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The Ocean Is Closed: Journalistic Adventures and Investigations
"Bradshaw was a famously charming man, and his lounge-lizard urbanity fully suffuses his prose. This new anthology is a necessary book for all men and women of letters." ―Martin Amis
A collection of magazine writer Jon Bradshaw’s essential writings, The Ocean is Closed rediscovers a memorable talent, and offers us a shadow reality to the established literary canon of the mid-century. With droll wit and keen intelligence, Bradshaw’s cinematic prose brings the ’70s to vibrant life―from the lurid pick-up scenes at hotspots like Maxwell’s Plum in New York, and the Beverly Hills Hotel in L.A., to full-bodied portraits of literary figures such as W.H. Auden and Tom Stoppard; affectionate profiles of hustlers and con men such as Bobby Riggs and Minnesota Fats, to chilling reportage about street gangs in the Bronx, terrorism in Germany, and mercenary freedom fighters in India.
Jon Bradshaw, a man of tremendous personal charm, good humor and rugged beauty, was a literary concoction of his own the magazine writer as world-weary traveler and man about town. Adored by British royalty, magazine editors, movie executives, and professional mercenaries, alike, Bradshaw first made a splash in London during the Swinging Sixties. Pals with the likes of Anna Wintour, Timothy Leary, Gore Vidal, and Martin Amis, his career flourished at a time when magazines were at the center of the cultural conversation, delivering stories that were talked about for weeks. For twenty years, he cut a distinct figure in this world, before his untimely death. A forgotten master of longform magazine writing, Bradshaw is ripe for rediscovery as one of the sharpest chroniclers of his age.
A collection of magazine writer Jon Bradshaw’s essential writings, The Ocean is Closed rediscovers a memorable talent, and offers us a shadow reality to the established literary canon of the mid-century. With droll wit and keen intelligence, Bradshaw’s cinematic prose brings the ’70s to vibrant life―from the lurid pick-up scenes at hotspots like Maxwell’s Plum in New York, and the Beverly Hills Hotel in L.A., to full-bodied portraits of literary figures such as W.H. Auden and Tom Stoppard; affectionate profiles of hustlers and con men such as Bobby Riggs and Minnesota Fats, to chilling reportage about street gangs in the Bronx, terrorism in Germany, and mercenary freedom fighters in India.
Jon Bradshaw, a man of tremendous personal charm, good humor and rugged beauty, was a literary concoction of his own the magazine writer as world-weary traveler and man about town. Adored by British royalty, magazine editors, movie executives, and professional mercenaries, alike, Bradshaw first made a splash in London during the Swinging Sixties. Pals with the likes of Anna Wintour, Timothy Leary, Gore Vidal, and Martin Amis, his career flourished at a time when magazines were at the center of the cultural conversation, delivering stories that were talked about for weeks. For twenty years, he cut a distinct figure in this world, before his untimely death. A forgotten master of longform magazine writing, Bradshaw is ripe for rediscovery as one of the sharpest chroniclers of his age.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published March 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 7, 2022
Once upon a time, our culture wasn't completely pro-conformist, where dressing the same and saying the same things as everyone else wasn't what people did. And once upon a time, people didn't have to think about money before all else, and they had jobs where they traveled, and could live off the income from being a journalist.
Those days are long gone now, but the point is that being a unique character and reading about unique characters was the norm. This book is all about that. Jon Bradshaw was a character on his own, and he went around writing about unique and entertaining individuals with their quirks and craziness. I'd say it's a combination of quirky (all the gamblers for instance) and educational (the baader-meinhof gang). I recommend it.
Those days are long gone now, but the point is that being a unique character and reading about unique characters was the norm. This book is all about that. Jon Bradshaw was a character on his own, and he went around writing about unique and entertaining individuals with their quirks and craziness. I'd say it's a combination of quirky (all the gamblers for instance) and educational (the baader-meinhof gang). I recommend it.
September 8, 2025
Really enjoyed this anthology of magazine writing from the 70s. Bradshaw is a great storyteller of people on the margins, regardless of the degree to which he exaggerates.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews