5 comments about Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies.

1. This fascinating exploration of the interrelationship between the city of New York as an urban center and its portrayal throughout the history of moviemaking is filled with perceptive insight and thoughtful analysis. Highly recommended.



2. This is a beautifully written book on the portrayal of New York City in the movies. The author is extremely knowledgeable about the architecture of NYC (in fact, he is a New York architect), about the geography and history of NYC, and about film, both in its historical and technical aspects. The writing is imaginative, lyrical, thoughtful, and intelligent--this is a labor of love that took 15 years to complete. If you have any interest at all in New York City or in film, do yourself a favor and buy this book. It made me want to go out and rent at least 60 of the films discussed in it, and it reminded me of many great films set in NYC that I've enjoyed in the past and will want to see again to note some of the characters, themes, landmarks, or stage sets that Sanders describes.



3. If there was ever a book that really needed to be written, and was then executed nearly flawlessly, this is it. Documenting the multi-threaded releationship of New York City and Hollywood (the movie biz began in NYC, and the studios' financial offices remained there; much of the writing/directing/acting talent came to Hollywood from NYC; Hollywood's backlot NYC was the setting of thousands of films; the ideas of the Hollywood versions eventually changed the real thing; etc.), this is a heckuva fun and interesting read.

   Among its most fascinating parts are information on the techniques used to create believable NYC settings by the studios (e.g., the most detail I've ever seen on Hitchcock's enormous Rear Window set), examples of the vast amount of architectural and local-color detail contained in the studio's art department photographic files (more than in some of NYC's museums!), and its general architectural analysis of NYC's major iconic structures: skyscrapers, rowhouses, tenements, train stations, nightclubs, etc.

   But of even greater interest are the detailed treatments of how NYC was SHOWN in films (both well-known classics and obscure titles) of different genres and eras, and how the IDEA of NYC affected the world audience, and eventually changed the city itself as new generations flocked to their city of dreams... A flip through the photographs alone is a total pleasure.

   This is a great book for film buffs, fans of NYC, architecture students, and those interested in 20th century social history. (I'm all of those things, and I LOVED it!)




4. If you have an interest in films, architecture or New York City then the purchase of this film is a no-brainer. The book is packed with photographs of movies and film sets that feature the buildings of New York. Another reviewer mentioned the Alfred Hitchcock set shot from the film Rope. I would add the shots from Fountainhead and Week-end at the Waldorf as being special and stunning.

   James Sanders said that he spent 15 years writing and researching this book and it shows. His points are well written and quite informative.

   I would strongly suggest the hardcover edition for its slightly larger size and the quality of the Knopf binding.

   First editions can be purchased used at a very attractive price. Like I said, no-brainer.




5. How New York is seen (figuratively and literally) by the rest of the world has been influenced more by Hollywood than anything else. James Sanders brilliant "Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies" explores the relationship among Gotham, Hollywood, and the rest of the planet. There's a lot here, and a lot of material that has never been presented before.

   Each section offers specific insights into the cinematic image of New York: its icons, its myths, its realities. What is also intriguing is how Hollywood's directors manipulated actual city locations to make it look "more like New York". One of my favorite essays has to do with the "domestic" look of New York: its mansions, row houses, and tenements. Also fascinating is the section called "Nighttown"--Hollywood loves the dangerous flavor of New York's streetlife.

   This is a marvelous book with a marvelous look. Take one of the other reviewers' advice, however, and get the hardcover. The size makes a big difference.

1 comments about The New York Botanical Garden.

1. This is a great book for garden lovers and designers alike. Superb design, high quality paper, wonderful, sharp photos, excellent colors. The book covers the history of the New York Botanical Gardens, but also includes lovely botanical prints, stunning photos of many of the different gardens and plants, and is a real inspiration to any nature and plant lover. Highly recommend, to me absolutely worth every penny of the "new copy" Amazon price.

1 comments about The New York Times Guide to Unforgettable Weekends.

1. This book could have been a rescue tube in this heavily urbanized east coast. It puts out pretty nice collection of things you can do in weekends, places you can go and experience you can have. I'm pretty outgoing and am aware of "secret gems" in this area but I still found few more gems like Hot Ballooning in CT, renting a boat (no licenses req) for week long journey through Erie Canal and winter language classes at Mohonk Mountain House. I also found helpful trip reports for Block Island and Mystic Seaport which I was looking for quite a while. But beyond this, the book is pretty much unusable. The book is organized as series of very descriptive long long long trip reports. So unless you are willing to sit down and patiently read these 400 pages of trip reports, you won't know if you should choose this or that. The editor or whoever decided layout of book simply didn't used common sense. How a typical reader like me would use this book? I would typically open this book on Friday night and want to have a look at a table listing places and attributes such as cost, travel time, best season, outdoor activities, attractions, required reservations, etc. Then I would choose couple of places from this table, read their 20 lines max trip report, have a look at 3-4 photos, choose one place and just go. Right? It's common sense. Instead, this book has a long long glorifying travel essays as if they are competing for some literary prize. There are no summaries. Forget that, there are NO PHOTOS!! So unless you read the whole thing start to finish, you won't have slightest idea whether should you go there or there. At times even after reading whole thing you would be still confused which place to pick because each trip author tends to glorify their trip so much (even if it's just Newport or Newark)! Bummer. I think the book could have been cut down in 1/4 of size which would have increased its usability by factor of 10.

No comments about The Finger Lakes Region of New York: A Photographic Portrait.

No comments about Western New York: An Explorer's Guide: From Niagara Falls and Southern Ontario to the Western Edge of the Finger Lakes, Second Edition (Explorer's Guides).

5 comments about Stork Club : America's Most Famous Nightspot and the Lost World of Cafe Society.

1. I have always been a big fan of history, historical events, places, etc. but I never really thought about the age of the nightclub.

   This book brings the past to life. Telling the story of poor Sherman Billingsly who brings to life a dream, to own his own nightclub. Seeing him rise to almost superstar status and to see the dream slip away with the changing of the times.

   When I bought this book I figured it would be a read it on and off type book....I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I lost almost an entire day, but it was well worth it.

   Hearing the stories about the stork and it patrons....Ethel Merman, Walter Winchell, John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe. Picturing the gangster behind the scenes waiting for a cut of the auction. The people who ran the club and just learning about the legendary club.

   This one is well worth it! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!




2. This book brings to life the glorious decades of the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's, when night life in New York meant more than yuppie scum club hopping and dancing to grunge music in lofts. The wonderful Stork Club, and its colorful owner Sherman Billingsley, were an integral part of those decades. The book abounds in great anecdotes and captures what it must have been like to be admitted past the gold chain at the front entrance to the elegant interior of the Stork Club, where the likes of Walter Winchell, Jackie Gleason, Errol Flynn and Ethel Merman, to name a very few, held sway. How I wish I could go back to that era for just one night and spend it at the Stork Club!

   The book is much more than the story of the Stork Club. It covers in considerable detail the remarkable life of Sherman Billingsley, who grew up on the frontier of Oklahoma and came to New York in the 1920's as a bootlegger, founding the Stork Club as a speakeasy in 1929. Billingsley was a real character that the reader cannot help liking and the chapters dealing with the demise of the Stork Club in 1965 and Billingsley's death a year later had an emotional impact on me; it was like losing old friends.

   The book abounds in wonderful photos of the Stork Club and the people who worked there and partied there. An added bonus is a special section at the end of the book written bu Billingsley's daughter, Shermane, on how to throw your own "Stork Club party"! In addition to recipes for food and drink and other advice, she provides additional colorful anecdotes on her memories of the Stork Club.

   Sherman Billingsley, where are you now that we really need you?




3. "Stork Club" is a pleasant surprise. It is the remarkably well- researched story of a one-time bootlegger from Oklahoma, by way of Washington and Detroit, named Sherman Billingsley. The author had the obvious cooperation of Billingley's daughter. Mr. B ran Manhattan's Stork Club from the mid- 30s to the mid -60s. Located on East 53rd Street, it was arguably the world's most famous nightclub, when there were such things. "SC" deals relatively briefly with the glamorous café society clientele such as Ethel Merman, Humphrey Bogart or the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It concentrates on the harder edges of Mr. Bs life; the bootlegging days in the Midwest, his (successful?) fight to free himself from the mobsters like Dutch Schultz and Owney Madden, needless run ins with Civil Rights activists and the ultimately ruinous struggles with local unions. Mr. B was always fighting something including internal theft, a fickle public and disloyal employees who left him to start their own nightclubs. He appears to have been his own worst enemy. "SC" ends on an unsurprisingly depressive note. This reviewer would definitely recommend "SC" to any native New Yorker of a "certain age" or those curious about an earlier, VASTLY more gracious, more livable and more desirable New York than the current yuppie playground it has become. A personal note: Mr. B had the well-deserved reputation of being kind to young people and servicemen. .... "SC" is your chance to at least read about it and imagine.



4. "Stork Club" is a pleasant surprise. It is the remarkably well- researched story of a one-time bootlegger from Oklahoma, by way of Washington and Detroit, named Sherman Billingsley. The author had the obvious cooperation of Billingley's daughter. Mr. B ran Manhattan's Stork Club from the mid- 30s to the mid -60s. Located on East 53rd Street, it was arguably the world's most famous nightclub, when there were such things. "SC" deals relatively briefly with the glamorous café society clientele such as Ethel Merman, Humphrey Bogart or the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It concentrates on the harder edges of Mr. Bs life; the bootlegging days in the Midwest, his (successful?) fight to free himself from the mobsters like Dutch Schultz and Owney Madden, needless run ins with Civil Rights activists and the ultimately ruinous struggles with local unions. Mr. B was always fighting something including internal theft, a fickle public and disloyal employees who left him to start their own nightclubs. He appears to have been his own worst enemy. "SC" ends on an unsurprisingly depressive note. This reviewer would definitely recommend "SC" to any native New Yorker of a "certain age" or those curious about an earlier, VASTLY more gracious, more livable and more desirable New York than the current yuppie playground it has become. ...Mr. B had the well-deserved reputation of being kind to young people and servicemen. My two visits to the Stork, just prior to its demise bore this out. They were nice to my date and me. ... This must have been a high-class place in its day, a "day" that is gone for good. "SC" is your chance to at least read about it and imagine.



5. The stork club was "pre-me" but I loved reading about it because many family members used to go there... You really get a sense of what it was like and the stories are fantastic... The manager runs the restaurant like a col. in the army... A very good book to read

No comments about Hagstrom Union/Hudson/Essex Counties & Metropolitan New York: Covering a 75 Mile Radius from Midtown Manhattan (Hagstrom Union, Hudson, Essex New Jersey (Spiral/Laminated)).

3 comments about The Timeline History of New York City.

1. This is an amazing book. It has a fold out section that is over 10 feet long and you have the entire history of New York at your fingertips. It's well produced and -- for $20 or so -- it's an amazing bargain. I visited NY recently for the first time with my friend and we bought this when we were coming home. Every time I look at it I think about the great time I had. I can't wait to go back now that I know so much more about the city. Buy this book if you love New York or if you know anyone who does.



2. Here is an interesting idea for history fans of NYC. But, it is hard to read--too many tints, lines through copy. Hard to handle and very superficial. Inserted photos confusing. Copy begins and ends on binding with no end papers. The architecture page with it's wheel is a bit of a gimmic. This book would be a useful suverier for visitors and young students.



3. The Playnes' TIMELINE HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY is a convenient guide through New York's long and rich history. For most New Yorkers, there's nothing really new here; we've all heard it before. And a lot of the information just touches the surface of some of the historic moments; too many of the reasons for the events that created the history, and their ramifications for the rest of America, are glossed over. That said, this timeline is still of value (especially for the price). It does contain a lot of information, given its size. In that regard, I would recommend this to those who are just starting their voyage to the City's history. I also think that people from out of town would appreciate this compact publication, especially if their planning a trip to the Big Smear.

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

No comments about Seats: New York: 180 Seating Plans to New York Metro Area Theatres Third Edition (Seats New York).