan shares some stories of our neighborhood's more sordid side. We will also one extra film in our related series this month.

Labor racketeering on the docks was an open secret in the city in the first half of the 20th century. But it wasn’t until the intrepid reporting of Malcolm Johnson in the late 1940s that federal and state authorities took serious notice of the murders, extortion, and intimidation that was rampant in waterfront communities like Red Hook.

Dark Harbor details the incidents that led to Johnson’s investigations for the New York Sun and his Pulitzer prize-winning articles on the subject. The articles would unleash new scrutiny of mob control of the longshoremen’s unions and inspire countless novels, plays, and films about the subject.

Though the Elia Kazan-Budd Schulberg production of On the Waterfront--originally based upon Johnson's articles--is the most famous on-screen example, the Dark Harbor series focuses on lesser known classics shot around the city in the aftermath of the New York Sun expose. Nathan Ward will introduce each film and place them in the context of the present day working waterfront outside Freebird’s door—before containerization and the BQE altered the landscape permanently.

This event is part of a series being co-sponsored by Freebird Books and PortSide NY in conjuction with the release of Dark Harbor. See details for other events in the series at our previous post here

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