Square Root of a Fallen Arch is the true story of growing up in old New York, circa 1916""1929. It is based on a collection of written memories and is told from the perspective of its narrator, William Loeffler Jr., whom we meet at six years of age. Thus the book covers the period from just before World War I through the roaring twenties and prohibition, all these providing a continuing reference point throughout the narrative. Square Root of a Fallen Arch is very much a coming of age story. While humorous and immediate, the motif running through the story shows a wistful and touching awareness of slow erosion in the narrator's known world and the emergence of a new, more modem version. It is important to note that William is not quite so sure that this emergence is really progress. Still through by bookend, the city William knew as a young boy is very different place. He's analyzed the reasons and his life (and that of the city) does go on. Therefore, the working title, The Arch in Washington Square Park (with which the book begins and ends), is a symbolic of a world fallen and replaced by another. William's view of life is loving, original, funny, ethnic, poignant, historical, and rich with the lore of New York City. His characters are fully drawn and their circumstances real and vivid, and the pictures his words evoke are of a New York City that literally no longer exists. Mr. Loeffler's wish before dying was to have his memories transformed into a memorial to the city. This is the spirit in which this manuscript is offered.