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Summary: Joe Gould's Secret -- Mitchell's Miniature Masterpiece
Review: Joe Gould's Secret, crafted by Mitchell from what originally ran as a Profile piece in New Yorker magazine, brings concise focus to the sprawling humanity of New York through the very-real biography of one Joe Gould. Mitchell's Gould--a real-life, Harvard-educated eccentric from the best of New England's Brahmin families--winds up as a celebrated Greenwich Village low-life and a self-described 'last of the Village Bohemians'. Gould's knack for mixing with the hodge-podge of 1940-50's Village inhabitants (including the famous ee cummings and Mitchell himself, among others) and his quixotic and never-ending scribbles and rants comprising his well-known 'Oral History' project, boils the now-long-gone New York of the era down to its core essentials in the form of a single inhabitant's day-to-day struggles for survival and immortality in an all-too-human town. In the end, as we weep for Gould, we weep for the NYC now gone...a well-executed snapshot of the era. R. Fields
Rating: 
Summary: The title is misleading
Review: I couldn't put this book down. Mitchell's accomplishment -- an astonishing history of the down-and-out Bowery bums of the early 20th Century -- just sucks you in, all thanks to a vain, irritating and probably foul-smelling man named Joe Gould. But . . . If I were Joseph Mitchell (I wish I was), I simply would have titled this "Joe Gould." Without revealing what the mystery is, I can safely say that it's not difficult to figure out Joe Gould's Secret. You see it coming about a hundred pages ahead of the "big" revelation. Which is not to dissuade you from reading this work. Just keep in mind that it's a life, not a mystery.
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Summary: Get "Up in The Old Hotel" instead
Review: I want to like this book. I really do. Joseph Mitchell is a terrific writer. His descriptions of old-time New York evoke a time and place long gone. His long, evocative sentences are extraordinary. His affection for Joe Gould is obvious and somewhat infectious. The old man, Gould, is a genuine character, the kind you don't see much in today's newspapers or magazines. There's a reason. The story, like Joe, goes on too long. As a profile of a strange, intelligent but dirty old man, it starts wonderfully. But after page upon page upon page of Joe's same old harrangue, it gets tiresome. More Mitchell and less Gould would have been better. Still, if this book leads you to one much better -- "Up In The Old Hotel" -- that's good. In fact, "Hotel" contains the entire Gould story, plus many other, much better tales of old New York. That's the book to get. Mitchell is a fabulous scene setter. He puts his talents to better use in the shorter non-fiction stories. As long as you can pick up "Up In The Old Hotel," which contains "Joe Gould's Secret" in its entirety, there is no reason to get this book.
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Summary: Mitchell is a wonderful writer
Review: In hindsight, I am a bit shy to admit that I first learned of Joseph Mitchell through the made-for-TV version of this story. Trusting that the story would be better in print than on screen, like so many books, I was pleased to find that Mitchell's account of Joe Gould made for an excellent read. Mitchell is a superb writer in my view. I have read few authors who are able to write nonfiction in such an eloquent and moving fashion. Beyond his technical skills, Mitchell also tells the story of Joe Gould. Gould is an eccentric Bohemian living in the Village during the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Mitchell one day decides to explore Gould's life and profile him in The New Yorker. Gould's profile appears in two forms. The first is "Professor Sea Gull" which appeared in 1942, and the second is "Joe Gould's Secret" which was published in 1964. As we read through the two accounts, we see and feel Mitchell's attraction to the eccentric Gould, his frustrations, his discovery of--and about--Gould's "Oral History," and his patience and compassion as Gould's fellow man. In the end, I think we are left with a book that is much a profile of Gould as it is of Mitchell. I certainly would have enjoyed having a martini and watching these two interact one evening. Since that is not possible, I am pleased that we have Mitchell's account which is good enough to make me think about and want such opportunties. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.
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Summary: Joe Gould and me
Review: It is not often that I can honestly say a book has changed my life; I suppose that is at it should be else my life would be in a constant state of flux regulated only by the ebb and flow of books on my nightstand. However, "Joe Gould's Secret," or more to the point, "Up In The Old Hotel," which contains "Joe Gould's Secret," brought to my mind several life-wrenching questions of the "What the hell am I doing slaving away at a meaningless job I hate" variety. I would try to deconstruct the titular secret(did I really just write "deconstruct" without being sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek?), but I'm not sure my feeble powers of comprehension are up to the task. Let me just say this is the type of book parents should pass to their children, perhaps with no more explanation than a silent shrug or a twinkling eye. In a world, such as ours, where everything is decidedly not all right, it is important to be reminded from time to time that life goes on, life is in fact "good," despite being not all right.
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Summary: I fell in love with Joe Gould
Review: It is rare to find a book such as Joe Gould's Secret and even rarer still that through reading it, one would fall in love with such a irritating, grubby, vile little man as Gould. But love it was - certainly not at first sight but as I began to learn his history and then finally his secret, my heart just gave way. Joe Gould was a well known "vagrant" in New York's Greenwhich Village during the early and mid 1900's. During his years as a bohemian in New York he met many people, some famous (such as ee cummings and Ezra Pound) and many more equally interesting yet unknown people. Through his many friends and detractors he drew the attention of a young reporter, Joseph Mitchell, who interviewed him for a piece in the New Yorker. The book contains the two pieces that Joseph Mitchell wrote for the New Yorker about Joe Gould and his unpublished work, rumored to be ten times larger than the bible (over 10 million words), The Oral History. The more I read the more I craved to know more about Joe Gould and his life. I highly recommend this book as it is a true snapshot into the life of someone who deserves to be known. Joseph Mitchell truly captured the feel of New York and inner workings of Joe Gould and his crazy life. Apparently, 11 dime-store composition books that make up a nearly 150,000-word diary (part of his Oral History)are quietly tucked away within NYU's archives in NYC - I can't wait to get a look at them as well! Live on Joe Gould!
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Summary: I fell in love with Joe Gould
Review: It is rare to find a book such as Joe Gould's Secret and even rarer still that through reading it, one would fall in love with such a irritating, grubby, vile little man as Gould. But love it was - certainly not at first sight but as I began to learn his history and then finally his secret, my heart just gave way. Joe Gould was a well known "vagrant" in New York's Greenwhich Village during the early and mid 1900's. During his years as a bohemian in New York he met many people, some famous (such as ee cummings and Ezra Pound) and many more equally interesting yet unknown people. Through his many friends and detractors he drew the attention of a young reporter, Joseph Mitchell, who interviewed him for a piece in the New Yorker. The book contains the two pieces that Joseph Mitchell wrote for the New Yorker about Joe Gould and his unpublished work, rumored to be ten times larger than the bible (over 10 million words), The Oral History. The more I read the more I craved to know more about Joe Gould and his life. I highly recommend this book as it is a true snapshot into the life of someone who deserves to be known. Joseph Mitchell truly captured the feel of New York and inner workings of Joe Gould and his crazy life. Apparently, 11 dime-store composition books that make up a nearly 150,000-word diary (part of his Oral History)are quietly tucked away within NYU's archives in NYC - I can't wait to get a look at them as well! Live on Joe Gould!
Rating:
Summary: THE STORY OF TWO JOES
Review: Joseph Gould was a member of one of the oldest families in New England. A graduate of Harvard the world was at the feet of this New England scion. Joseph Mitchell was a good old boy from North Carolina. Anxious to work as a reporter he came to New York where he cut his journalistic teeth. His particular subjects of interest were the down and out denizens living on the edge in New York city. So what has one Joe got to do with the other? Plenty. Joe Gould was the subject of a profile for the New Yorker (1942) as written by Mitchell. Mitchell's encounter with Gould is an intiguing story that carried him through the bizare behavior of a man who had a secret. More than that Gould grows on Mitchell like a fungus that he rewrote another story about Gould twenty-two years later. The reflections, insights and comedy of both profiles and the character that inhabits them will build within you a disgust for Joe Gould or deep pity for a man who threw away his life. Who was Joe Gould? What was his secret? What part did Mitchell play in his life? All of those questions race through your mind as you read this story. Mitchell encounters a stinking, alcoholic, and dirty bum. Ah but this bum is more than he appears. He is a master in using people and sees himself as a bohemian. Young Joe Mitchell is naive at first in dealing with this older man but as the two get involved we see a relationship being built. Mitchell cares about his subject regardless of the lies and grandiose ideas that Gould shares with him. Mitchell has the gift of seeing through his subject without taking away the subject's dignity. Gould's profile could easily become a study about mental illness, homelessness, bohemians and skid row during the depression and afterwards. If you look at the story more carefully you find the subject says more about Mitchell than it does about Gould. Mitchell uses Gould as a feature for an article. He serves as Gould's co-dependent in providing him with money for alcohol. He refuses to confront Joe about his secret and after awhile he begins to dislike the man. The two Joes are an intriguing duo of two men trying to find and define themselves in a harsh world. Joe Gould indulges in fantasy. Mitchell keeps punching away at life and becomes in one sense what Gould could have been. After twenty-two years, Mitchell couldn't extricate himself from the memory of a man who impacted his life. Joe Mitchell has shared with us what it means to be compassionate to a man who was a rascal of the worst kind.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent work of non-fiction
Review: Joseph Mitchell has written a piece of journalism that is true, but seems almost like a fictitious story. I won't ruin anything. It's about a man (Joe Gould) who chose the life of a Bohemian ( a bum) and J. Mitchell's quest for something that Gould had been working on for many years. There are so many different emotions in this story. It's very funny yet it is very sad at times. Above all, it is a true story. It seems more powerful because it is true. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys or studies journalistic techniques. It teaches you many things. Mitchell is one of the best reporters of this century.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent work of non-fiction
Review: Joseph Mitchell has written a piece of journalism that is true, but seems almost like a fictitious story. I won't ruin anything. It's about a man (Joe Gould) who chose the life of a Bohemian ( a bum) and J. Mitchell's quest for something that Gould had been working on for many years. There are so many different emotions in this story. It's very funny yet it is very sad at times. Above all, it is a true story. It seems more powerful because it is true. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys or studies journalistic techniques. It teaches you many things. Mitchell is one of the best reporters of this century.
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