- Hardcover: 186 pages
- Publisher: The Modern Library; 1st edition (Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679603395
- ISBN-13: 978-0679603399
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.4 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,152,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Joseph Ferdinand Gould--better known as Joe Gould--was a member of one of the oldest families in Massachusetts and a graduate of Harvard, and his parents took it for granted that he would go on to medical school and become a surgeon and a distinguished civic leader, as many of his ancestors, including his father and grandfather, had. Instead, in 1916, in his middle twenties, he abruptly broke with his background and went to New York City and spent the next forty years living from hand to mouth in Greenwich Village as a kind of half outcast, half bohemian. He panhandled in Village hangouts, wore cast-off clothes, slept in flophouses or doorways, and often went hungry for days at a time. He said that he lived this way so that he could wander around the city at will, listening to people and writing down some of the astonishing things he heard them say. He had become obsessed with the idea that talk is history and that even offhand remarks may have eerie and prophetic historical import. He wrote in dime-store composition books, filling hundreds of them, and said that these books, when eventually joined together, would become an enormous book (a dozen times longer than the Bible, he estimated) that would be called An Oral History of Our Time. (Historians at Columbia University have given Gould credit for originating the term "oral history.")
In 1942, Joseph Mitchell, impressed by Gould's concept, wrote a profile of him for The New Yorker. Twenty-two years later, some time after Gould's death, he wrote another profile of him, and the two have been combined in Joe Gould's Secret. "When I found out Gould's secret," Mitchell said, "I was appalled, but I soon regained my respect for him, and through the years my respect has grown, though I must confess that he is still an enigma to me. Nowadays, in fact, when his name comes into my mind, it is followed instantly by another name--the name of Bartleby the Scrivener--and then I invariably recall Bartleby's haunting, horrifyingly lonely remark 'I would prefer not to.' "
In 1942, Joseph Mitchell, impressed by Gould's concept, wrote a profile of him for The New Yorker. Twenty-two years later, some time after Gould's death, he wrote another profile of him, and the two have been combined in Joe Gould's Secret. "When I found out Gould's secret," Mitchell said, "I was appalled, but I soon regained my respect for him, and through the years my respect has grown, though I must confess that he is still an enigma to me. Nowadays, in fact, when his name comes into my mind, it is followed instantly by another name--the name of Bartleby the Scrivener--and then I invariably recall Bartleby's haunting, horrifyingly lonely remark 'I would prefer not to.' "
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Reading anything by Joseph Mitchell is worthwhile and reading "Joe Gould's Secret", a fascinating profile of a well-known Greenwich Village eccentric, is well worth your time. Joe Gould was, for upwards of thirty-five years, a homeless dropout living from day to day on his wits and handouts from any sympathetic ear, friend or stranger, surviving on a diet of fresh-air, dog-ends, strong black coffee, fried egg sandwiches and bottles of diner-bar ketchup supped off a plate ("the only grub I know that's free of charge"). The two parts of the book, headed Professor Seagull, and Joe Gould's Secret, first appeared in the New Yorker in 1942 and 1964.
The son of a medical practitioner, Harvard-educated Gould arrived in New York in 1916 and soon dismissed any thoughts of holding down a steady job when he had a flash of inspiration to write what he called "An Oral History of Our Times". Over many years, Gould would add daily to this work in progress, all he had to show for himself, even when badly hung over; loading his fountain pen in the village post office, scribbling in grubby, dog-eared school exercise books in public parks, doorways, cafeterias, Bowery flophouses, subway trains and in public libraries as he struggled to get his thoughts down on paper. Some of these hangouts also served as places to doss - alternatives to the floor of an artist friend's studio or a subway station. 270 filled notebooks had been stored in numerous drops for safekeeping until the work was completed.
Mitchell, intrigued by the "Oral History" idea wrote a stylish, compassionate profile of Gould showing much patience and sensitivity in his dealings with his subject with whom he spent an inordinate amount of time. When a publisher friend of Mitchell asked to see Gould's material, with a view to publishing a book of selections, an indignant Gould declared that the material would either be published in its entirety or "not at all". Scruffy in appearance, wearing cast-offs, often unwashed for days at a time, all the time dogged by "homelessness, hunger and hangovers" ("I'm the foremost authority in the U.S.A on the subject of doing without"). Gould's norm was to hang around bars and diners in the Village cadging food, money and drink from friends, visiting tourists and other regular contributors to the "Joe Gould fund". Once asked what made him as he is today, Gould answered it was all down to a strong distaste for material possessions, Harvard, and years on end of living on cheap booze and grub "beating the living hell out of my insides".
Gould died in 1957 whereupon Mitchell, who knew as much as anyone about the "Oral History", was persuaded to join the Committee set up to organise the collection of the mass of scattered material that made up "An Oral History Of Our Times". Joe Gould's Secret??? That's for you to discover when you read the book! If you enjoy "Joe Gould's Secret", read also Mitchell's "Up in the Old Hotel", a marvellous collection of profiles of old-time New York characters in a New York that is no longer.
The son of a medical practitioner, Harvard-educated Gould arrived in New York in 1916 and soon dismissed any thoughts of holding down a steady job when he had a flash of inspiration to write what he called "An Oral History of Our Times". Over many years, Gould would add daily to this work in progress, all he had to show for himself, even when badly hung over; loading his fountain pen in the village post office, scribbling in grubby, dog-eared school exercise books in public parks, doorways, cafeterias, Bowery flophouses, subway trains and in public libraries as he struggled to get his thoughts down on paper. Some of these hangouts also served as places to doss - alternatives to the floor of an artist friend's studio or a subway station. 270 filled notebooks had been stored in numerous drops for safekeeping until the work was completed.
Mitchell, intrigued by the "Oral History" idea wrote a stylish, compassionate profile of Gould showing much patience and sensitivity in his dealings with his subject with whom he spent an inordinate amount of time. When a publisher friend of Mitchell asked to see Gould's material, with a view to publishing a book of selections, an indignant Gould declared that the material would either be published in its entirety or "not at all". Scruffy in appearance, wearing cast-offs, often unwashed for days at a time, all the time dogged by "homelessness, hunger and hangovers" ("I'm the foremost authority in the U.S.A on the subject of doing without"). Gould's norm was to hang around bars and diners in the Village cadging food, money and drink from friends, visiting tourists and other regular contributors to the "Joe Gould fund". Once asked what made him as he is today, Gould answered it was all down to a strong distaste for material possessions, Harvard, and years on end of living on cheap booze and grub "beating the living hell out of my insides".
Gould died in 1957 whereupon Mitchell, who knew as much as anyone about the "Oral History", was persuaded to join the Committee set up to organise the collection of the mass of scattered material that made up "An Oral History Of Our Times". Joe Gould's Secret??? That's for you to discover when you read the book! If you enjoy "Joe Gould's Secret", read also Mitchell's "Up in the Old Hotel", a marvellous collection of profiles of old-time New York characters in a New York that is no longer.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book, a biography not a novel, was recommended by the writer Clare Allan at a readers event I attended It is now out of print, but can be picked up for a penny plus postage here on Amazon.
Mitchell, a writer comes across a homeless man in the Village in New York. Gould who would be described as a tramp or hobo in today's vernacular, is somewhat kindly and exotically described as a Bohemian, after the style of the artists and poets of the era. Gould himself is working on a book, an Oral History reflecting contemporary life in New York through the conversations of its inhabitants. He is celebrated by some of the greats of the day, E.E Cummings for example is a personal friend, but lives a very odd lifestyle subsisting on handouts, black coffee, cigarette butts, fried eggs and ketchup.
I was a little frustrated to discover there were two parts to this book, Joseph Mitchell's original profile for the New Yorker called 'Professor Sea Gull' and then 'Joe Gould's Secret' an expanded biography of Gould, but one which unfortunately and unbeknownst to me repeats some of the same anecdotes from the Professor Sea Gull section which I'd thought was the beginning of the book. I think its still important to read Professor Sea Gull, because the moment Joe Gould's Secret expands from follows the aftermath of the publication of that initial profile.
I had further problems with Joe Gould's Secret. I didn't much care for Gould himself, a man I found to be a conceited bombast, and I didn't much care for his biographer Mitchell either. Although I entirely understand the reasons why Mitchell got fed up with Gould and ultimately found him a nuisance; it must be remembered that Mitchell was the one who tracked Gould down, got involved in his world and used his story for professional gain, not once, but twice.
This book with both the profile and the biography is just 187 pages long, but I found myself page counting calculating how long I had left to go, which is to me, a REALLY BAD SIGN. Although, it's cover and inner page are littered with quotes praising it. All the other reviews here seem to be five star. Clearly the book has fans, so if you like stories about real life folk, you may like this. I'm afraid I didn't really. 5/10
Mitchell, a writer comes across a homeless man in the Village in New York. Gould who would be described as a tramp or hobo in today's vernacular, is somewhat kindly and exotically described as a Bohemian, after the style of the artists and poets of the era. Gould himself is working on a book, an Oral History reflecting contemporary life in New York through the conversations of its inhabitants. He is celebrated by some of the greats of the day, E.E Cummings for example is a personal friend, but lives a very odd lifestyle subsisting on handouts, black coffee, cigarette butts, fried eggs and ketchup.
I was a little frustrated to discover there were two parts to this book, Joseph Mitchell's original profile for the New Yorker called 'Professor Sea Gull' and then 'Joe Gould's Secret' an expanded biography of Gould, but one which unfortunately and unbeknownst to me repeats some of the same anecdotes from the Professor Sea Gull section which I'd thought was the beginning of the book. I think its still important to read Professor Sea Gull, because the moment Joe Gould's Secret expands from follows the aftermath of the publication of that initial profile.
I had further problems with Joe Gould's Secret. I didn't much care for Gould himself, a man I found to be a conceited bombast, and I didn't much care for his biographer Mitchell either. Although I entirely understand the reasons why Mitchell got fed up with Gould and ultimately found him a nuisance; it must be remembered that Mitchell was the one who tracked Gould down, got involved in his world and used his story for professional gain, not once, but twice.
This book with both the profile and the biography is just 187 pages long, but I found myself page counting calculating how long I had left to go, which is to me, a REALLY BAD SIGN. Although, it's cover and inner page are littered with quotes praising it. All the other reviews here seem to be five star. Clearly the book has fans, so if you like stories about real life folk, you may like this. I'm afraid I didn't really. 5/10
Format:Hardcover
Joe Gould was certainly beat, though, like Jack Kerouac, proudly not beatnik, one of those mercurial American eccentrics, messianic when it suited him, pathetic when it didn't, diplomatic or direct when he needed to be. When New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell first encountered him in the late 1950s, Gould was living semi-rough in New York, though he was a Harvard graduate and had been a professional ethnographer and a journalist. He was known as Professor Seagull, and frequented poetry readings, where he wore out his welcome by declaiming nonsense poetry in imitation of the serious stuff, and was very assiduous in making sure he got the free cheese and wine on offer. Gould was fixated on writing the `longest book ever written', called An Oral History of Our Time, and this book traces, in part, Mitchell's excitement at his discovery, and his efforts to unearth Gould's book. It is a very well told tale, with elements of biography, history and a quest, and reads very much like a novel at times. Joe Gould reminds me, a little, of that other classic American loner, Henry Darger (janitor, Outsider Art collagist, and author of one of the truly longest books ever written - do look him up) - and is, despite this story told about him, still an enigma. The story was made into a film in 2000, with Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci playing Gould and Mitchell, and very well, but nothing beats the way it's told in this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Better than fiction?
This is a fabulous read. Mitchell's two-part story about Joe Gould, author of the Oral History, has the succinctly delivered detail and well-turned phrase of the best journalism;... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2001
Genuinely sad and genuinely funny
This book comprises two parts. The first is a piece originally published in The New Yorker as a character sketch of the eccentric Joe Gould. Read more
Published on 3 April 2001
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