Down from Troy: A Doctor Comes of Age

by Richard Selzer

Book Overview

In this beloved classic, Richard Selzer recounts his childhood in Troy, New York, during the Great Depression. No easy town to come of age in, Troy in the 1930s was a city long past its prime, "full... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688097154
• ISBN13: 9780688097158
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Inconsistent

I enjoyed very much the chapters about Selzer's childhood and about his physician-father. I don't think the book needed to be 300 pages long. At 200 pages, focused on his childhood, it would have been much better. The "stuff" he used to fill in and create a 300 page book wasn't relevant and sometimes was totally ridiculous. Did I want to read a paper he wrote in high school? I don't think so.

There is a place in my heart for Troy, NY

Before Richard Selzer I didn't think much of Troy. Selzer's descriptions of his Dad's practice, the story tellers at the corner pub, and the action along the river are not glamorous but they are rich and warm. He taught me how to make the best French coffee and dazzled my mind with exotic words. Now I beg my husband to make detours through Troy. He thought I was nuts until he read the book, and now he's hooked too. I have read nearly all of Selzer's books and this is my favorite.