Stephanie Schorow

It's an interesting premise to study one city and it's relationship to alcoholic beverages. Arranged roughly in chronological order, Schorow covers the following topics: Colonial taverns, saloons for immigrant communities, the role of bars in ward politics, several chapters on Prohibition, the golden age of night clubs (1930s-1950s), neighborhood bars, and the present day revival of the fancy cocktail. Schorow takes particular interest in the Ward Eight, a cocktail invented in Boston with fascinating and contradictory stories of it's origin, although most people admit it's not a very good cocktail. The book is filled with stories and anecdotes, but does not cohere as whole. I enjoyed reading it but I can understand criticisms of other readers who did not feel engaged by the material.… (más)

The Boston Brink's robbery of January 1950 is shrouded in folklore and embellishment (much of it from the criminals themselves) so Shorow sets out to separate fact from fiction in this accounting of the famous crime. I didn't know much of folklore myself but was greatly fascinated by the details of the true story. For example, I never knew that the robbers broke into the Brink's office multiple times and had keys made for all the doors between the office and the vaults! The details that went into the planning of the crime are amazing and hard not to appreciate if not admire. Schorow also notes that while the cash haul is huge the criminals actually missed out as there was usually more cash on hand on other nights. While the crime is famed for having no shots fired and no one hurt, Shorow unearths the violence and bloodshed that came in the wake of the crime. In all an entertaining, researched and informative read.… (más)

Everyone's heard of the great Chicago Fire, but how many people know about the great Boston Fire of 1872?

Stephanie Schorow introduces us to the "fire trail" of Boston. It's a city with a fire history both terrible and great -- terrible because of the number of serious fires the city has experienced, but great in the number of fire-fighting and fire-prevention innovations rising out of the ashes. Schorow expertly guides us through the history of fires and fire-fighting in Boston, through the ups and downs, milestones and miscues. A fascinating read.… (más)