Robert Sullivan graciously agreed to answer a few questions and you can find the interview below. If you've not had a chance to read his book, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants, I strongly urge you to pick up a copy. It's fascinating, both for the facts and stories about rats but also for the history that you pick up along the way.
1. What was the most interesting thing that you learned while researching Rats?
Probably that Jesse Grey, a community organizer that I profile in the book, helped organize the largest rent strike in the history of the United States in the late sixties. It's not something that history books spent a lot of time on, renters right.
2. Have you been back to the alley in recent years?
I was there last week, during the day, and I saw that the Irish bar/ restaurant had closed. Also there is a new building there. It looks cleaner, though I sometimes hear from people that there are still rats.
3. Are there any topics from the book that you would like to update people on?
I can't think of any.
4. What are you working on right now?
A book about the American Revolution that has to do with landscape and history, especially in New York, which, I argue, was the first Middle American. I started thinking about New York during the Revolution when I wrote Rats, since rats came to American —the gray rat, anyway--at the same time that the Revolution began. It is called My American Revolution. http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780374217457-0
5. Have the film rights to Rats been optioned?
I think someone is making a documentary of sorts.
That's all for this update. I hope the documentary comes to fruition as it would be a great film. You can also listen to the author discussing the book in an NPR interview here. As always, feel free to email me at jeffsemonis at yahoo.com, or find me on twitter @jeffsbookcase.
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