1 comments about Chautauqua.

1. An excellent, digestible description and history of the Chautauqua Institution. This book is filled with wonderful photos -- both current and archival -- and a succinct text describing the 126-year history of this remarkable cultural, recreational, educational and religious center. If you've experienced Chautauqua, it's a wonderful description of the ups and downs and ultimate success of this education-vacation community. If you've never been to this Western New York State landmark, read this book and start packing your bags.

No comments about Where the Old Roads Go: Driving the First Federal Highways of the Northeast.

3 comments about A Family Place: A Hudson Family Farm, Three Centuries, Five Wars, One Family.

1. After all the books about houses in France and Italy, it's nice to see a truly American story about a house and the family that has owned and loved it for nearly 200 years. Philip deftly interweaves the personal and the historical into a memorable narrative. Although nonfiction, the book's flow and vivid descriptions make it read like almost like a novel. Talvera may be the most interesting American country house since Tara.



2. Evocative, elegant account of family history, deftly blending geneology with present day realities. Highly enjoyable read~



3. I was disappointed in this book. The Hudson Valley is a magnificent well for story tellers and I was excited to read about the generations who had lived in a single home and worked on its orchard.

   This is much more a creative writing guide than a history of a house/family. Philip spends chapters describing the writing process, but not enough about the actual home/family. The writing parts would have made an excellent preface, but the book needed more substantative history.

   Too often Philips interupts herself to backtrack to modern times.

   This had great potential, but left me looking for another book.

3 comments about Keeping Time in Sag Harbor (Center for American Places - Center Books on American Places).

1. If you live in a historic place, a beautiful place, near the sea or the mountains, or if you just love the place you live, this book provides a fascinating look at how our communities are being changed by the housing and real estate booms. It is a story of how one community copes, tries to keep its sense of history - and the families that lived that history at various stages - while, at the same time, trying to accommodate wealthy homeowners with a taste for building big homes or big additions for use a few weekends a year.
   
   It is also the story of early America, shifting fortunes and economies, personalized through the eyes of its inhabitants, rich and poor.
   
   And all wrapped in beautiful photographic images taken by the author and reproduced exquisitely page after page. Aspen, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Monterey, Sanibel, even small towns in rural Wisconsin...they've all seen one version or another of this story. This book captures the irony, the beauty, the inevitability, and the trauma of how the places we love are, in the way we think about them, as much a matter of memory as reality.



2. I appreciate Sag Harbor history and fine photography. Thats why I rate it 5 stars. Over 90 percent of the plates are by the author. What really is great are interviews with people that count. A few never before seen old photos thrown in makes this book a nice collectors item.



3. Buy this book if you are looking for a book that captures the look and feel of a very special place. The photography is clear and lovingly represents Sag Harbor. The text is also very fine.

5 comments about New York for New Yorkers: A Historical Treasury and Guide to the Buildings and Monuments of Manhattan (Second Edition).

1. Liza Greene's book is quite unique, and in many ways is one of the best books on the subject of New York's fabled architecture in the annals of the city. It is very obvious that this book was a labor of love and personal commitment on Ms. Greene's part. There is nothing cliched or by rote in this book. She has captured a number, a very large number of very fresh takes on the city "in situ." This book is so very New York in the fact that it is D.I.Y. She did not use twenty-five thousand dollars of expensive equipment, and lighting with a small horde of assistants and gofers. This book is the work of a single woman's very singular vision of what I think is the ultimate Metropolitan dream in the history of mankind. The labor of single-mindedness is reflected in pictures that are not dollied or craned or overly artificialized by city permits and special access. This is the work of an almost guerrilla sensibility. I only wish that PBS would give Ms. Green a full camera crew and 110 minutes to present her vision in context with her own voice-over so that more and more people would have access to her unique vision and singular passion. This book eloquently proves that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Bravo, Ms. Greene, bravo indeed.



2. I purchased Liza Greene's book last Spring at my local bookstore and I have been very pleased with it. I have bought dozens of books and guides to New York City over the years. I am a married housewife with four daughters with a workaholic husband and my particular reward and gift from my family is that I get to go to New York City about four times per year for a little shopping, The Pierre, some nice dinners, the Met, Lincoln Center, and a few shows. I am originally from Dallas, Texas and I was just raised that way, and of course I realize that I am just an old dinosaur from a bye-gone time, but that was my generation. I have always thought and known that I was missing alot of New York City by being tethered to such a limited agenda. Last year I decided to broaden my horizons. Well, I couldn't be more pleased with Liza Greene's book, and I have used it as a blueprint, and a guide to some very exciting visual experiences that are just not to be found in any other guidebook. I just think that this book is a peach, an absolute peach. I am very glad that Liza Greene wrote it, and I am very pleased with its very nicely proprtioned size and portibility while it also gives a feeling of heft and substance. I don't think that the writer or the publisher could have done any better of a job of it. This is just a perfect little source and it has improved my feeling of grasping New York City a thousandfold. Thank you Ms. Greene for helping an old woman to get out of her rut.



3. I purchased Liza Greene's book last Spring at my local bookstore and I have been very pleased with it. I have bought dozens of books and guides to New York City over the years. I am a married housewife with four daughters with a workaholic husband and my particular reward and gift from my family is that I get to go to New York City about four times per year for a little shopping, The Pierre, some nice dinners, the Met, Lincoln Center, and a few shows. I am originally from Dallas, Texas and I was just raised that way, and of course I realize that I am just an old dinosaur from a bye-gone time, but that was my generation. I have always thought and known that I was missing alot of New York City by being tethered to such a limited agenda. Last year I decided to broaden my horizons. Well, I couldn't be more pleased with Liza Greene's book, and I have used it as a blueprint, and a guide to some very exciting visual experiences that are just not to be found in any other guidebook. I just think that this book is a peach, an absolute peach. I am very glad that Liza Greene wrote it, and I am very pleased with its very nicely proprtioned size and portibility while it also gives a feeling of heft and substance. I don't think that the writer or the publisher could have done any better of a job of it. This is just a perfect little source and it has improved my feeling of grasping New York City a thousandfold. Thank you Ms. Greene for helping an old woman to get out of her rut.



4. I purchased Liza Greene's book last Spring at my local bookstore and I have been very pleased with it. I have bought dozens of books and guides to New York City over the years. I am a married housewife with four daughters with a workaholic husband and my particular reward and gift from my family is that I get to go to New York City about four times per year for a little shopping, The Pierre, some nice dinners, the Met, Lincoln Center, and a few shows. I am originally from Dallas, Texas and I was just raised that way, and of course I realize that I am just an old dinosaur from a bye-gone time, but that was my generation. I have always thought and known that I was missing alot of New York City by being tethered to such a limited agenda. Last year I decided to broaden my horizons. Well, I couldn't be more pleased with Liza Greene's book, and I have used it as a blueprint, and a guide to some very exciting visual experiences that are just not to be found in any other guidebook. I just think that this book is a peach, an absolute peach. I am very glad that Liza Greene wrote it, and I am very pleased with its very nicely proprtioned size and portibility while it also gives a feeling of heft and substance. I don't think that the writer or the publisher could have done any better of a job of it. This is just a perfect little source and it has improved my feeling of grasping New York City a thousandfold. Thank you Ms. Greene for helping an old woman to get out of her rut.



5. This is one of the finest guides to New York City that it has been my pleasure to use and peruse. It is strong, unique, and essentially "nonpariel." There is really nothing on the market that has such natural down-home photography. In other words...none of the "faux-monumentalism" and deceptive proprtioning of space and matter which is the downfall of most guides. Ms. Greene accomplishes a Baedeker-style simplicity,with her perfectly concise and edited text. The size,format and substantiality of this book, as well as the ease in carrying it in a tote or rucksack make this guide a complete success. After the tragic events of September 11th, 2001...this book takes on an added poignancy, because so many of the treasured that Ms. Greene has unearthed, collated, collected, and memorialized are not directly connected with specifically "The Ground Zero" area of the Island of Manhattan...she helps to illuminate the complete diversity, universality, timelessness, and the raw raging dynamic power that shall forever be Manhattan"s legacy to the World, and future generations. This book is one of the strongest entries in its class since the Post-World War Two Era bagan. A thoughtful,encouraging,and Ms. Greene never puts herself above or between the wonders that she is illuminaring. She gets the information to you without the boredom of its conveyance. A remarkable job all the way around.

No comments about New York Eyewitness Travel Guide (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

No comments about Hagstrom Sullivan County, New York Street Map.

No comments about NEW YORK CITY: AN OUTSIDER'S INSIDE VIEW (URBAN LIFE & URBAN LANDSCAPE).

4 comments about The Grownup's Guide to Living with Kids in Manhattan.

1. I live in N.Y. and my sister lives in Philly. She has 3 children and wants to move to N.Y. I told her it's great here, but still she had to do some "homework." She bought this book and really liked it, so she told me to read it. I thought I know everything about N.Y. But I guess I didn't. Now I know the best places to SHOP!! Thanks to your book!!



2. As a native New Yorker, I even learned stuff from this complete, well written guide. This guide has everything from museums, to zoos, to stores, to "boredom busters!" Everything you need to know to keep kids busy in the city! A must have for all New Yorkers with kids! even if you are just visiting.



3. As a NYC educational consultant, I am often asked by clients to recommend enrichment activities and classes for children. I am impressed by this book's comprehensive lists. Reading them, parents can plan stimulating weekends and afternoons.



4. Very, very little value in this book. Literally half could apply to any city because it's a bunch of lame general parenting tips. An example, here are the "Seven Principles of Living with Kids in Manhattan"
   
   1) Know what works for you
   2) Plan ahead
   3) Never take more than you want to carry
   4) Make sure that you and anyone caring for your children is equipped to handle an emergency
   5) Safety first
   6) Too much of a good thing can be too much
   7) Attitude is everything
   
   Thanks a lot, we parents in San Francisco don't have to worry about planning or safety!
   
   The other half of this book is a series of lists. Here's a list of *all* the museums in NYC! And one of all the kids stores (including Barnes & Nobles and Bloomingdales, thanks for the tips!). Zero commentary on *anything* just a bunch of lists. Seriously this book is like the output of a list of google searches paired with some generic parenting tips. Worthless!

4 comments about An Adirondack Passage: The Cruise of the Canoe Sairy Gamp.

1. Christine Jerome not only covers the trips of G. W. Sears through the Adirandack but she covers the rich history of the region in detail. An excellent book for more than the canoe enthusiast.



2. I loved this book on several levels. For one, it was short and simple and every word was right. For another, I have read many paddle trip narratives such as Running the Amazon by Joe Kane and Water and Sky by Alan Kesselheim. They also talk about the adventure and the surrounding history. But this is in a class by itself, a gentle canoe trip, if you will, taking on the amenities and lack of them in the nation's biggest park east of the Mississippi. I have only been to the Adirondacks a few times and been impressed by their beauty. But when I go back, and I hope I do, I will know so much more.



3. I came to know the work of Christine Jerome as a gift from her late husband John. For years John Jerome has been one of my favorite authors. While not, unfortunately, widely read; he remained true to his own voice. In many of his books he mentions his wife Chris, and with John gone I felt compelled to get to know Chris better, through her work. I am so glad I did. This is a fine, wonderful book. I hope to see more from Christine Jerome. Perhaps a biography of John.



4. I respect Christine Jerome for taking the time to write about her journey and comparing it to Nessmuk's, but her style of writing is the most boring in the whole world. It takes tremendous effort to concentrate for more than half a page. Books such as these should be written in an engaging manner that makes it interesting to read, and should not be so boring that it makes canoeing seem bad. I am a serious canoeist in Canton, NY (Rushton's home) and I am insulted by how boring this book is.