Just Kids

Patti Smith’s memoir of her years with Robert Mapplethorpe in late-1960s and 1970s New York — the Chelsea Hotel, the poverty, and two people deciding to be artists before either had made anything. National Book Award, 2010.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “best history book” thread. Not history in the academic sense, but the best first-hand record of a scene that has since been thoroughly mythologised.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @typesfast asking “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet).

Page count omitted — catalog records conflict across editions.

Connections

• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• New York City — the setting.