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1979/80s: The story of a father and son, the Dakota building and John Lennon’s assasination
The Dakota Winters
What you need to know before your trail
It’s the fall of 1979 when 23-year-old Anton Winter, back from the Peace Corps and on the mend from a nasty bout of malaria, returns to his childhood home in the Dakota Building in New York City. Anton’s father, the famous late-night host Buddy Winter is there to greet him, himself recovering from a breakdown. Before long Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddy’s stalled career, a mission that takes him from the gritty streets of New York, to the slopes of the Lake Placid Olympics, to the Hollywood Hills, to the blue waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and brings him into close quarters with the likes of Johnny Carson, Ted and Joan Kennedy, and a seagoing John Lennon.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Travel to 1980s New York City of John Lennon, BookTrail Style
The Dakota Building
The story revolves around this famous building and the people who have lived there. Of course, John Lennon was perhaps the most famous of the residents and the story leads up to the day of his assassination.
The building appeared in many films such as Rosemary’s Baby and these are mentioned and referenced through the book. It’s John Lennon however whose association remains the most famous. Tourists flock here today to see it, and across the Strawberry Fields in Central Park where there is a mosaic memorial to him.
This is a feast for fans of John Lennon and the bars and clubs of the city which showcase the city as it was. A city of music, hope, The Beatles heyday and the city where every street seemed to showcase a scene from a film.
There are many bars and clubs which are in the novel and which represent the heyday of the 1980s and the music scene then. Joe Allen’s Bar in West 46th Street, Hurrah’s of West 62th Street and the oak panelled bar of the Plaza Hotel.
Zabar’s is a famous grocery store which gets a mention as the ‘holy grail for bagels’ which it most definately is!
Streetview Maps
A) New York City - The Dakota Building
B) New York City - Strawberry Fields memorial
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
A guide to New York City of the 1980s as well as a novel about father and son. The events build up to the day John Lennon was killed and he and his wife Yoko Ono appear in the story. They are perhaps the most famous residents of the Dakota Building where most of the story is set and from where the novel takes its name.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Dakota Winters
Destination: New York City Author/guide: Tom Barbash Departure Time: 1979, 1980s
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