Discretion is a job requirement for a New York City doorman position; benefits include astronomical tips at holiday time--or so the legend goes. In this serious, yet agreeably accessible, occupational study of the gatekeepers of the privileged, Peter Bearman demystifies the doorman job, while providing half-a-novel`s-worth of social reality and status politics. He writes about the scope of the job (and how to get one) and the role of the union, as well as the frills and extras. More importantly, he dissects the unique etiquette that bind both tenant and doorman, from the greeting, to the door hold, to the cab hail. And while the little things count, it is a professional security job, and most important is announcing guests--while keeping out the entire rest of the world. Bearman, a
sociologist, offers a unique and revealing slice of life, played out in the private/public space of the lobbies of the wealthy. What comes through is that doormen take their jobs seriously; tenants, always tentative, feel that they are judged by what they do when they really do not know what to do. Let DOORMEN open the way.
