Leica ambassador photographer Phil Penman understands New York City as a 'kind of living thing in itself' - a creature of unrelenting motion and metamorphosis and a thing of serendipitous beauty. For over two decades, he has kept his fingers on the pulse of the city, pounding the pavement on the frenzied streets as a portraitist of local personalities, fine art photographer documenting the sublime cityscape, and a paparazzo, chasing stars who circulate through the world's greatest city from around the globe.

From undercover snaps of Michael Jackson to a highspeed race against law enforcement for Britney Spears, Penman's personal anecdotes and unfiltered insights take readers behind the flashing lights, offering insider access into the mad-dash lives of the paparazzi. With years of hunting down the celebrity buzz all around New York City, Penman has also witnessed and documented all that the city has to offer, from its majestic urban geography to the colourful locals and their unapologetic idiosyncrasies. From the mundane to the sublime, the grime and glamour, Street profiles the citizens, celebrities, and the city itself with an artist's eye, taking readers out to the centre of the action in the city that never sleeps.