Description
Prior to the Newsboy Strike of 1899, Anthony "Racetrack" Higgins is a young boy growing up in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. It's not a healthy environment for a kid, but it is a great training ground for a king of New York. There's no shortage of new people to meet and scrapes to get into. Though Racetrack must navigate a volatile home-life and the American people's fear of the changing demographics, he knows that there isn't a better place for a man with charisma and ambition than New York City. With hard work and a bit of luck, fame and fortune are within even the poorest slum kid's grasp. The odds are against him, but Racetrack isn't about to let bum odds stop him--especially when it's his life he's wagered! When Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise the distribution price one-tenth of a cent per paper, ten cents per hundred, the newsboys, poor enough already, are outraged. Inspired by the strike put on by the trolley workers, Jack "Cowboy" Kelly organizes a newsboys' strike. With David Jacobs as the brains of the new union, and Jack as the voice, the weak and oppressed found the strength to band together and challenge the powerful. (Written by Kaitlin Dwyer Rankins)
Chapter 1--Descending into Hell
