“Jacobson belongs to that great bloodline of New York street writers from Stephen Crane to A. J. Liebling, through Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill, and now to himself and very few others.” –Richard Price, from his Foreword

In the pages of The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Esquire, New York, Maxim, and GQ, Mark Jacobson has carried on in the tradition of such titans as Joe Mitchell, A. J. Liebling, Jimmy Breslin, and Pete Hamill as one of New York City’s finest journalistic provocateurs. Now he collects the best of his years on the beat in Teenage Hipster in the Modern World. Jacobson has been witness to a decidedly different sort of history. His “beats’ range far and wide, delving into the realms of politics, sports, and celebrity in pieces on such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Julius Erving, Chuck Berry, Pam Grier (in her Scream, Blacula, Scream days), Martin Scorsese, and many others. But for Jacobson, New York City, and urban living in general, has always been Topic Number One. Jacobson also tells the story of the city in his classic essays on the beginnings of punk rock back in the times of “pregentrification” to the heart-wrenching days of 9/11.