5 comments about The Hamptons: Life Behind the Hedges.

1. From tag sales to spectacular homes. The photography is true to life. The scenery of flora, ocean landscapes, sunsets and to the history of a town that is small yet so BIG. A delight to see behind the hedges of wonderful homes, decor and art.



2. My husband and I are beginning to collect books related to second homes as we dream about and plan our own great escape. Our favorites are Better Homes and Gardens SECOND HOME, FAMILY HOUSES BY THE SEA, CABIN FEVER, and Better Homes and Gardens COTTAGE STYLE. This book on the Hamptons is our newest purchase, and it has great photos. The best book in terms of combining the dreamy photos with helpful insights to guide our own second home planning, though, is SECOND HOME.



3. This book is very nice, but fo not buy it when you are looking for a book which takes a look inside these beautiful houses. It only shows the outside and ,i think, too many pictures of the gardens. It is really a nice book but i thought there would be many pictures of the houses and not so many detailed pictures of gardens...



4. We live in the city - downtown. We have three children and wish/dream about getting out of town on a weekend and letting the children run and play on the grass in the country or sand on a beach. This book puts you there and without any of the sense of overwhelming and intimidating wealth that would take away from the beauty and feeling the Hamptons can offer. The photos are beautiful and the subjects are different and interesting. I truly do love this book and have given many as gifts to friends from out of town who have heard so much about the east end of the Island but have yet to visit.



5. I love this book! Reading it over this past winter brought back all the great feelings of being in the Hamptons. I love the fact that the beautiful photographs don't focus on just the ocean, but show hamptons life behind the scenes. The photographs of the gardens and artist's studios are especially nice. This is a great collectable book and I highly recommend it as a gift.

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!

No comments about 52 Adventures in New York City (52 Series).

No comments about Veg Out: Vegetarian Guide to New York City, 2nd Edition.

3 comments about Greetings From The Finger Lakes: A Food And Wine Lover's Companion.

1. This book was very useful to have on vacation -- his restaurant reviews were a big help in terms of types of cuisine available and the winery reviews were very specific about what types of wines they produce and what he liked when he went tasting. It was also nice to know how formal restaurants were before you went.



2. I live in the Central New York region just east of the Finger Lakes. I work with people who live in the region and I road trip quite a bit in the area when the weather warms up, so I have a "mile-wide and an inch deep" knowledge of the area.
   
   I consider this book a "lite" travel guide because it doesn't cover much of what's in the area, but it covers what it does in great depth. It focuses on what the cover says, and nothing more. It doesn't cover many eateries outside of the population centers, and skips a lot of the "hole in the wall" restaurants, diners, and stands that offer great food but are a bit off the beaten path.
   
   If you want to focus on wineries and want some in depth knowledge about thoose wineries this is the book. Beyond that you will need to look elsewhere for information.



3. This is a great insider's guide to the wineries and restaurants of the Finger Lakes regions. Other books give better background on the varieties of grapes and other local attractions, but this one is the tops in terms of covering the wineries and restaurants.
   
   The restaurant recommendations are great and give you an idea of the menu and entree offerings. The winery listings give profiles of the winery owners with entertaining "back stories" -- all very helpful when you are planning your itinerary.
   
   Very easy to slip into your suitcase or backpack.
   
   I give this book a five-grape rating!

No comments about Great Lakes, Great National Forests: A Recreational Guide to the National Forests of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York.

No comments about Newsday's Guide to Long Island's Natural World (Falcon Guide).

No comments about Wallpaper City Guide: New York 2009 (Wallpaper City Guides) (Wallpaper City Guides (Phaidon Press)).

No comments about Northern Forest Canoe Trail Adirondack North Country (East), New York: Saranac River to Lake Champlain (Northern Forest Canoe Trail).

4 comments about Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide.

1. Apart from Ayn Rand's own work in esthetics (The Romantic Manifesto---and several other articles outside of it) and Dr. Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, Dr. Dianne Durante's Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is the first published work to apply some of Miss Rand's revolutionary esthetics to works of art. This is a MAJOR achievement.
   
   In order to shape a culture dominated by by a rational philosophy, the Objectivist ethics is THE most important idea to get into the culture. And a number of outstanding philosophers have each, independent of one another, done admirable work in this area.
   
   The second most important idea essential to changing our culture is Miss Rand's esthetics. Dr. Durante opened the door to this with her criticism of the thoroughly reprehensible exhibition in New York's Central Park of Christo's Gates. She stood firm against invective. Now she is offering more details as she applies Miss Rand's esthetics to Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan.
   
   Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan is a clever organization of facts and commentary. It is also a welcomed introduction to important ideas that offer the reader rational guidelines to better appreciate and understand art in general and the outdoor monuments of Manhattan in particular.



2. As a native New Yorker, at one time or another I've passed by and gazed at every one of the 54 sculptures listed in this excellent book. What I learned was how great each one is. Several of my favorites are mentioned (Columbus, Washington, Hamilton) as are some less publicized gems, like Verrazzano and Dr. James Marion Sims. By breaking down the categories of About the Sculpture and About the Subject, one can learn so much about these outdoor gems in the city. Dr. Durante's style of writing is very clear and she gives a practical guide in "how to read a sculpture" with an objective basis.
   
   Pick your style of heroism and you'll find it here. Whether it's celebrating a job well done (Washington in Union Square) or charging into the battle of a new project (El Cid up in Harlem) or refusing to submit to defeat in the face of death (Nathan Hale in City Hall Park) you are sure to be uplifted.
   
   Every New Yorker should own this book, as it will give them a chance to fill their lives with inspiration by simply traveling to a location simply mapped out in the book. As for non-New Yorkers, this is yet another reason to come here and enjoy the greatness of this magnificent city.



3. Manhattan's streets and parks are packed with historic monuments, and some fifty of them are included in OUTDOOR MONUMENTS OF MANHATTAN: A HISTORICAL GUIDE, which offers up background history, surveys of American sculptors, and analysis of each sculpture, its influences, and its history. A 'must' for any Manhattan resident or library seeking background information on the area's best outdoor monuments to use as either a take-along travel tote or a study.



4. Selecting 54 outdoor sculptures that are of personal and aesthetic interest, the author takes you on a guided tour of Manhattan starting from the Statue of Liberty in the south all the way north to El Cid by Anna Hyatt Huntington.
   
   An easy read for all, each essay gives a brief introduction into the sculptures stylistic elements. It also compares them to how they could have been different and what that would have done to the artwork's meaning. The author also provides background information on the sculpture and its subject to further enhance our appreciation.
   
   Of course when it comes right down to it, Durante shows us through sculpture great minds at work (artisan and innovator) who have accomplished much in their pursuit of values.