The Bookmaker by Michael Agovino, Michael J. Agovino (2008, Hardcover)

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE HAVING LIVED IN NEW YORK CITY. THE
WRITER CAPTURES THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF POOR AND MIDDLE-CLASS PEOPLE LIKE
FEW OTHER WRITERS.
I RELATE TO THE SITUATIONS AND SETBACKS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK, EVEN NOW IN MY
EIGHTY YEARS OF LOVING NEW YORK.
BOOKS OF THIS KIND BOOST MY SPIRIT IN MANY WAYS.
CHARLES CARLO FASCIANA

I am a few years older than the author, but shared many of the same memories. My parents, like Mr. Agovino's dad were raised in East Harlem in the late 40's-50s. They share the same memories, same hangouts, same neighborhood guys as the author's father.

My dad, like the author's, also supplemented his income a few different ways, on of them was bookmaking. It was an exciting life for a kid. The men (and women) who came and went were all characters, each different and each with a story.

Also, we moved to the Bronx, then (along with everyone else) to Co-op when it first opened. Although I never attended any school in the educational section of Co-op, we all did the same things. In Evander and around the Coop. This book was refreshing in it's clarity of life at that time.