Dr. Barnabas T. Bynum's New School Musical Revue and Travelling Minstrel Show

(Thunder's Mouth Press) is a highly entertaining and revealing behind the scenes look at the zany, eccentric cast of characters who have called the Chelsea their home. Ed Hamilton, a writer and resident of the hotel, provides many first hand accounts as well as anecdotal stories. And while he relates many stories concerning its most famous residents, Hamilton shines when he writes about the hotel's non-famous, little known, and often times unsavory miscreats/residents. Hamilton also exhibits a healthy dose of humor when writing about his own confrontations and friendships with the other tenants. Any writer, musician, painter, or performer should at one time in their life make a pilgrimage to this grand hotel. After all, at one time or another Dylan Thomas, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Bob Dylan, Brendan Behan, John Cale, Leonard Cohen, Willem De Kooning, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Sam Shepherd, Charles Bukowski, and Terry Southern decided to reside and create their art there. And this is just a brief list, there are many more. Thanks to Mr. Hamilton for being the Chelsea's resident historian and keeper of the flame. A web site devoted to all things Chelsea can be found at www.legends.typepad.com