1 comments about Finger Lakes Splendor.

1. I needed a picture book with minimal text to give to a non-english speaker showing them my home. Finally, I found it. It's hefty and thus expensive to ship, but it's worth it. A really nice balance of seasons, landscapes, people and places of western ny.

No comments about William Wegman: How Do You Get to MoMA QNS?.

4 comments about The Central Catskills: A Ranger's Guide to the High Peaks (Catskill Trails, Book 2).

1. I was going on a hike with some friends into the Catskills and they recommended this book. They were right on to tell me about this. I really liked the detail and the maps. It made more out of the hiking than I usually get. It is well written and easy to use. I think it would be a good book for anyone going to the Catskills.



2. This is a first-rate guide to hiking the Catskills. The author's detailed desciptions, plus maps, leave nothing to the imagination and give you the info you need to enjoy the terrain to the max.



3. Well written and informative. This is not only a trail guide but informs the reader of the history of the area



4. The Catskills are an underappreaciated area, but Edward Henry's work is doing a lot to help correct this. The trail guide is informative and in-depth beyond the levels of most guides. The book is readable from your favorite armchair as well as a great guide to have on the trail. Every hike I've taken has been awesome.

2 comments about The Destruction of Lower Manhattan.

1. You mean I don't have to pay $300 dollars for a used copy of this on auction? Great. That's what they've been selling for before this reissue. It's about time. I never thought I'd own a copy until now, without paying a small ransom.



2. These photographs were originally published in 1967 and at the time, they represented the norm for solid earnest photography. that is, the technique and understated design stood in service of the images. By the way, I've seen the actual photographs. The Museum of the City of New York just opened a show of these same images. So one reacts not to the photo but to the subject: these now long gone buildings, and the even older signs of a long past life (for example a calendar from 1951 on the wall of one of the shabby lofts).
   
   This work stands in sharp contrast to the current trend in photography .... a typical current show will feature large scale images, usually in color, always over printed. I will be standing in front of a life sized and unflattering portrait of a person - and wonder why the image was selected. After noting the skin texture (always more present than in life) I walk away with... nothing. Not so with these. I first saw this book in 1970 when in a sculpture class in Cooper Union. Although I had not seen the book in at least 25 years, I never forgot them.
   
   Buy the book - it will be one book you will look at for sure 25 years hence.

No comments about Historic Maps and Views of New York.

No comments about Woodall's New York, New England & Eastern Canada Campground Guide, 2008 (Woodall's New York, New England and Eastern Canada Campground Guide).

5 comments about At Sea in the City: New York from the Water's Edge.

1. City University of New York Professor Kornblum pays homage to what he describes as the New York archipelago. The full city consists mostly of three large islands, a bunch of small islands, and a peninsular. Professor Kornblum takes readers on a tour of the various waterways that tie the city together. Readers visit City Island off the Bronx Peninsular, Ellis and Liberty islands off lower Manhattan Island, and the Rikers Island Prison as well as several much smaller and less known rocks within the waterways. The author provides historical references and a crystal ball look into the future where nature in the present is fighting to regain a foothold from the vast urbanization. AT SEA IN THE CITY is an engaging look at the Big Apple from a different lens as the highways cross waters connecting the city such as the "byway" from Fulton St. in lower Manhattan to Fulton St. Brooklyn. Not just for natives, this is a wonderfully different perspective on New York that makes for a leisurely yet educational and enjoyable reading.

   Harriet Klausner




2. The author, a sociology professor at City University of New York, was raised in the Big Apple and has lived most of his life in the area. In 1979 he bought a 24-foot New England catboat, built on Cape Cod in 1910, and proceeded to fix it and sail it around the New York area.

   With this book he presents a portrait -- and sketchy history -- of the city from an angle few people know it. Structuring the story as a fairly continuous though interrupted sail from his home in Long Beach, around the southern tip of Rockaway and into Jamaica Bay, then into Upper New York Bay and the East River, and ultimately to Long Island Sound, Kornblum offers both close-up looks at the water and shoreline, and their past history.

   The approach is light and pleasant: Few stories -- whether of the freezing disaster of the privateer "Castel Del Rey" in New York harbor in 1704, knowledgeable black sailors impressed by the British Navy in the War of 1812 and jailed in England for refusing to serve against the US, various ferry disasters, or the vagaries of Robert Moses -- last more than a page or three. The only sections where Kornblum lingers are in Jamaica Bay (its environmental degradation and return), and the dockside concrete industry that built New York's towers and for which the author worked as a kid. Manhattan itself is quickly bypassed though given a loving nod, and there is no venturing into the Hudson side.

   In the typo sweepstakes, the book does all right, although it says "mechanical break" on p. 156 when "brake" was meant, and I believe I saw an unintended sentence fragment on p. 143. Most egregious, the great A.J. Liebling is identified on p. 103 as "Libeling" (though the name is correct in the bibliography)! A pity there apparently are youthful editors (I don't suppose there is such a thing as a proofreader in publishing anymore) who do not know this great journalist's work backward and forward.

   Another ominous development -- to this reader, anyway -- is that the lovely cover photograph is an unreal composite. Different photographers are credited for different portions of it. I find this vaguely disturbing.

   The writing is definitely four-star quality or better. Here's my favorite passage: "Up another shadowy bend stood two snowy egrets, with their outrageous yellow boots and platinum punk haircuts. How chic, these mudbank sushi bars. The egrets were spearing for sand bugs, moving along the edge of the marsh with the herky giant steps of students at a party stepping over empty beer cans."

   I give the book only three stars because it is slight. Probably an excellent gift for the average non-reader who happens to love sailing or New York City, or the casual reader who knows little about either, but I would have liked to know more.




3. This is the account of a sailboat cruise, but rather than crossing an ocean the author travels maybe 40 miles from home, into the maelstrom that is NY harbor. It's an interesting book, sort of, but I expected more history of the harbor, more about what the place is, and less of the author's personal experience.

   I expected the former thanks to a review in the NY Times, I think -- some newspaper, anyway -- that suggested it was less an ecological than an historical journey. Without this preconception, I probably would have liked the book more. If you're from NYC, it's worth a read, but there are many better sailing accounts if you want hairy-chested adventure, or to learn something about sailing in general. There are also better books about ecology of the shoreline.

   But the style is pleasant and the author seems like a man who would be an enjoyable sailing companion. That's worth three stars.




4. This is a delightful view of some of the Big Apple's waterfront. William Kornblum writes well, and I am pleased to meet the family, friends, and acquaintances of his journey. Having explored much of our city, and having studied many of the coasts from opposite shorelines, I nevertheless learned much from Kornblum's views from his catboat. I also enjoyed his flash-backs, particularly his days as a youth working at the Transit Mix dock. As another reader noted, the book has a few errors that should have been caught. The A train travels neither through The Bronx nor over Williamsburg Bridge (p. 91). In Red Hook, the parish school is within the Brooklyn diocese, not archdiocese (p. 122). When I find errors on topics I know well, I begin to worry that the publishing industry has a problem with fact-checking in non-fiction. Yet, I must say that this book is a thoroughly enjoyable meeting of humans, views, and story. I recommend this book as a gift.



5. I recommend this book, especially to those who know a little about New York City and about sailing. I like the writing style and the descriptions of New York as seen from the water.

1 comments about Adirondack Canoe Waters, North Flow.

1. No one knows the Northern Adirondack rivers and streams better than Paul Jamieson. Having lived nearly his entire life here, he brings forth a book that reads like a detailed guidebook combined with a personal diary. Nearly every canoable river is reviewed including details such as curves and bends, rock outcroppings, rapids, waterfalls and other unique geographical features. Heaped with historic stories of trappers, sportsmen and early environmentalists, Jamieson's prose reads like a personal letter of a dream vacation. Incredibly detailed, the author even breaks down sections of rivers to the tenth of a mile to make sure the canoeist misses nothing. Plenty of great black & white photos with hand drawn maps round out this great guide book. It is due to be re-released soon.

5 comments about The Curious Shopper's Guide to New York City: Inside Manhattan's Shopping Districts.

1. In case you didn't notice the dimensions listed, be warned - this book is tiny! The size of your palm. At first I was disappointed, as it is fairly odd in size and content. But when I started looking through it I found it very interesting, even if I won't visit most of the places. It is a kind of local's view into some of the really old "districts", like undergarments, millinery, and diamonds. I don't think I will be shopping for any of those things on my trip to NYC, but it was a very nice glimpse into local color!



2. This book is the size of a deck of cards. Very hard to read because of it's size. I was disappointed by the content. Had hoped to discover some fun, hip shops in NYC but instead all this book contained were things like; restaurant supplies, where to find bolts of material and buttons! I don't recommend this book!



3. The book was good but it had many areas of shopping that the average shopper would not be interested in. It was petite in size which i could throw into my person while roaming around the streets in New York.
   A good deal for the price.



4. If you are looking for the little treasures and oddities, this is THE book. If you have no experience with NYC and are looking for the New York Shopping Experience, choose a different one. This is a tiny block of a volume laser-focused on the hidden treasures: buttons, beads, baubles, ribbons, resale and on and on. The directions are clear and the descriptions charming. Don't miss the editor's faves at the back--visiting this handful of locations makes a great walking tour.



5. A charming little book;not so easy to find. Amazon offered both new and used; I choose new. The book
   arrived ahead of projected ship date. Service is terrific. Love the book.

No comments about American Map New York State Slicker.