HISTORY

The Freaks Came Out To Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture

by Tricia Romano
PublicAffairs: Perseus. Feb. 2024. 608p. ISBN 9781541736399. $35. HIST
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When readers see the name of the NYC newspaper the Village Voice, they may instantly recall its radical and important journalistic coverage of some of the most important issues of the day, such as the Vietnam War, civil rights, the AIDS crisis, and 9/11. Romano interned and worked at the Voice for eight years. Her book is an absorbing firsthand history of the publication, recounting its history and cast of characters (from Mailer to Musto to Dash), either through their writings or the more than 200 interviews Romano conducted. Chapters about each era of the Voice are short, and there is little analysis. Instead, readers are left to interpret the vibe and meaning of those periods of Voice history.
VERDICT An exceptional resource in which readers get a real flavor of the exciting and troubling times throughout the Village Voice’s run and the opportunity to draw their own conclusions about its rise (and fall in 2017). Recommended for academic libraries and comprehensive journalism collections.
Reviewed by Maria Ashton-Stebbings , Jan 01, 2024
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