Rating: 
Summary: Maybe Not High Scholarship, But Very Entertaining
Review: Reading some of the reviews of this book makes me wonder what people were expecting when they bought it. This is pure tabloid history, of the type that one might have read in installments in the old "Liberty" magazine of the same time period.Sure, some of it was tall tales, but they were written as such, and a reader would have to be an idiot to think the author was writing these to be believed as pure fact. This may not be a college press sociological publlication with a bibliography longer than the actual text of the book itself, but when it was written, in the late 20's, that's not what a reader would have expected from a writer like Asbury. The book sets out to entertain, and I think it succeeds in this. I found this in an used book store about 10 years ago, read it and it became an immediate favorite. I remember thinking at the time "somebody should make a movie of this", and now someone has done it. It's a good introduction to the basic events it describes. If one becomes more interested in these events, then one could delve into more scholarly tomes on the events. The past few years has seen a number of such tomes come out on these subjects, and I bet most of the authors were introduced to the study by Asbury's book. I can understand that to some who don't live or work in New York, the place and street and neighborhood names might mean nothing, but if one is REALLY interested, one could get a street map of the city, or a travel guide from a public library to use as reference while reading the book. I happen to be from New York and work every day in the very area in which much of the action in this book takes place: Baxter and Mercer and Greene and Wooster Streets, etc., so the book may mean more to me than to a reader in, say, Dallas. But if you say "I ain't going thru all that trouble to get reference just to read this book", then you're not really that interested in the book. When I read about the Kennedy assassination, f'rinstance, and it describes areas and streets and neighborhoods in a city I am unfamiliar with (Dallas) I get a map. It makes the reading more interesting and gives the reader a better idea of what's going on. By the way, if one is interested in further reading on this subject, I can recommend two further books. Both are old and out-of-print for years, but well worth finding. One is actually a novel, "An Original Belle" , written in 1885 by a now forgotten novelist, EP Roe. It is set in New York City during the Civil War, and gives one of the longest and best description of the draft riots I've read. Though this IS a novel, you can see that the author,who lived through the events and wrote this just a little over 20 years after the occurences, did deep research on the subject and wrote that section of the book as factual, detailed history. It serves as the dramatic climax of the novel, and because of that is kind of unique. The second book is "Tammany Hall" by M. R. Werner, a magazine writer of the time (published in 1932). Less of a tall tale teller than Asbury, this book sticks to facts and the facts are eye-opening to say the least. The book is journalistic in style, but also VERY detailed. It is essential reading, and ties up very well the connection between street gangs, volunteer fire companies, political clubs, the NYC police, and the institution of Tammany Hall, from the lowly ward heeler all the way to the governor's mansion in Albany. It's hard to find, but worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: 5/5
Review: Recently re-published to coincide with the upcoming film release of Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, this is a long out-of-print look at a depraved and sinister metropolis at the turn of the last century. Tracing a history of crime, corruption and vice from the latter half of the nineteenth century through the rise of Tammany Hall in the early 20th Century, Gangs of New York is a singularly entertaining and disturbing look at the bloodstains lurking under the sepia tint of a romanticized past. Perhaps even more fascinating than the insights into the rampant crime underworld is Asbury's near-parallel narrative of the formation of the modern New York City police force, focusing on the police riots during the merger of the Metropolitan Municipal and Metropolitan police departments into what we now know as the NYPD. It's a tale filled with graft and corruption rivaling that of the numerous and bloody gangs that populate the book. An essential book for fans of historical crime works such as Luc Sante's Low Life, as well as anyone truly interested in the real history of New York.
Rating:
Summary: Two takes on old New York in one
Review: The Gangs of New York entertains and informs on two levels. First, Herbert Asbury brings a journalist's sensibilities to recounting tales from the 19th century slums of (for the most part) lower Manhattan. His approach is more in the line of roughly chronological anecdotes than in historical analysis. As the subtitle suggests, Asbury is not overly strict with his facts and presents contemporary legends alongside historical facts. Asbury appears to rely mostly on newspaper archives and I suspect that his stories are as factually reliable as the original articles from which he draws. Nonetheless, he paints a picture of hopeless debauchery and violence bred in dens of abject poverty and bigotry. In this regard, the Gangs of New York allows the reader to consider our current concerns over violence and crime against the conditions of the 19th century, and this is a gratifying exercise. For all the serious issues confronting us today, we can see that enormous progress has been made since those much darker days. Asbury's book also offers a bonus treat in the form of an early 20th century journalist's view of 19th century New York compared to his own time. Writing in the 1920's, Asbury resided in a world forever lost in World War II, the civil rights movement, and the social turbulence of the late 20th century America. Still, his views are not entirely alien to us and it is often intriguing to see how he assesses racism, bigotry, poverty, ignorance and other scourges. In the end, the Gangs of New York, I think, will please readers interested in walking the streets of 19th century New York and those interested in 19th century urban life in general. Asbury's book provides a rare glimpse into the underbelly of that lost world and it does so with wit and style.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating anecdotal history (NOT movie novelization)
Review: The Gangs of New York is a fascinating chunk of controversial history (some question its accuracy), an interesting period piece written nearly 90 years ago-- but fans of the highly-touted film should BEWARE if they're expecting for something closely related to the Martin Scorese flick. Even so, no matter what anyone (including yours truly) says...and awful lot of people of all ages READ this book -- and love it. I was recently on a flight and sat next to a guy in his early 20s who sat there fascinated, reading it during the entire 3 hour flight. Gangs of New York is NOT your typical book on which a movie is based. If it's bought by someone who loves the film somebody is going to be in for a monster surprise (or disappointment). Don't expect a plot, don't expect compelling writing, don't expect a large section on which the book is based and to easily find those sections. But do expect to be fascinated. WHAT THIS IS: This is a book about: early brutal gang warfare, during a time in the 19th century where gangs literally swarmed all over New York City; blow-by-blow bloody battles and legendary gang fighters in a city virtually in the grip of gangs -- leading to the creation of the NY City Police department; and the politically dominating Tammany Hall machine's birth and growth in the 19th and 20th centuries, set within the context of a politically corrupt, violence-prone city. Most interestingly, it's about a time in NYC's history that you seldom see portrayed in films or in books. I found the accounts of the 1863 Civil War draft riots absolutely gripping. But mostly it's about the gangs with names such as Dead Rabbits, Plug Uglies etc (the film used these names too). Many illustrations are old-style drawings rather than photos. WHAT IT DOES: Gangs of New York gives you a good history seemingly based on interviews and mountains of old newspaper clippings, most of it in anecdotal versus dry statistical form. WHAT IT IS NOT: It is not a book written in a modern prose style, but it isn't boring. It doesn't have a "plot" with a beginning, middle and end. No, it doesn't have a hero, or anyone resembling Leonardo, a love subplot, etc. But if you're interested in the acclaimed movie's source material and learning about a fascinating and often forgotten period in NY City's municipal history you'll love it. Even though it was out of print for many years The Gangs of New York has been a legend itself for many years -- and it easy to see why.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining (but double-check the historical accuracy)
Review: The long-awaited (and long-delayed) release of Martin Scorsese's film, Gangs of New York, will no doubt bring renewed interest in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book of the same name. Asbury, who was a journalist, editor and author, claims that this book is based on material "obtained from the new-papers and magazines, from police and court records, and from personal interviews with criminals and police officials. The two page bibliography cites numerous 19th Century sources that are contemporary with the mainly Irish gangs who are the focus of Asbury's book; however, quite a bit of it reads more like American tall tales (e.g., Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, or John Henry who died with a hammer in his hand) than accurate American history. Are we really to believe that the most famous of the Bowery Boys, Mose, was "eight feet tall" with hands "as large as the hams of a Virginia hog" and a hat that measured "more than two feet across", that "during the hot months he went about with a great fifty gallon keg of ale dangling from his belt in lieu of a canteen"? Or that Gallus Mag was over six feet tall and kept a jar full of alcohol-preserved ears she had bitten off of her victims (one of which she gave back in a later fit of admiration)? Certainly, most of Asbury's book is based on fact. Indeed, his long description of the 1863 draft riots agrees with other accounts and, further, delves more into the actual reasons behind that torrid affair than do many other sources. Interestingly, in this section he relies less on purple prose than he does elsewhere. However, here, as in other chapters, sorting out what is fact, what is exaggeration, and what is plain fancy, is difficult. In sum, this is interesting and entertaining reading (if a bit florid), but, without further research into other sources, readers shouldn't accept everything in this book as unimpeachable fact.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but "Irish Gangs And Stick-Fighting" better.
Review: The upcoming film by Martin Scorcese is based on the first half of this book 'The Gangs Of New York'. The first half deals exclusively with Irish gangs, and while it's flashy and exotic, there isn't much substance in the original book. It's good, but it doesn't explain the fighting traditions and rituals of the Irish gangs, it simply describes them in a sensational way. Hurley's book remedies this problem by providing first hand accounts of Irish gangs and fights, written by a 'reformed' Irish stick-fighter. It vividly describes Ireland's fighting culture which was goverened by a code of honour which Hurley rightly calls 'Shillelagh Law'. If you are Irish or have an interest in Irish gangs or Scorcese's film, I'd say get 'The Gangs Of New York', but to understand the hype behind the myth, get Hurley's 'Irish Gangs And Stick-Fighting' - you will really enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: The Gangs of New York
Review: The use of literary devices on this piece of excellent literature was very strong. First of all the were parts of this novel where you thought you were in New York's infamous Five Points the early 1900's. Asbury's use of imagry was just amazing. He made you think you were in a scene with all of the description he used. Even if it was one of those scenes where you were overcome with sadness and possibly even anger from the more grapic events of this novel. The characters were based on real life people who lived in that time period and the fit in awesome with the story. There was the typical evil stock character of "The Butcher." He fit in perfect with the overall felling of this book, which is one none of us would like to be involved in. The topic of it is gangs and life when things are not going so well. So obviosly the are going to be unfortunite things that happen. The tone of this novel was a very serious one with gore and violent death, and one could tell that Asbury wanted you to know this type of things really did happen. This leads to the theme which is loyality. The fact he writes about gangs is a symbol of unity. With there being death and murder involved then comes authorities. In most of the cases the gang members would rather die than be a 'rat', which would come with harsher and more brutal punishment. That summerized is loyality.
Rating: 
Summary: Southern blueblood from Texas
Review: This absolutely is one of the worst books I've ever read. I had to force myself to read it--if I buy a book, I'm goin' to read it--and it's beyond my comprehension why anyone would think it's good--unless that person is someone familiar with the areas mentioned in New York City or is interested in gangs. I'm a professor with a Ph.D. in English; I read a lot of different types of books, but l don't think I've ever subjected myself to anything this horrid. It caught my attention while I was in a bookstore; and knowing about the movie with the same title--will it ever be released?--it looked interesting. Boy, was I mistaken. This turkey, considered a classic by some, is best left buried. What a bore! (Incidentally, when I bought it, I knew it was nonfiction. I imagine the movie bears as much resemblance to the book as whipped Jell-O does to mousse.)
Rating:
Summary: A Trifle
Review: This book accomplishes very little of what it sets out to do. An "informal history of the underworld" turns out to mean the book is a mostly dull, mostly anecdotal, mostly impressionistic overview of what some gangs in parts of new york may have been like some of the time. It's not awful. The book is highly readable and, at times, certain anecdotes are interesting. For the most part, however, it's a lightweight and of no real value to anyone who wants to know what gang life was really like. This is basically a tabloid history.
Rating:
Summary: A Trifle
Review: This book accomplishes very little of what it sets out to do. An "informal history of the underworld" turns out to mean the book is a mostly dull, mostly anecdotal, mostly impressionistic overview of what some gangs in parts of new york may have been like some of the time. It's not awful. The book is highly readable and, at times, certain anecdotes are interesting. For the most part, however, it's a lightweight and of no real value to anyone who wants to know what gang life was really like. This is basically a tabloid history.
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