Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street [Paperback]

Coming soon as a documentary from Focus Films, The New York Timesbestselling account of the story behind one of the most influential, durable, and beloved shows in the history of television:Sesame Street.

“Davis tracks down everySesameanecdote and everySesamepersonality in his book . . . Finally, we get to touch Big Bird's feathers.” —The New York Times Book Review

Sesame Streetis the longest-running-and arguably most beloved- children's television program ever created. Today, it reaches some six million preschoolers weekly in the United States and countless others in 140 countries around the world.

Street Gangis the compelling, comical, and inspiring story of a media masterpiece and pop-culture landmark. Television reporter and columnist Michael Davis-with the complete participation of Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the show's founders-unveils the idealistic personalities, decades of social and cultural change, stories of compassion and personal sacrifice, and miraculous efforts of writers, producers, directors, and puppeteers that together transformed an empty soundstage into the most recognizable block of real estate in television history.“Davis spins an evocative, insidery tale out of the wildly creative personalities and political ups and downs of the cozily delivered show.”
—Washington Post
 
“Davis tracks down every Sesame anecdote and every Sesame personality in his book. . . . Finally, we get to touch Big Bird’s feathers.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Davis writes that when the show débuted, in 1969, the goal of its creators was nothing short of righting ‘the inequities in our society’ through the education of lower-class preschoolers. Such populist choices as an urban setting, a multiracial cast, and a catchy brl£S