Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and My Dad
Language: English
Published by Porcupine's Quill, 2014
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.ThriftBooks-Atlanta
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 2009
Condition: Used - Good
£ 5.60
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.
Seller Inventory # G0889843694I3N10
- Title
- Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and My Dad
- Author
- Bossin, Bob
- Publisher
- Porcupine's Quill
- Publication year
- 2014
- Condition
- Good
- Dust jacket
- No Jacket
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0889843694
- ISBN 13
- 9780889843691
- Item weight
- 0.78 pounds
Celebrated Canadian folk singer Bob Bossin tells the story of his father's life in the gambling underworld of the 1930s and 40s. By turns a touching memoir of father and son and an insightful social history, Davy the Punk is packed with street-wise stories and troubling revelations about Canada in the 20th century.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
By parts history, anthropology, political science, biography and memoir, the book follows Bob's father, his family, the circles of his underworld and, later, show business associates, and a great deal more.... "The personal is political," as the feminist adage teaches us. Here, the political is personal. The events of Davy's time, roughly the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, rocked his life and career. Thanks to his son's research and insight, we can learn a lot about those politics and their legacy by reading his engaging story. It's this interweaving of political and personal that gives the book its strength and momentum. Each step on the narrative journey is supported with a wealth of background and analysis, always informative, always entertaining. Horse-racing stories and jokes are some of the best around, and the Bossins, father and son, tell them masterfully.'--Stephen Aberle "Outlook Magazine "
Deftly organized for maximum enjoyment and insight, this memoir brings to life important times in Jewish Canadian history.
Bob Bossin's memoir about his father, Davy the Punk, is an enticing, engrossing, and enchanting read. Bossin's father died when he was ten, so Bossin needed to stretch the structure of his book and create much more than a memoir. It is Jewish genealogy (Bossin's family emigrated from the Ukraine in the late 1880s), it is Canadian history (they settled in the slums of Toronto), and it is a commentary on both Canadian and American social problems (primarily gambling on horse races and bootlegging in the decades prior to World War II).
Since Bossin has direct knowledge of his father for only ten years, he has had to verify many of stories he heard as a child. In the afterword, he details the painstaking research he attempted for years; this section by itself is a superb reminder to memoir writers that the best stories get the facts straight.
Bossin's background as a journalist serves him admirably. His prose is lively, and the memoir has the intrigue of a novel. The title is a reference to his father's alleged association with gangsters. The author's style is folksy, and he often clutches a clich? and squeezes out extra metaphorical meaning: "The streets of the Ward were not paved with gold, but they were paved." Sometimes he uses a common phrase in an uncommon context, giving it new life; Bossin scorns the Volstead Act and comments that it "offered the greatest affirmative action program for criminals ever devised." His proficiency in writing is evident when his father retells one of the more famous jokes about race horses, the saga of Lucky Seven.
The vintage photographs bestow the feeling of nostalgia and are strategically placed throughout the memoir rather than incorporating them all in a separate section. This positioning serves to comment on and strengthen the narrative. Bossin characterizes Senator Estes Kefauver as less than stellar, for instance, and the accompanying photo portrays him as a dolt from Tennessee.
Readers interested in Jewish culture in Canada, the inner workings of gambling on horses, or just a bittersweet yarn of a son admiring his father will relish Bossin's story.--Thomas H. Brennan "Foreword Reviews "
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
ThriftBooks-Atlanta
AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 2009
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 4 to 8 business days | 4 to 8 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 0.00 |
Payment methods
Store description
ThriftBooks is a fully independent seller of used books, having sold more than 160 million used and new books since we started in 2003. Each quality used book is sorted, graded, shelved and shipped by hand by our team of dedicated employees in our seven warehouses across the US. We have the best selection of books, in the right condition and format, at everyday low prices. We also have a dedicated, US-based Customer Service team, ranked in the top three by Newsweek for Best Customer Service in 2018 and 2019, so you can shop with confidence. We support and invest in our employees, appreciate and value our customers, and truly believe in the power of the written word to educate, energize, and engage readers of all ages and interests.…
Seller's business information
Thrift Books Global, LLC
18300 Cascade Ave S, Ste 150
Seattle, WA U.S.A. 98188
Terms of sale
We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described
on the Abebooks website. If you're dissatisfied with your
purchase (Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged) or if the
order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30
days of the estimated delivery date. If you've changed your
mind about a book that you've ordered, please use the "Ask
bookseller a question link to contact us" and we'll respond
as soon as possible.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to ThriftBooks-Atlanta, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
All domestic Standard and Expedited shipments are distributed from our warehouses by OSM, then handed off to the USPS for final delivery.
2-Day Shipping is delivered by FedEx, which does not deliver to PO boxes.
International shipments are tendered to the local postal service in the destination country for final delivery – we do not use courier services for international deliveries.