Street Fight - by Michael Davis (Hardcover)

About the Book

Street Fight is muscularly reported journalism trained on the people and events that shaped Sesame Street from the 1990s to the present. Expanding from Street Gang, Michael Davis's acclaimed origin story of the series, this revelatory new book probes deeply into the decisions made by Sesame Workshop, the New York-based corporate non-profit that has weathered political and financial storms, all while upholding aspirational values instilled in the late-1960s.

Book Synopsis

Street Fight is muscularly reported journalism trained on the people and events that shaped Sesame Street from the 1990s to the present. Expanding from Street Gang, Michael Davis's acclaimed origin story of the series, this revelatory new book probes deeply into the decisions made by Sesame Workshop, the New York-based corporate non-profit that has weathered political and financial storms, all while upholding aspirational values instilled in the late-1960s.

Hundreds of eyewitnesses provide on-the-record recollections of the show's evolution in the narrative and a series of chapter-ending oral histories.

Interwoven are passages of time-tested alliances, courtships and marriages, the back stories of the artists who provided the show's melodies and lyrics. That, plus plenty of dish about the performers behind Muppets of Sesame Street, and how Jim Henson, decades after his shocking passing in 1990, is a spectral figure quite powerful in spirit.

Laughter and tears - in equal measure - await readers.

Review Quotes

"In Street Fight, Michael Davis takes us behind the curtain to show how the show evolved alongside the society it reflects. Insightful, accessible, and eye-opening, this is a fresh look at a cultural landmark and what it reveals about us."

"I was lucky enough to join the show in 1981. The years have given me some perspective, seeing Sesame change and grow constantly. You think you know a project after all this time, but then Michael Davis comes along to do what he does best: dig, research, ask tough questions, make connections, and put the big picture together. So much of what I read in this book is new to me, and I was THERE."

"This is Sesame Street in perilous times. Michael Davis has written a fair, thorough, and charming sequel to Street Gang. He's again talked to everyone on the Street, this time about the perils of change: the changing of the guard, new media, and especially a changing world--most recently a president hostile to the Sesame Street ideals of kindness, multicultural harmony, and maybe even isosceles triangles."

About the Author

MICHAEL DAVIS, with over a 50-year career as a writer, editor, educator, and producer, has made good on a lifelong promise to uphold journalism's sacred values of fairness and accuracy. He is the author of the New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street and was co-executive producer of the Emmy winning documentary adapted from it.