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book cover for "No One Helped"

"No One Helped"

Kitty Genovese, New York City, and the Myth of Urban Apathy

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Pub Date Aug 11 2015 | Archive Date Apr 14 2015


Description

In "No One Helped" Marcia M. Gallo examines one of America's most infamous true-crime stories: the 1964 rape and murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in a middle-class neighborhood of Queens, New York. Front-page reports in the New York Times incorrectly identified thirty-eight indifferent witnesses to the crime, fueling fears of apathy and urban decay. Genovese's life, including her lesbian relationship, also was obscured in media accounts of the crime. Fifty years later, the story of Kitty Genovese continues to circulate in popular culture. Although it is now widely known that there were far fewer actual witnesses to the crime than was reported in 1964, the moral of the story continues to be urban apathy. "No One Helped" traces the Genovese story's development and resilience while challenging the myth it created."No One Helped" places the conscious creation and promotion of the Genovese story within a changing urban environment. Gallo reviews New York's shifting racial and economic demographics and explores post–World War II examinations of conscience regarding the horrors of Nazism. These were important factors in the uncritical acceptance of the story by most media, political leaders, and the public despite repeated protests from Genovese's Kew Gardens neighbors at their inaccurate portrayal. The crime led to advances in criminal justice and psychology, such as the development of the 911 emergency system and numerous studies of bystander behaviors. Gallo emphasizes that the response to the crime also led to increased community organizing as well as feminist campaigns against sexual violence. Even though the particulars of the sad story of her death were distorted, Kitty Genovese left an enduring legacy of positive changes to the urban environment.

In "No One Helped" Marcia M. Gallo examines one of America's most infamous true-crime stories: the 1964 rape and murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in a middle-class neighborhood of Queens, New...


Advance Praise

"In 'No One Helped,' Marcia M. Gallo tells you why everything you’ve heard about Kitty Genovese and her death is wrong, how this came to be, and why it matters. In this valuable book, which sheds light on crime, the media, and New York City, we meet Genovese not as a victim but as a fierce and fascinating woman whose story can inspire people to live boldly and help people in peril."—Robert W. Snyder, Rutgers University, Newark, author of Crossing Broadway: Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City

"'No One Helped' is a provocative, timely, and important book. Marcia M. Gallo has fully conceptualized and explained the textures of the various communities involved in the Kitty Genovese story: the city of New York, the borough of Queens, the neighborhood of Kew Gardens, the bar where Genovese worked, and the nascent lesbian and gay community, among others. This is a remarkable story, and Gallo does fine work making visible the substance of the lives of the main players in this saga."—Leisa Meyer, Class of 1964 Distinguished Associate Professor of American Studies and History, College of William & Mary, author of Creating G.I. Jane: Sexuality and Power in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II


"Marcia M. Gallo's historically narrative approach to the Kitty Genovese murder is clear and accessible. Gallo's admirably balanced treatment draws on media coverage, oral history, social scientific literature, and changing memories of the crime."—Karen Halttunen, University of Southern California, author of Murder Most Foul: The Killer and the American Gothic Imagination

"In 'No One Helped,' Marcia M. Gallo tells you why everything you’ve heard about Kitty Genovese and her death is wrong, how this came to be, and why it matters. In this valuable book, which sheds...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780801456640
PRICE $24.95 (USD)

Average rating from 29 members


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