Loved this book and you will too, especially if you have a connection to or friends & family  who lived in The Bronx.

It is a delightful collection of memories from the northernmost borough of New York City: the Bronx, or the B-X as my hubby calls it. ( Note the word  “The” always precedes Bronx, and B-X).  Like my hubby many of the contributors to his collection attended the revered Bronx High School of Science, where they cut their teeth on “getting ahead” and getting into MIT, or other such schools which would feed their ambition. There is a real ethnic feel to the autobiographical sketches: a lot of Jews, some notable Italians–Dion DiMucci ( who lived a block away from The Bronx Zoo)  and Al Pacino–, and a few Hispanics, Irish, and Black Americans. Each of the writers in the collection were nestled in corners of the neighborhoods.They played in empty lots and went with their moms in the daytime to the Walter Reade movie theater. The Circle Theater.Shopped for clothes at Loehmanns on Fordham Road.  Stood for 4th of July parades on the Grand Concouse. Lived in apartment buildings off Mosholo Parkway. Jumped double dutch on the sidewalks in front of stoops. Bought cold cuts at the now-famous butchers and specialty food shops on Arthur Ave. Played on the edges of Van Cortland park. Many lusted for money as children, because their families didn’t have it. Many of the writers expressed memories of a happy, albeit, crowded childhood. A few were from families who won a and lost fortunes. One anonymous writer tells of being lonely and trapped because of sexual abuse by her father. Rick Meyerowitz said the Bronx has a smell:”like a thunderstorm…The Bronx was an extraordinary and  extremely fertile place to grow up.”

The Bronx, also know as The B-X, ( Always preceded by “The”)