I agreed that Back Where I came from was like a love letter to New York. What really struck me most–as with other New York-centric readings we’ve had–is that I couldn’t tell when the book was written. I was really shocked when he mentioned his father working in the early 1900s, and when I found out the book was published in 1938; I could’ve sworn it was written at least two decades later.

I think that’s what makes most like a love letter. A love letter is something that transcends the centuries–even if it was written 200 years ago, most people reading it in 2015 can probably understand it and the sentiment behind it. Liebling achieves this same timelessness with his book because the people he profiles and the places he writes about really capture the spirit of New York City, and illustrates that the city remains the same at heart even as the years go by.