Hacking New York

The experiences in this surprising book are drawn directly from the daily life of a New York taxicab driver in good standing. Mr. Hazard has been "hacking" the city for almost nine years. He deals with phases of life of which the average reader knows not at all-the "rackets" a taxi man has to fight, the graft he has to pay, the characters of the half-world he meets-and much more. The book compares "hacking" conditions to-day and ten years ago, when the author got his first license by shaking hands with an official and forgetting to remove a ten-dollar bill from the political palm when the handshaking was over. Every page is packed with human interest and keen understanding of character. The author came to New York to "see life in Greenwich Village." Since he had to make a living, he thought taxi driving was as good a way as any other. He is in his thirties, was a hobo and wanderer before he was a taxi driver, and is still piloting his cab through the tangles of New York traffic.-From the original 1930 dust jacket flap "Hazard is a born storyteller, especially for his humor and crisp simplicity, and a born racketeer. He tells a hundred vibrating experiences from that man-eating, money-crazy jungle through which New Yorkers pass every day."-George Britt, New York Telegram