No comments about Best of Brooklyn (Zagat Survey).

4 comments about Ethnic New York: A Complete Guide to the Many Faces & Cultures of New York (Passport Books).

1. It's definitely useful to have an A-Z guidebook to NY's many immigrant groups. But this book has many shortcomings and inaccuracies. For example, it barely mentions the huge Russian presence in Brighton Beach, and its section on Germans ignores their best restaurants in the Glendale section of Queens. Errors include a statement that the early Greek immigrants settled in the South Bronx between 14th and 15th Streets (there are no such streets in the Bronx!) and locating the Masjid Al Farouq mosque between 4th and 5th Streets, when it is really between 4th and 5th Avenues.



2. I found this book accurate and amazing! Mr. Leeds highlights so many neighborhoods with a keen understanding for New York and its cornucopia of ethnic flavor. Mr. Leeds, adding to what few tour guides know and understand, recognizes the recent Jewish immigrants to Brighton Beach-- in addition to pinpointing the best restaurants (Russian, Germnan, Italian Polish, Puerto Rican, etc.) with a simplicity, profundity, and flair that makes visiting them extra special!



3. I found that this guide assists you in discovering the diversity, background, and curiosity within Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx neighborhoods. I used it to uncover new restaurants and cuisines, especially authentic, unpretentious, inexpensive ones, whenever visiting the Big Apple.

   It is great when you go into neighborhoods where they just don't speak English and often new immigrants (natives) on the street or over the phone are too myopic in giving directions.

   It is great for the NYC visitor as exploring Queens and Brooklyn by subway doesn't come without some intrepidation, especially in the evening. But after qualifying the areas that I do know quite well, Little Italy and Chinatown, I read areas that I recently visited Koreantown, Manhattan and Little Columbia in Jackson Heights, Queens. I now value the insight and comprehensive amount of research the author presents.

   Each ethnic group has a clear vignette on when they came and settled, the reasons for immigrating, noteworthy aspects of their culture, political and religious organizations, and restaurants, markets, shops, museums, and cultural activities. Some 500 pgs worth!

   He gives a lot of practical info, phone numbers, hours open, specialties, so that when you are on a quest, you can find it. Lots of factoids and city trivia are sprinkled everywhere. Many opinions were on the mark. Good index.

   The first reviewer needs to read more thoroughly: a) Russian Jews in Brighton Beach, p 223-8; b) Germans in Ridgewood, Queens (next to Glendale), p 55-7; c) even a random tourist like me knows that The Bronx starts at 140-150th St, a typo.

   My main critique is that the author could have included simple "bigger-picture" maps showing the neighborhoods and Metro stops to make it more tourist friendly. While he gives general directions on where they are located, often I couldn't determine which borough it was in.




4. If you want to stay in the cocoon of midtown Manhattan don't bother with this book. But if you want to see the REAL, non-homogenized-Middle-American New York, read this. If you want to see the outer boroughs, read this to know what's interesting. Thanks to this book, I discovered:

   *Jackson Heights (mostly Columbian) *Brighton Beach (mostly Russian) *Greenpoint (Polish) *Bensonhurst (the REAL Little Italy) *Belmont (another Italian area in the Bronx; I liked Bensonhurst better, its easier to reach by subway, bigger and better kept) *3 separate Hasidic Jewish areas (Crown Heights, Boro Park and Williamsburg) *Washington Heights (Dominician/Puerto Rican) *Astoria (Greek) *Flushing (Chinese) *Atlantic Avenue (Arabic) *Midwood (Syrian Jewish)

   One caveat: if you are interested in one particular restaurant call to make sure it is open.

No comments about Brooklyn Is: Southeast of the Island: Travel Notes.

1 comments about 40 Perfect New York Days: Walks and Rambles In and Around the City.

1. An astonishing variety of experiences, all in or near the Big Apple, described with humor, insight, and enthusiasm. The authors' intimate knowledge and deep love for their city beam from every page. The directions and details are precise and easy to follow and the maps have just the right amount of information. A useful feature is the annotated contents section that makes it quick and easy to browse and choose a destination. HIGHLY recommended for the visitor or for the native who has spent too much time indoors.

1 comments about Wild New York: A Celebration of Our State's Natural Beauty.

1. 
   *Wild New York* is a gorgeous book of photographs, but you will enjoy the highly engaging text just as much.

2 comments about Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper.

1. This book takes the reader back to the heyday of the Catskill resort era. The author attacks the cliches about the Catskills, providing her spin on this great era in the resort industry. What makes this book a truly fun read is the humor. This book brought me back to a place that was special to me.



2. ms. blumberg's book transported me back in time to a place that may have remained a hazy memory. her writing was so vivid tha i could half close my eyes and be back on that country road hitch-hiking (it was okay in the 40's} between hotels.

   laced with the humor of the time, the book is a grabber. i also found myself a little teary at times, not from sadness, but rather from sweet memories. however, i found my self reading more and more slowly as i approached the end. i really wanted more.

1 comments about Lewis Hine: The Empire State Building Photographs: A Book of 30 Postcards.

1. "In 1930, Lewis Hine (1874-1940) was commissioned to photograph the construction of the Empire State Building. He documented the project from the ground up, going to great and dizzying lengths to get good shots of the work in progress. Today, Hine's amazing pictures constitute a priceless record of a memorable event in American history. 30 black-and-white photographs reproduced by four-color process.
   
   "Pomegranate's books of postcards contain thirty top-quality reproductions bound together in a handy, artful collection. Easy to remove and produced on heavy card stock, these stunning postcards are a delight to the sender and receiver. Note: postcards are oversized and may require additional postage. ISBN: 1-56640-024-4; size: 4 3/4 x 6 7/8"."--© Pomegranate

No comments about New York Enclaves.

2 comments about Fort Ticonderoga (NY) (Postcard History).

1. An intersting read, i never imagined that someone could write such a precise history of the transformation of postcards of Ft. Ticonderoga. Mr. Crego documents sites at the Fort that no longer exist, this book filled in what i missed when visiting the fort.



2. Mr. Crego writes eloquently about a subject near and dear to my family's heart. My great-grandparents and great-great-grandfather reconstructed Fort Ticonderoga and it has been a part of my family since 1820. We agree that Mr. Crego's book is by far the most carefully and accurately researched in many years and even breaks significant new ground as being the first to systematically explore the reconstruction beginning in 1909.
   
   Kudos!
   
   Robert Pell-deChame

4 comments about Complete Idiot's Guide to New York.

1. Here are the pros and cons of the book after actually using it to tour New York City.

   Pros:

   - Very informative "tidbits" of information about New York (i.e.: New York History, Tourist Traps, Dollars and Sense, and Time Savers).

   - Good information about how to pick a hotel and restaurant if you don't know where to begin.

   - Good information on the mass transit system and how to get around.

   - Good information on the major tourist attractions in New York (hours and days open, cost, directions, etc.).

   - Helpful planning sheets if you can't figure out what you want to see first.

   Cons:

   - The size of the book is too big to fit easliy into a jacket pocket.

   - The cover is fluorescent orange which screams "tourist" when you take it out in the subway.

   - It focuses entirely on Manhattan. If you are staying outside of Manhattan the maps don't provide enough detail to show you how to get from outside of the city to the city itself.

   Overall a good first start for planning a trip to New York City. It provides the basic information of where to stay, where to eat, and how to get around in Manhattan.

   I recommend a more detailed travel guide (Michelin Green City Guide comes to mind) to accompany this book once you are in the city and start walking around or when you want to visit outside of Manhattan.




2. I took out 5 other NYC books from my local library and of all the books, I found this one of the most helpful. Easy to find the information and informative ideas and suggestions. When you update it, change the title, please, as I think I'm going to be embarrassed walking around NYC w/it.



3. This book cleared up our confusion on what airport to fly into, where to stay, how to get around, and how to find out about and plan activities. It's great!



4. This was a great book. It was very fun to read and very easy to understand. The maps were detailed and that really helps when you don't know where you are going! It was a great book and I would really reccommed it!