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Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of '70s New York

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Description

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK• An evocative coming-of-age memoir—the story of the education of a wayward wild child and acidhead who, searching for meaning and purpose, found refuge in the demimonde of the ruined but magical metropolis that was New York City in the 1970s. “In his beautiful memoir, Do Something, Guy Trebay paints a picture of a vanished, pre-AIDS Gotham that’s both gritty and dazzling.” —The New York Times Book Review Born in the Bronx, Guy Trebay was raised in an atmosphere of privilege on Long Island’s North Shore after his entrepreneurial father struck business gold with Hawaiian Surf, a wildly successful cologne company that capitalized on the optimism of the 1960s as marketed to “an adventurous new breed of men.’’ But behind the facade of material prosperity lay the emotional disarray of a household dominated by a charismatic, con artist father, a glamorous yet lost and careless mother, a family haunted by tragedy. By the time Trebay established a foothold at the fringes of Andy Warhol’s Factory and the diverse artistic tribes that thrived in Manhattan in that pre-digital era, his father had lost his fortune, his younger sister had been arrested for armed robbery and fled underground, the family house was in ashes, and his mother was dead. Unschooled and on his own, Trebay became a striver, wending his way through a seemingly apocalyptic landscape populated by a vibrant cast of characters, including washed-up Hollywood screenwriters of the ’30s; Warhol superstars like Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling; fashion geniuses like Charles James; and emerging artists, filmmakers, writers, designers, photographers, and deejays who would powerfully influence mainstream culture in the decades to come. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf (June 25, 2024)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1524731978


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 77


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.41 x 1 x 8.17 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #108,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #391 in Author Biographies #1,007 in U.S. State & Local History #3,510 in Memoirs (Books)


#391 in Author Biographies:


#1,007 in U.S. State & Local History:


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Friday, Jul 10

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • A Quick and Fun Read
Not often would I recommend a memoir as a good beach read, but DO SOMETHING is perfect for a day at the beach. It's a good book to read anywhere, but I happen to read most of it from the beach. It's a brisk and short read that goes buy quickly. Before you know it you are done and wanting to have cocktails with Guy at The Leopard at des Artistes or Sant Ambroeus. While I am in no way as successful as Mr. Trebay perhaps I found this book so interesting, because while I did it all in the early 2000s I found reading his memoir and thinking about my 20s working for Condé Nast and Out Magazine (back in 2001 - 2009) making me long for my youth back. I even longed to go back even further to my youth growing up between NYC, Long Island (south shore not north shore), The Jersey Shore, and Pennsylvania among various eccentric and mostly dysfunctional relatives. I think that this book will likely resonate with those who have (or want to have) something in common with Guy, and might be lost on others, but not every book can be for everyone. I hesitated to buy this book, because I almost never buy a memoir or biography of a contemporary person, but I am so glad I did buy this one. You will be as well. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024 by I read too much

  • Poignant and Meaningful
A beautiful, sorrowful memoir with many hilarious recollections. My only issue was the proofreading…did anyone do it? Too many typos devalued parts of the story. I do love Guy Trebay. And thankfully he’s still with us
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2024 by E. Keenan

  • Fabulous Memoir.
Great Read. Gay Trebay is a master wordsmith---the content sweeps one effortlessly into to 1970s NYC.
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024 by pegipeggy

  • Guy Trebay is a great writer but...
Honestly I flipped through the book and it didn't grab me. I really wanted it to. Probably deserves a second approach. The writing seems a bit bogged down in details.
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2024 by Louis

  • GOTTA READ GOTTA READ GOTTA READ
I could go on, but anyone with ANY interest in New York City history, especially if you lived there before, during, or even since those golden days, will TOTALLY DIG Guy Trebay’s wondrous, unapologetic (don’t even know what tHAT even means), delicious account of The Scene that was authentically New York, and the reason that drew me (& lots like me) there in the first place. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2024 by wendymargaretgabriel

  • A provocative and engaging memoir of coming of age as a writer in gritty '70s New York.
Early in his picaresque tale, author Guy Trebay confesses to a lifelong sense of detachment toward sex, not unlike his general feeling of standing just outside in all situations, observing. It's the honing of that ability that's the focus of this writer's memoir. Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of '70s New York is an elegant and riveting account of his metamorphosis from wild, tripping, shoplifting teen to celebrated cultural essayist, a journey that coalesced in gritty, quirky, '70s New York. Young Trebay's a collector of vintage rags, abandoned objects, books, and characters like Jackie Curtis, Sylva Thin, Holly Woodlawn, ballroom drag queen Dorian Corey, and a host of nascent designers and artists. Woven through the narrative is the story of the disintegration of his immediate family and his forensic scrutiny of those events. It's a fascinating read. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024 by Kevin Bentley

  • This is why we read books
I held this book in my arms close to my heart when I came to the end. Beautifully written, honest and kind, this is really a book about love.
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024 by df

  • Started out beautifully written
After the first 5 or 6 chapters this book fizzled into nonsense. The childhood and other stories were really engrossing and well written but everything just blew into fragments and hard to follow sequences. Wasted my money on this one.
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2024 by Phoenixx

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