Leo T. reviewed on 9/19/2019 + 1775 more book reviews

I obtained this book for the shelf at the old soldiers and sailors' home, but had the pleasure of reading the first couple of chapters. The author has jotted down notes about NYC in 1945 as she experienced it, as well as speaking with some of her friends and co-workers from that time now distant to post-Baby Boom generations. Note that this was a different world for young ladies, before the middle 1960s. She had a great companion in Marty, who had the chutzpah to go to the senior manager to obtain their employment--they were coming very late to the summer job market. For those readers who did not become somewhat acquainted with the salad days of the Greatest Generation, gals would often reside in sororities for reasons of economy and respectability--my mom did so in Portland, Oregon at this time. The cost of obtaining a modest living in NYC was very reasonable until sometime in the 1970s; the room or small apartment might be seventy years old but it was in NYC! (pp. 40-41 their budget).
Professor Hart (who made an excellent career with a faculty appointment in San Diego) offers several well-chosen photos. Note that her earnings totaled $220, which was adequate with careful budgeting, and that Social Security cost her $2.20. Employers and employees each paid 1% until 1950 and my Dad was amazed at how fast he collected all he had paid in when he began to recieve Social Security benefits. "The view from our living room window was a brick wall, it was stifling hot, the twin beds sagged, and the kitchen was so small you could barely open the fridge door. And the phone rang night and day--courtesy of Checker Cab's advertised number, one digit away. But despite its faults, we adored our tiny abode. To have our own Manhattan apartment without a parent or housemother within a thousand miles was a college girl's dream."
No index (so I deducted one star from my evaluation).

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