5 comments about Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides: New York (Eyewitness Travel Top 10).

1. I've used this guide several times on trips to NY and it is absolutely terrific. Pocketable, beautifully illustrated, wonderfully organized. We went to two of the restaurants recommended and were totally pleased. Very easy to use and filled with useful information. Will add a lot to a visit.



2. I visited NYC for the first time a few weeks ago. I took only three books about this city with me: this guide, the "Lonely planet NYC Guide", and "The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide". Truth to be told, this guide is probably the only one I couldn't have done without.
   
   "Top 10 New York" is an extremely useful small guide that doesn't have as much information as the "Lonely planet NYC Guide", but that has the essentials, and excellent fold out maps in color that are more easily understandable than those of other guides. I would like to highlight the fact that even though I am very absent minded, I could easily find my way in NYC thanks to those maps. And if I can, everybody will be able to do that!
   
   From my point of view, this guide is ideal for those tourists that don't have a lot of time, and want to see as much as possible during their visit to NYC (specifically Manhattan), if possible without a tourist guide. "Top 10 New York" points out quite a few places you simply must go to in the city, but also tells you about different neighbourhoods, and their history. There are many photos in color that help you to decide what you want to do, and historic data that allows you to learn about this city.
   
   Moreover, most visitors will find the insider tips for tourists helpful, and the planned walks and itineraries a good option. Other useful sections in this guide are, for example, "Best shopping districts", "Best hotels for every budget" (I found my hotel through Internet, though), "Best restaurants in each area" and "Most fun places for children". What is more, "Top 10 New York" is almost pocket-sized, so you can carry it with you everywhere, even if your purse is tiny (not my case!), or if you have bought too many things and your handbag is rather heavy (yes, that often happens to me).
   
   All in all, I am very happy I bought this guide, and I strongly recommend it to you :)
   
   Belen Alcat



3. Great subway map! Just don't forget to read the signs in the subway, some trains only run certain days/times. AND if I remember correctly PATH is not really in the book.



4. For those traveling to New York City this is an essential guide to bring with you. The restaurant recommendations are top notch. The maps are detailed and a pocket subway guide is always helpful. Whether you are going in for a week or a weekend this is the guide you want to carry with you when you are out and about. You may want to use another guide if you are going in for a longer period of time for planning purposes but again this is the one you want to carry with you when you are in the city.



5. I have spent some time in NYC before but had always been with a city resident and hadn't ever needed a guide. But when the opportunity came about for my husband and I to spend a long weekend there, I absolutely took it. I love the city (in small doses, couldn't ever live there), but hadn't ever had a chance to do any touristy stuff. So I read some reviews and picked up this guide.
   
   I spent a few days reading over it, and after my trip, I would say it's a great guide if you don't know what you want to do, or how to structure your days, because it has very specific suggestions for stuff like that. It has a section for each part of the city, at the end of which is a run down on a sample day one could spend in that neighborhood.
   
   But as far as a comprehensive while-you're-there guide? I wish I had gotten Not For Tourists. This was a great planner, and had street and subway maps that were incredibly useful, but when you're looking for a bookstore nearby to kill an hour? Nada. Also, because of the setup of the book (chock full of Top Ten lists, duh), it jumps around a lot. One museum is mentioned in four different places, and vital information is only on one of those pages, but from the index there's no way to tell which one of those pages has something important like the hours of the place, for example, so you have to check every page.
   
   Again, great for planning, less great for a carry-along for your trip.

No comments about The Vegan Guide to New York City 2008 (Vegan Guide to New York City).

3 comments about New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches.

1. This book was a delight to read. The fact that it was written as a first person account, using the vernacular of the time, made it even better. Also, the fact that the majority of the book is involved with nocturnal New York, and all the seedy goings-on one might associate with it in any time period, make it even more interesting. I especially liked the way Foster evoked a sense of adventure, by figuratively taking the readers hand and "leading" him down darkened streets and alleys, etc.

   For a quick dose of NYC history from a perspective you can't get everywhere else, this book is highly recommended.




2. Stuart Blumin has done a brilliant job of capturing the essence of George Foster's contemporaneous accounts of New York as he presented it, in "New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches". By that I mean that this collection of "sketches" are not to be taken as literal accounts. This is not a history. George Foster was one of the acknowledged kings of sensationalism when it came to writing about mid-19th century New York City.

   While the Five Points neighborhood was a crime-ridden, filthy neighborhood, its depiction in Foster's accounts are highly exaggerated. And while crime was an unavoidable element of a New York which, at the time, had no real police force, Foster's essays would lead one to believe that merely walking down the street--any street--was an invitation to mayhem. This was not true then, nor is it now. So why did he write these sketches? Why did he make Manhattan seem so undesirable? Because there was a profit to be made. Affluent New Yorkers bought these types of books to make themselves feel better about their own situations, and it offered them a bit of voyeurism into a dark world that was a part of their island. It also proved popular with people in other cities, as they could read about the terrors of a New York City that was cluttered with "filthy immigrants", criminals and chaos. And George Foster played it to the hilt!

   If you can put aside the over-the-top stuff, however, there is much to be learned in these pages. The streets of lower Manhattan were congested, they did smell (think of the wild pigs or of the countless horses that were relied upon for transportation), and the misery of the slums was a given, if you were poor. Foster's language is also an undeniable historic artifact, as it captures the idioms of the day.

   For my money, the more historic sketches are in the second half of this collection, the streaks of "sunlight". Here Foster presents a handful of vignettes of every day life in the growing city. "The Eating-Houses" is a delightful look at how ordinary men and women took their meals. And the "Quarter of an Hour under an Awning" is so lucid, so cleanly written--even with its pickpocket story--that it is the most "real feeling" essay in the book. The sudden storm that breaks out during the afternoon rush hour, the inablility to catch an omnibus (bus) or a hack (taxi) rings true to this day. At times, on my lunch hour, I walk by the street corner near City Hall where this quarter of an hour passed, and can watch it all transpire in my head. With so many of the old buildings still extant in that area, it's easy to do.

   "New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches" is a marvelous book about a by-gone era in New York's history, as well as a great insight into the sensational sensationalist that George Foster was.

   Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points and The Five Points Concluded




3. After suffering through the prolonged editor's remarks trying to fruitlessless explain Foster's life, go to the real meat of this book. Mr. Foster gives you an insider's look into New York City in the middle of the 19th century. Perhaps he exaggerates some points, but his writing style is rivetting and exceptionally funny for a 19th century author. A must-read!

1 comments about Appalachian Trail Guide to New York-New Jersey.

1. If the reader is really serious about hiking the A.T., specifically the N.Y. /N.J. section, this book, along with the 6 very detailed maps that come with it, will be a tremendous help, with all the relevant information all packed into a (large)pocket-sized paperback.
   In addition to very interesting facts behind the history and the beginnings of the AT, the information found in this book will guide you, almost hold your hand along the trail and, it will then be up to you to listen to the wisdom, advice and warnings found here or, ignore them and find out -the hard way- why only 10% of the people who attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail will finish it in a year.
   Where can you find water?; where are you not allowed to camp?; is it safe to hike alone?;can you take your dog with you? (NO!). Statistically speaking, did you know that you will be safer hiking the entire A.T., than walking the streets of most large american cities?
   These and many other topics, too numerous to mention here, are dealt with in this volume.
   Having all of that information ahead of time will make it (just a little) easier to put on your backpack, lug your 3 liters of water needed daily, consume the 4000 calories of food needed every day and.....in about 6 months time you will have arrived at your destination, very tired, much thinner and, much wiser.

4 comments about Waterfalls and Gorges of the Finger Lakes.

1. I live within a hour or two of all these beautiful spots and am ashamed to have only visited a couple. We will use these gorgeous photos as a guidebook for the Spring, Summer and Fall to make certain we don't miss a one.

   Why did I think I have to travel far for scenery of this caliber.?




2. Splendid. The best of its kind. An exquisite ode to the subtle beauty of this region. This is a photographic essay of extraordinary depth, which whispers the gentle magic of upstate NY. Read it for the sheer love of nature and life, even if you are unfamiliar with this corner of the world.



3. While this is a book of wonderful travel photos that reveals the treasures in Upstaters' own backyards, it's more than that.
   Doeffinger also provides an 8-page introduction to the geology that created these beauties and the history of their discovery and preservation, plus 4 pages of detailed photographic information--he works at Kodak, for whom he writes photography books. And there's a detailed map section showing all the locations and information on 10 publicly-accessible sites. These include hiking difficulty and time, directions (many of these falls are within State Parks and none say just "at the back of the parking lot"), with special highlights to look for.
   I don't think it was meant to be anything beyond what it is: a handsome compilation of the somewhat homey pleasures that Upstate affords to day-trippers, family outings, and homesick ex-pats. It may be too poetic to be the scientific treatise Mordant1 was expecting, and apparantly not up to his photographic standards either, but he does offer some equally deep insights on modern music in his review of the latest Brittney Spears opus.



4. Excellent assortment of waterfall and gorge photos! Great photo composition and seasonal color were well planned into all of these shots. These photos are also great for painting or sewing landscape references which is why I purchased it, besides just loving waterfalls!
   
   Locations of the pictured waterfalls are certainly a bonus, but the pictures themselves are enough reason to own this book - very enjoyable!

2 comments about The Pratique Guide, Soho and NoLIta: Shopping Block by Block (Pratique Guides).

1. The two editions in this exciting new series are the "must-have" accessories for any New York shopping trip. The starred recommendations helped to maximize my time and I felt like I was living my own "sex in the city" experience! Any New York visitor that wants to feel like a local should pack these two on every trip.



2. The Practique Guide was my Bible during my weekend shopping trip to Soho. The map and descriptions were excellent, informative, and accurate. I highly recommend it for someone who is trying to maximize their shopping experience in a short period of time. Including restaurants was also really useful. The only important piece of information that it does not include are price ranges for the stores. Including a pricing key would better help those looking for designer bargains.

5 comments about Jenny Goes to Sea.

1. Copyright 1957. Jenny Linsky goes to sea at a time that was sweller than now, presuming you were a well-birthed white male or knew your place. Jenny knew her place. She has a member of the civilized Cat Club and no stanger to adventure. Look out for mysterious predictions, an epic poem, and the brave deed! Life was simpler then, and, frankly, I occasionally enjoy being spared the social redeeming values of more modern fiction. Pickles the fire cat even makes a cameo appearance. Averill's simple illustrations and charts nicely augment the short novel. A good read. The balance of Esther Averill's work as well as other publications by the New York Review Children's Collection are also worth looking into. Don't miss The Fire Cat. Enjoy.



2. I think Esther Averill's work takes me back to a more innocent age. As cliché as that sounds, it is true. Also, her books flawlessly combine two of my true loves: children's literature and cats!
   I'm not sure if I would refer to her illustrations as "art," nor to Ms. Averill as an artist. Her pictures are simple, two tone sketches, black lines and hatchings off set with an occasional splash of red. They are, however, somehow perfect and always endearing. There is nothing harmful and so much beautiful in the Cat Club books about shy Jenny Linsky and her friends, and still the little black cat with the soft red scarf travels the world and has great adventures.
   The use of words is perfect, and I think that Jenny Goes to Sea is the perfect read-aloud step between Winnie the Pooh and My Father's Dragon. If you start a child with shy but brave and honest heroes like Jenny, you can spark their sense of adventure without robbing them of their innocence. Yes, this is a children's book (Don't say I told you otherwise. Your teens and preteens want bolder works than the Cat Club), but it is a five star children's book. Treasure it!



3. Esther Averill, is the author of a wonderful series of children's books involving a small, shy black cat named Jenny Linsky, of which The School for Cats is one. This story, and all the others in this series are very sweet. They remind me of the other wonderful, classic children's stories such as the Beatrix Potter stories. While the Jenny Linsky stories were written in the 50's, I think children today would still find them very entertaining. Any parent or child who loves cats and cat stories will love these stories. This is a story that kids will want read to them over and over again.



4. My girls love all the Jenny Linsky adventures/stories. This one does not disappoint and is so well-written that it appeals to all ages.



5. After reading Esther Averill's The Fire Cat and Jenny and the Cat Club, my daughter has become an avid fan. She giggles at the tales of Jenny's adventures with her brothers and the other cat club friends. These are timeless tales which are perfect for early readers because the stories have enough depth to keep children interested but are simply told making them ideal for those starting to read on their own.

4 comments about 200 Waterfalls in Central and Western New York - A Finders' Guide.

1. "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY" is an especially well organized and presented recreational guide to a dazzling, beautiful, sometimes unexpected but always memorable assortment of natural waterfalls in NY. Maps, directions, time and effort required to reach them, as well as distinctive features of each waterfall are listed in this handy, convenient and highly practical vacationer's guide. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and planning to travel through the central and western regions of New York State, then begin planning your excursion's daily itinerary by browsing through the pages of Rich & Sue Freeman's "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY."
   The Midwest Book Review - Buhle's Bookshelf



2. Rich and Sue Freeman have come out with another must-have Finger Lakes guide book. This one, called "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY," is a well-done guidebook of accessible waterfalls complete with driving directions, access trails and photographs. Their descriptions include information and some historical notes. Whether a year round resident with out of town visitors or a summer resident, you will find this book a fine reference for area waterfalls. Mark this book as a good gift too.
   Leona Jensen, The Observer



3. 200 Waterfalls In Central & Western New York is an especially well organized and presented recreational guide to a dazzling, beautiful, sometimes unexpected but always memorable assortment of natural waterfalls in the New York area. Maps, directions, time and effort required to reach them, as well as the distinctive features of each waterfall are listed in this handy, convenient and highly practical vacationer's guide. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and planning to travel through the central and western regions of New York State, then begin planning your excursion's daily itinerary by browsing through the pages of Rich and Sue Freeman's 200 Waterfalls In Central & Western New York.



4. Well written book, nice to see Rich and Sue are doing well, I used to work with them at Eastman Kodak.

4 comments about The House of Arden (New York Review Children's Collection).

1. Two 10-year-olds are the last survivors of a long line of english aristocrats.The family castle lies in ruins, but the children are determined to restore it to its former glory with the help of the long-lost family treasure. The task seems daunting, but they soon discover there's some intricate, powerful magic in the family crest.. Subsequently the treasure hunt hurtles along at breathtaking pace. The magic includes frequent trips into the turbulent (and dangerous) times of England's feudal past to discover the exact time and place where the treasure was hidden.. This book and it's sequel (or prequel?!) "Harding's Luck" can't be recommended enough. They are children's classics of the nicest kind - not the least bit sirupy - but full of adventure and magic



2. One of the delightful things about this book is that it treats children as thinking beings, yet still manages to contain all of the magic and adventure of childhood. As in all of her work, E. Nesbit tells an exciting story while encouraging the reader to consider the meaning of things. One of the best books written by one of the best children's writers of all time.



3. I got this and "Hardings Luck" one christmas about twentyfive years ago. These stories have stayed with me throughout my adult life and I have never forgotten how I was swept away by the stories. These books are educational while being simply spellbinding...my imagination went wild, back then. Absolutely a must!



4. I was hoping to read this book to my 7 year old boy. It was heavy for him and somewhat slow. The book requires maturity and sophisticated vocabulary, somehow it does not fit the pace at which our kids live now.
   
   It certainly can be appreciated by an older, more mature kid, who loves the English language. It is beautifully written.

1 comments about Catskill Region Waterfall Guide.

1. A very good book that helped me discover some great places in the Catskills. Thanks to this book I was able to take some great photographs. The book is well written and gives directions, history, and advice to finding the waterfalls.