5 comments about Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive.

1. I first saw photographs from this collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who entered the gallery was immediately struck by a panorama of ground zero on one wall, each emitting an audible gasp, then standing before it for several minutes in silence. Meyerowitz is an extremely gifted photgrapher, and I recommend other of his collections for viewing. Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz, Tuscany: Inside the Light: Inside the Light (Photography). The "Aftermath" collection is the only archive of the activities following 9/11 at ground zero, and it is quite moving. Meyerowitz had access to many vantage points to capture for posterity the many facets of ground zero and this tragic event in our history. Viewing these photos takes time and thought, as Meyerowitz has also included brief descriptions and stories about each photograph. You will be struck by many emotions, sadness, anger, shock, and awe. But, there is an eeriness and a beauty, as well as hope in these photographs, inspired by the photographer's exquisite eye for detail, composition, lines, faces, and light. Photographers, professional and amateur alike, will deeply appreciate and learn from these aspects. Anyone to whom I have shown this book has been as immensely moved as I, from the UPS driver who delivered the package, to my father, a refugee of WWII, who still cannot speak easily of the events of 9/11. This book is highly recommended as an addition for one's library.



2. Meyerowitz his taken a step out of his usual repetoire in making these remarkable photographs. He has provided us with a devastating and incredibly imporant record of all that transpired in the Aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. We have been staurated with images of the event itself; what we see here is the heroic and painstaking recovery work that followed.



3. Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
   Book received in perfect sealed condition,would use this seller again in a heartbeat



4. I bought this book for my dad for Christmas. He is a history nut and thought he would enjoy it. The pictures were phenomonial and eerie. He has not put it down yet. It was definately the best present he received this year. Amazon was half of what the bookstore in the mall wanted. Would definately purchase from them again.



5. I was on top of the World Trade Center about 3 years before they came down. I first found this book in the mall, I sat down and started looking through it and it made me cry. I enjoyed looking at it then I looked at the price tag and decided it was just to much right now. When I got home later I decided I would check it out on Amazon and found it for about half price. I could have bought it for less but I didn't want a used one and I was thrilled that I could get it for the price I did. I ordered it and received it a few days later. I have enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures.
   I am married to a soldier, and it just helps you remember why we are still at war.

5 comments about Pauline Frommer's New York City (Pauline Frommer Guides).

1. Having grown up in Manhattan but not lived there in 20 years, I was thrilled to find a NYC guidebook that not only provides excellent suggestions for enjoying NY to its utmost, but also gives really interesting historical/landmark information. It's well-written and engaging and a must-have for people who live in or out of the Big Apple. Kudos to Pauline Frommer!



2. I purchased three guide books in anticipation of a recent trip to NYC. After reviewing all three, I sent the other two back. This was the only guide book that I needed for a great visit to the city. The restaurant ratings were great, detailing reasonably priced restaurants that the locals frequent. The lodging B&B information was great too although I had already made my reservations before buying the book (the hotel I had picked turned out to be favorably reviewed in the book). The sightseeing and shopping sections and the getting around the city sections were right on and, besides saving us time and money, steered us to the best things to see and do for a limited stay. It is nice to have a guide book written by a local resident who really knows her way around the city!



3. I have been to NYC twice and picked up this guidebook in anticipation of my third trip to New York. I have not actually brought this book with me to NYC yet, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the best one out there. It has tons of ideas on how to visit the best places for the least amount of money. I probably saved a couple hundred just on tickets to shows and museums alone by using the tips in her book. I can't imagine traveling anywhere else without the help of Pauline. It truly is an amazing book. I particularly love the Accomodations section and The Essentials of Planning section. The only other book I would get to take on your trip is a good old trusty map. I personally recommend the Knopf Mapguides. With these two in tow, you're ready to hit the city and "Spend less, see more."



4. One of the best guides on New York city. It does not list places like a typical travel guide! It gives you a good local's low-down on this city that can intimidate an outsider!



5. You can't go wrong with this guide. The challenge for NYC, which is overwhelming in size, offerings, activities, etc. is how to figure out what you most want to do where, and what is worth your money and what isn't. This guide offers comprehensive, practical, cost-effective suggestions, whether you are a newcomer to the city or a regular visitor. What I really appreciate is the emphasis on what NOT to waste your money on (any transportation other than the subway), any of those double-decker bus guided tours, etc. And of course there are inexpensive must-dos: the Staten Island Ferry, shopping in Chinatown, walking tours, etc. Investing in this book will save you money every time you go to NYC, and I always bring it with me.

2 comments about Backcountry Skiing Adventures: Vermont and New York: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Vermont and New York.

1. A superbly presented compendium of two dozen classic ski and snowboard tours throughout the states of Vermont and New York, David Goodman's Backcountry Skiing Adventures offers the best routes, equipment and backcountry riding tips; topographic maps and photos for each tour; information on avalanche awareness, winter camping, gear, safety, and first aid. This absolutely user friendly outdoor guide is a "must" for anyone planning a skiing or snowboarding excursion in Vermont or New York. Also very highly recommended is the other title in this outstanding Appalachian Mountain Club "Backcountry Skiing Adventures" series: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Maine and New Hampshire.



2. This is a great book if you are looking for a guide to some of the best cross country and telemark trails, however since i was looking for more of a downhill backcountry guide, this is not really what i was looking for, but it is still a very informative and well written book.

1 comments about Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage (New York Review Books Classics).

1. This collection of 14 shorter pieces by Tim Robinson, mathematician, teacher, artist and cartographer, gives a portrait of the west of Ireland which is unrivalled in recent writing from that country. Its' integrating device, and central metaphor, is the map. A map, stripped bare, is a distillation of topographical knowledege about an area. Onto this rudimentary two-dimensional scaffolding layer after layer of detail can be added. These are the details of culture, of history, personal memory. Robinson navigates the process of regarding a landscape with the notion of the fractal -- the notion of self-similar structures at multiple levels of observation (in "A Connemara Fractal"). He enjoyably talks us through the technical details of making maps, and has some wonderful stories of his mathematical training. I will not attempt to summarize the various chapters but would urge all those interested in landscape, biography, Irish history, coastal walks, fractal theory, natural history archaeology, literary fiction, and "home" (and that, I suppose, includes just about everyone) to read this. In a time when many find themselves living at some distance from their homeplace this book shows how a fresh intimacy with new landscapes can enrich and invigorate. As an Irish emigrant I am both compelled to return to Ireland after reading this and yet am encouraged to persevere in understanding of my new homeplace in the United States. I have loaned this book to friends in Costa Rica, in the American Northwest, and here in Georgia. All have felt its power. It should stimulate the reader to get his larger works on the Aran Islands. Be warned however these books, the present one included, eccentric masterpieces, will make you want to crumble soil between your fingers, circum-navigate your local terrain, and fumble into the interstices of your jaded soul. Liam Heneghan (heneghan@sparc.ecology.uga.edu; Athens, GA)

3 comments about Hidden New York: A Guide to Places That Matter.

1. There are many, many NYC guide books but this one is unique in celebrating the places that matter to ordinary New Yorkers. I am sure there are hidden treasures and heroes that sadly have gone uncelebrated in every community. The book is well written, organized and graphically appealing. The research is compiled from information gathered from oral histories with real New Yorkers whose hidden achievements would otherwise go unrecognized.



2. Every week, it seems, someone writes from the country beyond the Hudson River to announce a visit to New York.
   
   "What shall I do?" you ask. "What should I see?"
   
   It's a funny request: Because I live uptown, in a lovely, quiet neighborhood that you probably wouldn't want to visit and I never want to leave, I rarely go to what you may think of as "New York."
   
   Still, I muster a list. Soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. Cafe con leche and flan at La Taza de Oro. Avoid everything in Little Italy. Ditto Times Square. Ditto just about any play/musical on Broadway. Seek out downtown music clubs. Stroll the newly hip Lower East Side. Have a brisket or pastrami sandwich, washed down by Dr. Brown's Cream Soda, at Katz's Deli. Don't overlook the Frick Museum. Like that.
   
   My list has a bias. I can do without anything big, corporate or hyped --- as a general rule, if you've heard of it, I probably don't like it. My preference is for the small, authentic, ethnic. The New York that was. The New York that's threatened daily by the incessant march of gentrification.
   
   Someday --- maybe someday soon --- the New York I cherish will be gone. Manhattan will become Manhattanland, a destination for foreign tourists who are drawn by American media and, even more, the puny American dollar. The residents will be hedge fund titans and media moguls and the upper echelons of those who serve them. The new, the interesting, the ethnic --- you'll find them in the Outer Boroughs and in New Jersey.
   
   But let's not look too far into the crystal ball. There's good news. Marci Reaven and Steve Zeitlin --- who direct a fine site called City Lore --- have pulled together a thick (360 page) paperback of the city's overlooked gems. And more: Their team of writers dug in and did actual reporting, so we not only get directions to some hidden pockets of interest, we get the back story.
   
   They get all the low-hanging fruit: the arches of Grand Central Station just outside the Oyster Bar where a whisper can richochet to a distant pillar, the "Imagine" memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, the pickup basketball game at 6th Avenue and West 3rd Street, Arthur Avenue.
   
   But they also lead you to places I've never heard about, and I've lived here since...oh....I vaguely recall Abe Lincoln's speech at Cooper Union. Like the Hua Mei Bird Garden, in Chinatown, where Chinese men spend their mornings tending rare singing birds. To the casual bystander, it's just guys standing around. Read the history of this garden and the Hua Mei birds before you head downtown, and you'll go home with an experience a lot more interesting to hear about than the latest revival of a grizzled musical.
   
   Many of the selections involve field trips to the Outer Boroughs. And I know, it's not likely that you'll want to hike out to Queens to be served by Pete Benefaremo, "the lemon ice king of Corona." But there are more than enough hidden treasures to keep you hopping around Manhattan. And won't you feel special when you tell your pals, "Meet me at the Cube."
   
   What cube? Why, the one right near the lamppost that Jim Power is decorating with tile. You don't know about "the mosaic trail"? Gee, where you been --- Times Square?



3. This is a great book that shows how to get to the places I would like to visit on my vacation. It shows the subway stops and why the places are interesting. Great book

No comments about Fodor's Flashmaps New York City, 9th Edition: The Ultimate Map Guide/Find it in a Flash (Flashmaps).

3 comments about Michelin Green Guide New York City (Michelin Green Guide: New York City English Edition).

1. 
   I had an older version of this guide when I lived in NYC. It was great. That was 30 years ago. I'm going back next week. After reviewing all the guide books, I still find this one the most useful. Wish me a good trip.



2. I purchased the Michelin Green Guuide New York City after borrowing it from the library several times. It was a worthwhile purchase, if only for the subway map. It gives a tourist all the information he/she needs to plan a trip to NYC, how to chose places to see, subway information and restaurant suggestions in the area of the attraction. The other plus about this guide is the shape, which fits into the pocket of cargo shorts or into a tote bag.



3. My husband bought me this guide as a gift for my first trip to New York. I must say that I could not have gotten along without it. Even though my traveling companion had been to Manhattan several times - she even lived there for a period - we were constantly consulting the manual. In particular, the subway map and the map of Central Park were very helpful. As an infrequent traveler, I also found it useful to have the expected gratuities spelled out of me.
   
   I will continue to use the guide to help me sort and identify the many photographs I've taken during my trip.
   
   This is a very valuable tool and the best of the many guidebooks I've come across.

5 comments about A Goodfella's Guide to New York: Your Personal Tour Through the Mob's Notorious Haunts, Hair-Raising Crime Scenes, and Infamous Hot Spots.

1. As the other reviewers point out, this is another shameless attempt by Henry Hill to profit from the hard work of others, namely Martin Scorsese, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci. Any one with a minimal knowledge of organized crime could have written this book. Henry Hill makes the following insightful comments, "New York has four seasons and five crime families." "The worst trip to NYC is if you don't come back (alive)." "If you mispronounce Houston Street, you'll get whacked." Oh yes, Mr. Hill, the SoHo and Village residents will definitely kill when a tourist thrusts such a heinous indignity upon them. Complementing stories that aren't even up to New York Post standards are quite possibly the worst photographs I have ever seen. Photographs include the following: nightclubs at 10am with the shutters closed, an abandoned factor that could be anywhere in the US, a chain link fence at the end of a road, and surveillance shots of fatuously inflated lowlifes hanging around a junkyard. The unfortunate thing about this book is that it could be good. A serious book about the mob by one of its members could very possibly give insight to the rest of us. This is not that book. In Hill speak, other mobsters should have him `whacked' for embarrassing them since readers may assume the average mob mind is as weak as his.



2. I loved this book.
   
   It's really easy to read, nicely researched and great fun.
   
   Recommended...



3. I didn't read this book until i was in new york, and i spend the whole morning druising around manhattan with it in hand.
   
   it's funnier than other stuff henry has done- much lighter, but a great read nonetheless.



4. I reccommend all tourist to NY have this book so not to miss all the great historical sites clearly provided in the book!



5. Very well written. but if a guy like me, who would be interested of going to check some of the places out. Being that I am in military, I am going to planning to take a vacation and go check this out.

5 comments about Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States: Maryland Pennsylvania New Jersey New York (Exploring the Appalachian Trail).

1. There are many books about the AT, but this one is superb for it's detail and attention to partial sections for hiking. Can be used for thru hiking as well. Gives day and overnight parking details, profile of terrain, degree of difficulty, recommended direction, water and shelter locations, topo maps, mileage etc. Everything that a hiker needs!! Excellent.



2. It is clear that these authors were not kidding when they stated that they have a love affair with the Appalachian Trail. The descriptions not only cover all you need to know to be prepared to hike a certain section, but there's lots of history and local color as well.

   I've used this book successfully to plan hikes for a youth group. I must admit I disregarded the advice that a certain section (Knife's Edge) was not for those suffering from vertigo and sure enough, the group of kids I took on this section included one who suffered severely from fear of heights. But the kids worked together to get through that section and all was very well in the end.

   This book is by no means dry. Sprinkled here and there are humorous passages, like the classification of vampire rocks versus jumping rocks. A pollution-damaged section is described as "shaved clean."

   An experienced hiker who has decided to hike section-hike or day-hike the trail between Harper's Ferry and the New York / Connecticut state line needs no other guide. I also recommend this book for the library of every youth group, particularly scouts, in this geographic area that would (or should) plan hiking outings as part of their yearly plans.




3. PLEASE NOTE: THERE are NOT 170 hikes in the book. The whole series must contain that many.
   
   I own 3 books in this series. The Southern Appalachian, the Virginias, and the Mid-Atlantic States guide. I have found these books to be a great aid in planning hikes, especially 2-3 day backpacking trips. Since most of these hikes are either one-way or round trip (as opposed to circuit hikes) you either need to have two cars or plan on seeing the same sites twice. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but other books have better circuit hikes.
   
   This series IS very informative, not only with regards to the actually hike, but also the history both natural and otherwise of the area you are hiking in.
   
   I have only done a few of the hikes in the Mid-Atlantic Guide, all of which have been out and back day hikes, and this book has been very informative during these hikes. The maps could be a little better, as they are topographocal maps with a green line for the trail.. They are adequate, but I've seen better.
   
   All 41 hikes come with a description, a map, an elevation profile, and an itinerary, as well as various other information.
   
   When planning for a hike I do tend to use this book in conjunction with other books, but I usually take this book (or copies of the pages) on the actual hike itself. The fact that the pages are so small allows for easier handling and storage of the laminated pages during the trip.
   
   So if you enjoy hiking and are near the AT while in PA, you may want to take a look at this book. It is well worth the money.



4. I have 2 books in this series, and have frequently used photocopied pages from them on my AT section hikes. I never needed to buy the AMC versions of the maps since comprehensive maps are provided within this book, along with mileage charts for road crossings, springs, campsites, landmarks, etc. for every section of the Trail.
   
   Although this book is obviously geared for the day-hiker or overnighter, it has also come in handy on my longer hikes. And the writers have narrowed down every section into either 1- or 2-day hikes, along with directions to the trailheads (even in the remote 100-Mile Wilderness section in Maine!), proving that the AT can be enjoyed by casual hikers as well as hardcore mile-crunchers.
   
   Cons: This book, and the others in the series, is seriously due for an updated edition. Lots has changed along the trail even in 8 years. (carrying up-to-date pages from the ALDHA Thru-Hikers' Companion is necessary to have the full info). Also, the maps are two-color, making certain features hard to read, i.e. roads are the same color as elevation markings.



5. This was a good buy has excellent material for hiking any of the areas along the AT. in Mid Atlantic.

3 comments about Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop New York: The Ultimate Guide for People Who Love to Shop (Born To Shop).

1. There is a problem with travel books in that they try to cover EVERYthing in a city. I like books that just tell me the best places to go for what I want.
   
   This book leans towards being a total reference, but offers the shopper plenty of options.
   
   The bargain shopper needs to know one thing - Century 21 next to the world trade center site. That is about where the unbelievable bargains end. Now you can save some money on the book and spend it on shopping
   
   One nicety about the book is that the author includes place to eat around the shopping.



2. The last edition of Born to Shop disappointed me becasue Suzy Gershman's interest seemed so narrow that the stores and places she liked were too far out of my range. In this edition she's made some changes. Cheap shopping is listed and the luxe, nowhere else except NYC stores are listed as well. She must have gotten some younger helpers because much to my delight the Sean Jean store and and Triple Five Soul shop are mentioned too. One thing I've always liked about the Born to Shop series is that the advice shows you how to get around town safely, how to buy quality and how to have a good time with as few hassles as possible. And don't think this book is just for women. In our last trip to NY my husband frequently consulted it and was very pleased with the directions and commentary.
   
   This book and Gerry Frank's guide are all you really need to take a weekend NYC trip.



3. I would love to be able to review this book, having just read Suzy's "C'est La Vie". However after a long conversation with a non English as a first language speaker, it was decided if I wanted the rest of my order I would have to forgo Born to Shop NY. Others, let me know if you were able to purchase this book and if it was helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!