2 comments about Fodor's New York City 2006 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. The proof lies in eating the pudding. And, when it comes to reviewing and buying travel books on New York, there are so many titles that jostle for your attention that you have a difficult time trying to settle on one book. It is not uncommon to find yourself flitting from one title to another trying to figure out which one of these books will meet your needs. So, I went through an excruciating process before selecting this book. The book appears to cover all the basics, and is easy to navigate.
   
   My initial dekho and perusal of the book shows that it is compact, well written, and a handy one. The best way to use the book, as I see it is, is to keep this book as a reference, and use Google or other sites to create your travel plans.



2. I used this to travel to NY for the first time and it was great. It was also shipped fast.

No comments about Road Biking New York City (Road Biking Series).

No comments about Native's Guide to New York, Completely Revised and Updated 3rd Edition: 750 Ways to Have the Time of Your Life in the City (Native's Guide to New York).

5 comments about The Vegan Guide To New York City (Vegan Guide to New York City).

1. The Vegan Guide to New York City is a slender volume packed with information on vegan and vegan-friendly eating establishments throughout NYC, and is regularly updated.

   Each area of the city is taken seperately, with eateries rated according to quality and cost, and clearly labelled as vegan, vegetarian, or vegan-friendly. The book details restaurants, diners, take-outs, and even food-carts, and is the clearest guide to eating vegan in NYC that I have found. At the back of the book is a short index of vegan shops in the city.

   Well worth the price, and well worth taking on every trip to the city. For vegans, it is indispensible.




2. I have been buying Rynn Berry's Vegan Guide since before I was a vegan; I own at least five previous editions of it, and it has grown - from a 50-page pamphlet to nearly 100 pages - with each successive edition. I call it incomparable because it's so far the only guide that concentrates exclusively on vegan restaurants and products.
   
   Of course, the number, quality, and variety of vegan offerings in New York City has grown and continues to grow; Rynn was unable to include by press time certain vegetarian restaurants in this latest edition. It is arranged according to geographic area - naturally concentrating on Manhattan, which has the most restaurants of all the boroughs, never mind vegetarian restaurants. He also includes listings for restaurants in Brooklyn and Queens, although his "cutoff" is that he won't list restaurants that serve any meat or fish. Two notable omissions according to this rule are Souen, the venerable macrobiotic restaurant in Greenwich Village, and Chin Chin Palace in Staten Island, a conventional Chinese restaurant which nonetheless has a full page in its menu of excellent vegan dishes. There are, at this writing, only listings for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in the Guide, but that could very well change for the next edition.
   
   The size (5.5 x 7.25) of the book makes it easy to carry along, which I failed to do on those instances I needed to know the address of the Candle Cafe (glowingly reviewed in the Vegan Guide); fortunately I fiinally got there. In this latest edition, there is more attention than ever paid to vegan products (bodycare, clothes, shoes); I saw an article yesterday stating that veganism was now a $2.8 billion-dollar market - no surprise there. People are slowly realizing that eating flesh is an increasingly risky proposition; plus, with designers like Stella McCartney and boutiques like MooShoes, it's trendier than ever to be a vegan.
   
   I fully expect the size of the next edition to grow, and since all listings are updated whenever necessary - every edition is as up-to-date as it can be by press time. Certain restaurants have been removed from the Guide if they were included in early editions and became too "egregiously" non-vegetarian; in my neighborhood - the East Village - almost every restaurant wants to describe itself as "vegan-friendly," and I guess that if you serve plain tossed salad, you can be considered vegan-friendly, too.
   
   I continue to buy this book every year because it always contains surprises for me, and it's a valuable reference tool. A lot of people buy it as a gift for their vegan friends, stating that "they're afraid to come to New York because they won't know where to eat." What could be more fun than a vegan eating tour? Count me in!



3. This book is a good resource for listing the names of vegetarian places that also are accomodating for vegans. It's small and easy to carry. But that is about where the positives for this book end. Places will be marked [ve], meaning that only vegan food is served, and then the description of the place mentions how the food is not vegan (then why mark the restaurant as vegan in the first place?). This doesn't even begin to note the places that I have been to that are *not* in actuality vegan, but are listed as such, without these warnings. Hours are often incorrect, and the prices listed for each place are often completely out of whack with reality.
   
   I've seen consistently in the Vegan community an attitude akin to "If it's vegan friendly, it must be good". It's really disappointing, because it conveys the sense that we don't expect the same quality from our vegan-friendly products that we expect from conventional ones. That attitude is really exemplified in the positive reviews for this book. There is no reason we can't have the same quality for vegan products as for conventional guides. If Zagat can put together a book that at least gets its facts straight, then so can the authors of this guide.



4. I visit New York City every summer and always pick up the latest copy of the guide from the St. Marks Bookstore. It's a small book that is easy to carry when searching for one of the choices listed within. I have found it to be accurate and the guide lists only the newest restaurants and de-lists the ones from last year's version that are no longer in business.



5. Found this guide while visiting the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (beautiful, by the way) and was excited to try out the vegan restaurants in New York and Brooklyn, especially the North Williamsburg area of Brooklyn where I was staying. The guide was great for checking different neighborhoods and knowing what my options where, however when it came to the food 95% of the time I completely disagreed with the author. Maybe we just have different tastes or the cooking styles may have changed since publication, but I was very disappointed. By the way, my favorite restaurant was Wild Ginger on Bedford. Yum Yum Yum.

No comments about Walks in Nature's Empire: Exploring the Nature Conservancy's Preserves in New York State (Backcountry Guides).

4 comments about Lots New York City Parking Guide.

1. This book is very cool. It has around 100 color-coded maps that compare garages based on price. All you have to do is flip to the neighborhood you are parking in and it will immediately tell you which garages are the most expensive and which are the cheapest :)
   
   Another great thing about the book is that you know where all the garage locations are so you know exactly where to park. One of the most frustrating things I've experienced as an NYC driver is pulling into a garage 4 blocks from my destination because I don't know if there is a garage closer to where I'm going. When I get to where I have to be I realize there was a garage across the street and it was cheaper to park in!



2. Don't Drive in NYC without it!
   Driving through Manhattan's over 1000 garages is one of the most stressful experiences. You don't know if you're getting ripped off until you pull into the garage, and by then it's too late to back out because there are 2 cars behind you (I'm sure all NYC motorists have experienced this). Having LOTS in your glove-box eliminates this problem since it lets you know where the garages are and how much it will cost you to park. I was also impressed at how easy it was to use. You would think that a book that has anything you could possibly want to know about 1000 garages (rates, locations, address, phone number, specials, etc.) would be confusing, but it is actually very simple. It never takes me more than a minute to know where to park, and the first time I used it I saved the price of the book.



3. I am a commuter from Connecticut and drive in to the city at least once or twice a week (for meetings). Parking is a real killer, as I have meetings all over the city and never really know where to park. My wife used to give me a hard time about how much I spend on parking and bought me this book so I would spend less. At first I was reluctant and I didn't understand how to use it very well, but as soon as I read the "how to" it was a breeze. Now my wife is happy because I spend less parking and I am happy because it is one less thing to worry about when I know where to park. Anyone who drives to the city knows that a bad parking experience can ruin a day.



4. I find that this manual is very easy to follow. This past week I have saved over $30 in parking, so I was compelled to write this review. Anyone who has ever driven in the city will appreciate this guide.

1 comments about Inside-Outside New York.

1. The "Inside-Outside Book of New York City" features interior and exterior views of some of New York's famous landmarks. For instance, there is the Statue of Liberty, subway at Times Square, New York Stock Exchange, and the American Museum of Natural History.
   
   It was first written and published over twenty years ago so the pictures may not be up-to-date, as some of these landmarks have since been renovated and improved.
   
   The pages contain a caption of each landmark. However, there are no descriptions. A person who wishes to learn more about these fascinating sites is advised to find an alternate resource to satisfy their curiosity.

No comments about Spotlight on Midtown Manhattan City Slicker.

5 comments about Wild New York: A Guide to the Wildlife, Wild Places, and Natural Phenomenon of New York City.

1. Excellent writing. Takes you back to very beginning of New York before man and lets your imagination take over to give you a very different historical perspective. The Michener style without the fictional story line. Terrific reading. Read it in one sitting. You will view New York with a different eye after reading Wild New York



2. Margaret Mittelbach's books is an excellent description of the one side of New York City that no one really knows about, the natural side. The graphics are excellent, providing brief and complete tidbits about the different time periods of New York City's geological and natural history. It is written wonderfully with a sense of humor and keeps the readers attention at all times. In addition, you come away pleased with the new and complete knowledge this book provides about New York City. The walking tours are clear and concise making the reader want to go on one of the walks immediately. Finally, the book design both on the cover and within the book, grabs the readers attention and keeps it throughout the reading of the book. Overall, I would recommend this book not only as a guide book for the natural side of New York but as an extremely informative and fascinating read.



3. Skip the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty! Mittelbach and Crewdson know their stuff and their share it in all the fun and interesting details you could want. This is the "big apple" down to the core. I used to live in New York and was excited when this book came out.



4. This book is a must have for anyone who has ever lived in or visited New York. It is extremely well-written, witty, and as well it is filled with interesting facts about New York.



5. This is, hands-down, the best book I've found yet on the non-concrete parts of this concrete jungle I call home. The illustrations are 1st rate, the maps are very helpful, and the travel directions even help you get there --- like most New Yorkers would --- by public transit. All five boroughs are included, and the book is chock full of tasty morsels about the City's natural side.

   Whether a native New Yorker or visiting from out of town, if you have the interest or the inkling to find hundred foot trees, tidal pools, salt marshes, Native American caves, hilltop vistas, or even just learn which wildflowers grow between the sidewalk slabs or which trees are tough enough to stand up to the stress of city life, this book is for you.

1 comments about New York, You're a Wonderful Town!: Fifty-Plus Years of Chronicling Gotham.

1. New York, the 'city that never sleeps', receives a wide-eyed celebration with Henrik Krogius' New York You're A Wonderful Town! a photographic treat representing the author's own 50 years of fascination with New York. Much more than a coffee table presentation, however, New York You're A Wonderful Town! adds Krogius' own prose to supplement the striking black and white shots: the result being a history of change and a celebration of New York's lifestyles and courses of history.