The Color of a Great City


Read by Lee Smalley

(3 stars; 4 reviews)

Theodore Dreiser was highly acclaimed for his novels and other writing. This non-fiction work takes place in many areas of New York City in the early 20th Century. Dreiser writes of lives packed into cramped tenements, of the likely end, but perhaps not, of an affair, of those who guided ships through turbulent waters, and of life in a home for retired seamen. We're taken to the new subways where track workers risked deadly accidents as they struggled to earn a living. Animal slaughter, the glory and heartbreak of song-writing, the shabby "sandwich man", deadly jealousy in Little Italy, and much more is vividly brought to life by this brilliant author. (Summary by Lee Smalley) (8 hr 35 min)

Chapters

Foreword 12:54 Read by Lee Smalley
The City of My Dreams 8:09 Read by Lee Smalley
The City Awakes 5:59 Read by Lee Smalley
The Waterfront 9:49 Read by Lee Smalley
The Log of a Harbor Pilot 33:14 Read by Lee Smalley
Bums 17:29 Read by Lee Smalley
The Michael J. Powers Association 18:30 Read by Lee Smalley
The Fire 20:38 Read by Lee Smalley
The Car Yard 10:27 Read by Lee Smalley
The Flight of Pigeons 5:17 Read by Lee Smalley
On Being Poor 9:56 Read by Lee Smalley
Six O’clock 7:53 Read by Lee Smalley
The Toilers of the Tenements 27:00 Read by Lee Smalley
The End of a Vacation 6:02 Read by Lee Smalley
The Track Walker 5:45 Read by Lee Smalley
The Realization of an Ideal 6:01 Read by Lee Smalley
The Pushcart Man 12:35 Read by Lee Smalley
A Vanished Seaside Resort 18:03 Read by Lee Smalley
The Bread-Line 7:06 Read by Lee Smalley
Our Red Slayer 7:50 Read by Lee Smalley
Whence the Song 32:54 Read by Lee Smalley
Characters 23:48 Read by Lee Smalley
The Beauty of Life 5:42 Read by Lee Smalley
A Wayplace of the Fallen 20:24 Read by Lee Smalley
Hell’s Kitchen 25:34 Read by Lee Smalley
A Certain Oil Refinery 13:17 Read by Lee Smalley
The Bowery Mission 15:38 Read by Lee Smalley
The Wonder of the Water 5:05 Read by Lee Smalley
The Man on the Bench 8:23 Read by Lee Smalley
The Men in the Dark 10:14 Read by Lee Smalley
The Men in the Storm 4:22 Read by Lee Smalley
The Men in the Snow 8:41 Read by Lee Smalley
The Freshness of the Universe 5:57 Read by Lee Smalley
The Cradle of Tears 4:04 Read by Lee Smalley
When the Sails Are Furled 29:55 Read by Lee Smalley
The Sandwich Man 13:16 Read by Lee Smalley
The Love Affairs of Little Italy 15:03 Read by Lee Smalley
Christmas in the Tenements 16:00 Read by Lee Smalley
The Rivers of the Nameless Dead 6:50 Read by Lee Smalley

Reviews

Excellent Narration


(3.5 stars)

Thank you Lee Smalley for a fitting reading. I often forgot he was the reader and not the character. Intuitive descriptions and stories of the long ago endless poorer class of city wonderers or residents. I really enjoyed the long listen. Life seemed hella tough back then.

Vignettes of NYC in Former Days


(4 stars)