The book has gained a massive
cult following, and a wide range of authors continue to mention it in their work. As
Russell Shorto writes in his foreword to the 2008 edition by
Vintage, "[Asbury's] book became an
underground classic because it catalogued the underbelly of New York, which to many is the real New York. His subject is the beast inside every city, and inside every one of us, maybe." Argentine master of the
short-story,
Jorge Luis Borges, famously was a great fan of
The Gangs of New York. His 1935 collection,
A Universal History of Infamy (original Spanish title:
Historia universal de la infamia) is a direct
homage to Asbury's book. Leader of the
Jewish-American Eastman Gang,
Monk Eastman, and legendary New York-born
Wild West outlaw and
gunfighter,
Billy the Kid, appear in both Asbury's and Borges's books.
Beat Generation author
William S. Burroughs named
The Gangs of New York as one of his 12 all-time favorite non-fiction titles. In his 1991 treatise,
Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York,
Lucy Sante discusses many anecdotes about 19th century New York street life made popular through Asbury's book, and she either
debunks or confirms them, while simultaneously expanding upon them with her own research findings.
Futurist writer and author of the
architecture blog BLDGBLOG Geoff Manaugh references
The Gangs of New York in his 2016 book ''A Burglar's Guide to the City'', as he discusses 19th and early 20th century thieves and
con men, such as
George Leonidas Leslie, whom Asbury mentions multiple times in his book. Manaugh demonstrates how architects can learn valuable things about buildings, and their structural flaws, from professional burglars. ==Similar Works==