This novel is set in New York in the days of the Depression. It is the story of Billy Bathgate, who joins the notorious Dutch Schulz gang as a good luck charm, protege and apprentice mobster. Other work by the author includes "Ragtime" and "The Book of Daniel".
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This novel is set in New York in the days of the Depression. It is the story of Billy Bathgate, who joins the notorious Dutch Schulz gang as a good luck charm, protege and apprentice mobster. Other work by the author includes "Ragtime" and "The Book of Daniel".
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Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $1.97, fair condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Picador.
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Fair. May have some shelf-wear due to normal use. Your purchase funds free job training and education in the greater Seattle area. Thank you for supporting Goodwill's nonprofit mission!
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $4.37, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Picador.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $4.37, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Picador.
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Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $11.99, good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1998 by Penguin.
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Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Damaged cover. The cover of is slightly damaged for instance a torn or bent corner. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $13.91, very good condition, Sold by John C. Newland rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cheltenham, Glos., UNITED KINGDOM, published 1990 by Picador.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate (Picador Books) to cart. $14.58, very good condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1990 by Picador.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate (Picador Books) to cart. $14.58, good condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1990 by Picador.
Add this copy of Billy Bathgate to cart. $35.00, very good condition, Sold by Robinson Street Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Binghamton, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Plume.
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Used: Very Good. Size: 69x13x112; Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE boxes; Very good trade paperback; some crease and nicks to edges; tanned pages; foxing edges; tips bumped; clean pages; prompt shipping with tracking.
Much of E.L Doctorow's finest writing celebrates the vibrancy, brashness, and diversity of New York City. Doctorow's novels also show a fascination with secular Jews -- with individuals who abandon traditional Jewish religious practice and adopt various other types of life. Thus, "The Book of Daniel" explores New York City in the 1940s in a historical novel based upon the Rosenbergs. Doctorow's remarkable novel, "City of God," explores contemporary New York City in the context of secular Jews and of highly liberal Jews who have adopted beliefs and practices far different from traditional Judaism.
In "Billy Bathgate", Doctorow offers an unforgettable picture of gangland New York City and of Jewish mobsters dominated by the figure of Dutch Schultz, as Doctorow takes the reader away from the humdrum everyday and into a world of rawness, danger, and excitement. Life needs its dangers and risks, Doctorow seems to be telling the reader, if it is not to be stupyfing, dull, and conventional.
"Billy Bathgate" is a coming-of-age story set in the New York City underworld of the 1930s. The book is told in the first person by its hero, the fifteen-year old Billy (who takes the name "Bathgate" from the chief commercial street in the East Bronx) who becomes attached to the gang led by the notorious Dutch Schultz (1902 -- 1935), born Arthur Flegenheimer to a poor Jewish family in the Bronx. The book is told in a breathy, highly excitable and emotive style appropriate to the voice of its young, naive protagonist. Billy's father had disappeared when the boy was young, and Billy lives with his poor, at best marginally sane mother. He seems destined for a life of petty thievery and cheap tawdry sex until Dutch Schultz notices the boy juggling on a street corner near a beer drop-off. Billy ingratiates himself with the Schultz gang in its declining days. Schultz becomes a father-figure to Billy. Schultz basks in the attention he receives from the boy and in his public notoriety.
Doctorow has written a richly-textured historical novel which shows us New York City and the gangland world. While the reader comes to understand and sympathize with Billy, Doctorow does not allow the reader to lose site of the random viciousness of gangland life. There are scenes of shocking violence and killing, the most fully developed of which involves the murder of Schultz' former associate, Bo Weinberg. Dutch Schultz in all his brutality and intensity come to life in this book as do the members of his inner circle. His chief lieutenant, Otto Berman, known as "Abadabba" Berman, a mathematical genius, becomes a mentor to Billy and is one of the most sharply-drawn characters in the novel. At great peril to himself, Billy becomes involved with Schultz' final mistress. This affair becomes the focal point of his coming to a degree of self-understanding. Rival gangs and New York officialdom, including District Attorney Thomas Dewey also receive a rich portrayal.
Much of the symbolism of the book revolves around the use of words and of change, as Billy Bathgate, Abadabba Berman, and Dutch Schultz, among others, adopt names not their own. Billy's skill at juggling, which appears at many points in the book, becomes a metaphor for the importance of adopting to change and of being light on one's feet if one is to succeed in the world. As Berman counsels Billy in many of their astonishing conversations, only the numbers are real while words change. Religion, and Jewish-Christian relations play a role in this book as well, illustrating the theme of constant change, as Dutch Schultz appears to convert from Judaism to Catholicism late in the novel. The book captures the fast-paced, slangy style of speech of its protagonists and includes as well heady, striking, and detailed passages of description.
This is a tough-minded novel, a gripping read, and, in its own way, an inspiring tale. "Billy Bathgate" is an unforgettable work by one of the United States' major living storytellers.
