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Blackout
"Riveting . . . An engrossing, street-level recounting and ambivalent ode to a great city."--Jamie Berger, San Francisco Chronicle
On July 13, 1977, there was a blackout in New York City. With the dark came excitement, adventure, and fright in subway tunnels, office towers, busy intersections, high-rise stairwells, hotel lobbies, elevators, and hospitals. There was revelry in bars and restaurants, music and dancing in the streets. On block after block, men and women proved themselves heroes by helping neighbors and strangers make it through the night.
Unfortunately, there was also widespread looting, vandalism, and arson. Even before police restored order, people began to ask and argue about why. Why did people do what they did when the lights went out? The argument raged for weeks but it was just like the lots of heat, little light-a shouting match between those who held fast to one explanation and those who held fast to another.
James Goodman cuts between accidents, encounters, conversations, exchanges, and arguments to re-create that night and its aftermath in a dizzying accumulation of detail. Rejecting simple dichotomies and one-dimensional explanations for why people act as they do in moments of conflict and crisis, Goodman illuminates attitudes, ideas, and experiences that have been lost in facile generalizations and analyses. Journalistic re-creation at its most exciting, Blackout provides a whirlwind tour of 1970s New York and a challenge to conventional thinking.
On July 13, 1977, there was a blackout in New York City. With the dark came excitement, adventure, and fright in subway tunnels, office towers, busy intersections, high-rise stairwells, hotel lobbies, elevators, and hospitals. There was revelry in bars and restaurants, music and dancing in the streets. On block after block, men and women proved themselves heroes by helping neighbors and strangers make it through the night.
Unfortunately, there was also widespread looting, vandalism, and arson. Even before police restored order, people began to ask and argue about why. Why did people do what they did when the lights went out? The argument raged for weeks but it was just like the lots of heat, little light-a shouting match between those who held fast to one explanation and those who held fast to another.
James Goodman cuts between accidents, encounters, conversations, exchanges, and arguments to re-create that night and its aftermath in a dizzying accumulation of detail. Rejecting simple dichotomies and one-dimensional explanations for why people act as they do in moments of conflict and crisis, Goodman illuminates attitudes, ideas, and experiences that have been lost in facile generalizations and analyses. Journalistic re-creation at its most exciting, Blackout provides a whirlwind tour of 1970s New York and a challenge to conventional thinking.
272 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 22, 2014
This book is a collection of short bursts of information, designed to give readers a feel what it must have been like to live through the bad old days of New York: in particular, the looting-ridden 1977 New York City blackout and its aftermath.
I think it succeeds in its basic mission; however, it could use quite a bit of cutting down, since it contains quite a few selections of prose that are not really blackout-related and thus don't add anything to the discussion (for example: "Some shot heroin. Some shot hoops ...Some studied: for summer school, for the real-estate-licensing exam, for the LSATs.")
I think it succeeds in its basic mission; however, it could use quite a bit of cutting down, since it contains quite a few selections of prose that are not really blackout-related and thus don't add anything to the discussion (for example: "Some shot heroin. Some shot hoops ...Some studied: for summer school, for the real-estate-licensing exam, for the LSATs.")
October 6, 2007
I'm sympathetic to Goodman's attempts to put us right in the thick of things, evoking all the confusion, complexities, and contradictions of the 1977 blackout. But the narrative's too scattered and it's really a bit of a cop-out to say that the city "is full of multitudes" and just leave it at that.
April 22, 2009
The 1977 NYC blackout seems like an awesome subject to write about. A 228 page prose poem is probably not the best way to do it, though.
July 24, 2011
Ostensibly an account of the blackout of '77 in New York but there is no story line, no plot; just observations strung together without any continuity.
October 23, 2015
What an incredibly repetitive, boring book. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, but for the most part this book is just a rehash of opinions regarding why people looted during the 1977 blackout when they didn't in 1965. Mixed in with truly terrible attempts to give people a sense of the city in 1977...
p.7:
"Some talked.
Some walked.
Some waited for buses.
...
Some waited for cabs. Some drove them.
Fireman fought fires. Policemen fought all kinds of crime."
Wow...I'm there! Here's another example from later in the book (and there are many, many more):
p.217
"People fought.
People made up.
People made pasta.
People made love.
People were born, people died.
People laughed, and people cried."
Hey guys people died and were born there. Doesn't that give you a real insight into what New York was like in the late 70's? People fought and made up there you guys!
I usually don't write negative reviews because I've never written a book and I'm sure it's incredibly difficult work. But this is just terrible. Do not waste your time. Read The Bronx is Burning instead.
p.7:
"Some talked.
Some walked.
Some waited for buses.
...
Some waited for cabs. Some drove them.
Fireman fought fires. Policemen fought all kinds of crime."
Wow...I'm there! Here's another example from later in the book (and there are many, many more):
p.217
"People fought.
People made up.
People made pasta.
People made love.
People were born, people died.
People laughed, and people cried."
Hey guys people died and were born there. Doesn't that give you a real insight into what New York was like in the late 70's? People fought and made up there you guys!
I usually don't write negative reviews because I've never written a book and I'm sure it's incredibly difficult work. But this is just terrible. Do not waste your time. Read The Bronx is Burning instead.
August 2, 2007
I don't really like NYC, but this was a fantastic, energetic read. Goodman's style here is what makes this history of the blackout in 70s NYC really shine. the city comes alive and all the voices he weaves together are so interesting.
August 7, 2013
A concise retelling of a compelling time in NYC (Brooklyn in particular) modern history. It took me back and filled in a lot of my own memories of those unforgettable hours I spent wondering when the lights would go back on.
August 9, 2013
I loved this book. I felt like I was living the experience. The blackout is the main character in this book. If you study the social sciences and have flare for literature you will enjoy and have so many more questions of human behavior after.
June 19, 2012
Goodman successfully brings nonfiction to life in this piece. The book conveys all of the history one would hope for, and the unique poetic craftsmanship is rather refreshing.
May 30, 2023
For 24+ hours in the oppressive heat of July 1977 with street garbage piled high and uncollected and the Son of Sam serial killer lurking in the background, New York went completely dark. And for large swaths of people (African-Americans and Latinos, in particular), it was the straw that broke the camel's back and lit the fuse that blew everything to kingdom come. For citizens living on the margin's of society and balancing on a razor's edge, the blackout was an accidental watershed moment, the necessary spark that ignited people to rage against everything that made living seen unbalanced and unbearable. For looters and criminals alike, it was their clarion call to destroy and collectively send out a unified and active holler of, "Do you see us now!?” Blanketed in complete darkness, police officials tried to steer their efforts to the core danger zones where arson and violence were intermixed; they heroically tried to bring order and peace to the chaos, but the overflow of rage and resentment was too much to handle. It was a cyclonic behemoth that overtook blocks, neighbourhoods and everyone who lived within the radius of the tumult. The cup runneth over, and it was not good. Citizens deputised themselves, doing traffic duty, guarding stores and forming citizen brigades to protect the vulnerable.
Pandemonium and looting was the order of the night, the release valve to the pressure cooker that politics, economics and the very people themselves created. While blocks of the concrete jungle were toppling to the ground, other citizens near the locations of the chaos adopted an attitude of cavalierness, a soft inner yet adamant voice that said, "It was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time." With that, they watched and observed, grilling on their hibachis, the smell of sausages, hot dogs and cheeseburgers wafting in the muggy night air. In other areas of New York, people partied it up and made a celebration of it. For them, not directly impacted, it was a novelty to be among revellers and drinking champaign high atop the Windows on the World in the World Trade Center while others danced by candlelight in single’s clubs or the myriad of New York restaurants, bars and lounges. For them, it was daring, fun and different to be in the blackout, providing that it did not last long and that they were not too directly impacted. It was, ironically, the blackness that actually shed the light on a fractured socio-economic system that needed either A) A major transfusion or B) A total overhaul, a truth that Charles Dickens or Victor Hugo would’ve picked up on immediately. However, blame also rests with the people themselves. You don’t like your station in life? Do something about it. This is America, after all. And on and on it went. Until the lights came back on. And reality set in. And the acrid smoke lifted.
In daylight, black businesses were destroyed, the African-American community was maimed within itself by those within their community, relationships were ruined, bonds of trust and loyalty were wiped clean away. Jails were crammed to overflowing with looters and criminals bogging down an already overwhelmed New York judicial system. And cynicism against the government rightfully rose to an all-time high. When all was said and done and so-called experts and academics tried to assess the totality of the experience, their words of ‘scholarly’ illumination felt hollow, meaningless and pretentious. They were just paid tweeds sitting on a soapbox opining about this, that and everything and accomplished little, if anything. And the poor became poorer. But over time, a better transition did happen. Lessons and knowledge were gleaned. The silver lining.
This was a really engrossing read that was also very visual in my mind’s eye as I read. Author James Goodman expertly conveyed this period of New York of the 1970s, and of the blackout in particular. He wrote and communicated with just the right amount of distance and the right amount of sensitivity. He framed it very well. He wasn’t preachy or condescending in trying to understand or convey the plight of people during the blackout, he merely let them recount their stories and experiences, like a great oral history project. By so doing, he allowed for an honest historical picture to emerge. And the explored points-of-view and narration was of a diversified mixture of voices from different angels of the social spectrum of the time, folks recounting their experiences as they lived it and saw it. A great follow-up to the book, of course, is the PBS documentary titled, Blackout, from the American Experience series. A worthwhile watch.
Pandemonium and looting was the order of the night, the release valve to the pressure cooker that politics, economics and the very people themselves created. While blocks of the concrete jungle were toppling to the ground, other citizens near the locations of the chaos adopted an attitude of cavalierness, a soft inner yet adamant voice that said, "It was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time." With that, they watched and observed, grilling on their hibachis, the smell of sausages, hot dogs and cheeseburgers wafting in the muggy night air. In other areas of New York, people partied it up and made a celebration of it. For them, not directly impacted, it was a novelty to be among revellers and drinking champaign high atop the Windows on the World in the World Trade Center while others danced by candlelight in single’s clubs or the myriad of New York restaurants, bars and lounges. For them, it was daring, fun and different to be in the blackout, providing that it did not last long and that they were not too directly impacted. It was, ironically, the blackness that actually shed the light on a fractured socio-economic system that needed either A) A major transfusion or B) A total overhaul, a truth that Charles Dickens or Victor Hugo would’ve picked up on immediately. However, blame also rests with the people themselves. You don’t like your station in life? Do something about it. This is America, after all. And on and on it went. Until the lights came back on. And reality set in. And the acrid smoke lifted.
In daylight, black businesses were destroyed, the African-American community was maimed within itself by those within their community, relationships were ruined, bonds of trust and loyalty were wiped clean away. Jails were crammed to overflowing with looters and criminals bogging down an already overwhelmed New York judicial system. And cynicism against the government rightfully rose to an all-time high. When all was said and done and so-called experts and academics tried to assess the totality of the experience, their words of ‘scholarly’ illumination felt hollow, meaningless and pretentious. They were just paid tweeds sitting on a soapbox opining about this, that and everything and accomplished little, if anything. And the poor became poorer. But over time, a better transition did happen. Lessons and knowledge were gleaned. The silver lining.
This was a really engrossing read that was also very visual in my mind’s eye as I read. Author James Goodman expertly conveyed this period of New York of the 1970s, and of the blackout in particular. He wrote and communicated with just the right amount of distance and the right amount of sensitivity. He framed it very well. He wasn’t preachy or condescending in trying to understand or convey the plight of people during the blackout, he merely let them recount their stories and experiences, like a great oral history project. By so doing, he allowed for an honest historical picture to emerge. And the explored points-of-view and narration was of a diversified mixture of voices from different angels of the social spectrum of the time, folks recounting their experiences as they lived it and saw it. A great follow-up to the book, of course, is the PBS documentary titled, Blackout, from the American Experience series. A worthwhile watch.
October 9, 2019
This may be a love it or hate it book, due to Goodman's slice of life approach to the 1977 NYC power blackout. As he says in the introduction, rather than follow several representative individuals through the night, he goes for the big picture: New Yorkers helping out, looting, having sex, guarding their businesses, wondering where the cops are or just getting on with life (while there was wild looting, in contrast to both the 1965 and 2003 blackouts, the vast majority of residents, he points out, didn't go psycho). And in the aftermath, everyone trying to figure out what went wrong and whether it could be fixed.
For me, his approach works. Informative and well done, though his fondness for not naming people ("A reporter" "a social critic" "an engineer") gets annoying.
For me, his approach works. Informative and well done, though his fondness for not naming people ("A reporter" "a social critic" "an engineer") gets annoying.
September 20, 2022
An energetic and moving depiction of the 1977 NYC blackout. I can understand why some people don't like this one, because it can get repetitive, but it worked for me. I feel that Goodman does a great job of encompassing a ridiculous scale (both small and large) in telling this story, but if you're not a fan of heavy prose and you're just looking for a factual description of the blackout, this ain't it.
December 7, 2022
Literally so engaging !!
December 21, 2022
good concept, mediocre execution :(
May 1, 2025
A very evocative and poetic snapshot of a tumultuous moment in NYC’s history. The god’s-eye-view constantly rips you from person to person, almost giving you whiplash.
July 27, 2016
I really, really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about NYC during the 1970s. It was especially interesting to be able to draw parallels with what was happening then and what is happening now, specifically in regards to how reporters frame stories about people of color. The main reason I enjoyed this book was because of the way it was written. Unlike many non-fiction books, there was little technical jargon and the book was not written in the typical long-form, boring paragraph format. Most of the book was written in short paragraphs that followed what was happening all over NYC simultaneously. You could jump from what was happening in Brooklyn to what was happening in Time Square at that time. The format and author’s writing style kept the book interesting and fast paced.
June 29, 2013
Still on my fall-of-New-York kick. This is solely about the 1977 blackout, and does provide a good account of peoples reactions to the event, the looting, and the aftermath. But the authors forced poetic prose started to grate pretty quickly...
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews