No comments about Rand McNally NYC 5-Borough, New York: Manhattan/Bronx/brooklyn/queens/staten Island New York.

2 comments about New York State of Mind.

1. ....before it was Starbuck-ed, Disney-ized and Giuliani-fied, before "Sex & the City" made it a boring cliche... If you can remember when real people could still afford to live in Manhattan, this book is for you. The black-and-white photographs are not of landmarks and tourist attractions, but of the everyday miracles that made New York the city it was back then. A bunch of guys helping to push out a car stuck in the snow. A lady doing a grand jete over a massive puddle. A child peeking out of an upper window, a sense of wonder in her eyes. The photos are simple, sometimes elegiac and often brilliant in composition. Wandering through these photographs felt as intimate to me as leafing through a family album.



2. The pictures presented in this book are original and historic. The one you can't make anymore.

2 comments about Laminated New York City Streets Map by Borch.

1. I have been stranded too many times in foreign cities by inadequate maps. This series of maps simply does it right - no improvements needed.

   The B & B Map is laminated and can easily be folded many different ways. It shows every street, no matter how small. It lists bus lines, subway lines, and even buildings, such as the Met Life building and the Mid-Manhattan Library. Another cool feature of the map is that major areas of Manhattan receive their own little section. There are zoomed-in maps of Midtown and the Financial District with amazing detail. Best of all, it is inexpensive.




2. Berndtson maps are jam packed full of information, yet easy to read and legible thanks to its clean modern layout and judicious use of colors and icons. On the main map, Manhattan is shown from downtown all the way up to 86th Street in 1:15000 scale with Subway stations pinpointed along with major landmarks, churches, and museums. The back is printed with 1:9000 scale focus maps of the financial district, and another one of midtown. There is also a 1:240000 map of the tri-state area. Easy to fold, and to store away, the maps are also thickly laminated allowing you to mark it up with a china pen, then wipe off the marks when you are done. rkchin. more map reviews at http://www.nychinatown.org/bookstore/index6.html

No comments about Zagat 2008 New York City Pack (Zagatsurvey New York City Pack).

1 comments about Adirondack Ghosts II.

1. This second in a series of "Adirondack Ghosts" provides much more of the same type of fascinating and frightening material as the first book. Told much in the same style as the first with folklore and modern day ghost experiences mixed, the author continues to delight the reader.

   Once again we have tales of poltergeists, but the main emphasis seems to be on the actual witnessing of ghosts. The beautiful area of Lake George contains the history of the Sagamore Resort, where a cook experienced a ghost speaking to him just before it passed through his body. He immediately resigned. A young boy who collected golf balls was killed by a car. His ghost is frequently seen on the greens to this day. A manor house called the "Tratelja" has stories of a woman who appears in full-bodied apparition and speaks to houseguests. In Glens Falls at St. Mary's Church, a man finds the doors locked and upon peering through the window, witnesses activeley worshiping churchgoers - all have been dead, including the priest.

   Some of the stories are eerie and others are terribly sad. Regardless, this is a nice companion piece to the first "Adirondack Ghosts" book and continues the history of ghosts in the Adirondacks, a much needed and appreciated subject for this beautiful and historic area.

3 comments about Radical Walking Tours of New York City (2nd ed).

1. I've tried several of Bruce's actual Radical Walking Tours, which he still conducts in person. He researches, writes and organizes his work better, or more consistently, than he sometimes delivers it in person. But they are always stimulating as social history, leftist political history, labor and industrial history, and even humor. Easily among the best tours I've tried here in NYC and I've tried several.

   Many "stops" in his tours have changed my very sense of certain NYC blocks & neighborhoods.

   This book is also fascinating browsing history as well as one of the coolest specialty travel guides I've looked over. Good for new and veteran New Yorkers alike.




2. I wanted more information on the events and places than he provided. No doubt that Mr. Kayton is a terrific tour guide and NYC needs more scholarly guides; the typical guide in this great city is HORRENDOUSLY inept and ignorant. Other parts of the city, aside from the Lower East Side and Villages should have been covered - I can't imagine that no radical never called Murray Hill, Times Square, Turtle Bay, etc., home.



3. This is a guidebook with a hard left political point of view on absolutely everything (as in communist or anarchist, not liberal). Not to be alarmed, however. My evaluation of the book is especially for those, like me, who do NOT share these views. Rather than off-putting, I found Kayton's historical comments to be concise, virtually always intersting, and highly relevant to an appreciation of the neighborhoods in question. The Greenwhich Village walk, for ecample, focuses on sites that have been the homes of famous leftists (John Reed, Emma Goldman, the Rosenbergs), left-leaning writers (Edna St. Vincent Millay), alleged bad guy capitalists (Mayor Jimmy Walker, Mayor Ed Koch), as well as important places in the history of labor (the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire), abolitionism, civil rights, gay rights (the Stonewall Inn demonstrations), and anti-war protest. The slice of New York history that these places represent comes alive from a perspective that resembles the participants'. Finally, Kayton's humor and energy more than outweigh the silliness of some of his views. I recommend it if you're looking for something different.

No comments about Saratoga Springs, NY Quickmap®.

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.

3 comments about Vegetarian New York City: The Essential Guide for the Health-Conscious Traveler.

1. This is an excellent reference for vegetarians living in New York City. The restaurants are grouped by location, which includes a map. For each restaurant, the author gives you the basic details (type of cuisine, pricing, hours of operation, etc.) followed by her review that includes recommendations on what to order.



2. As a vegetarian who frequently visits new york city, I bought this book with high hopes. This is an EXCELLENT guide to eating out vegetarian/vegan in nyc. The reviews are interesting, accurate and informative. I followed some of their top reccomendations and was very pleased. This book is a definite must have for any veg/vegan in the nyc area!!



3. Purchased for my vegetarian daughter as she moved to NYC to attend college. She refers to this book often to try new vegetarian spots.

1 comments about Along the Great South Bay: From Oakdale to Babylon, the Story of a Summer Spa, 1840-1940.

1. Very informative! I recommend this book to anyone who grew up in the Islip area. The information regarding early Islip residents is fascinating. Read and learn what an interesting place your little town is! This is by far the most targeted history of the Islip resident.