No comments about Along the Hudson and Mohawk: The 1790 Journey of Count Paolo Andreani.

No comments about Day of Jubilee: The Great Age of Public Celebrations in New York, 1788-1909.

2 comments about 100 Views of the Hamptons.

1. Robbins revelatory images of the East End of Long Island force the viewer to reimagine familiar territory. This is so much more than what one typically thinks of as photography. Using digital technology, these composed portraits of seascapes, landscapes and the figures who inhabit them exist in some ambiguous realm between representation and myth. This is imagery transformed and refreshed by an exceptional artist's technical expertise and haunting vision. The book presents a truly unique view of the beauty and complexity of this part of the world.



2. I've been taking summers in the Hamptons since I was baby. I know the surrounding towns, Springs and Amagansett, the beaches, the dunes, the little charming fruit stands; and yet it's clear to me that Mr. Robbins knows the Hamptons much better, on a deeper level. It may be that this book is so special to me because I know the Hamptons and I can go to the places he's photographed, places I've known all my life, and view them as if with new eyes. But I suspect that's just a bonus -- that the photography is really that good. Gorgeous work.

No comments about New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City: 1993-1994 (New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City).

1 comments about Western New York, An Explorer's Guide: From Niagara Falls and Southern Ontario to the Western Edge of the Finger Lakes.

1. I bought this book for my son who will be spending 3 years in Buffalo attending school and it is perfect for someone new to the area. He's already trying the restaurants in the area and is planning day trips to see the many attractions in Western New York. A few more maps would be a plus but with the availability of maps online, unnecessary. A few more pictures would be a nice addition for the next edition.

5 comments about Long Island Alive! (Alive Guides Series).

1. Pros
   ý In depth information about Long Island
   ý Geographic arrangement of chapters is very helpful
   ý Excellent descriptions of attractions
   
   Cons ý Maps are very small
   
   The Bottom Line - If you are traveling around Long Island, keep this book in the car. Long Island Alive! packs a lot of information into a portable package. With a cover price of $, you'll get your money's worth.
   
   Description
   ý A travel guide for visitors to Long Island and a resource guide for those who live here.
   ý You'll find information about places to stay, restaurants, museums, and historical landmarks.
   ý This book also lists houses of worship, parks, movie theaters, animal hospitals and shelters, etc.

   Long Island Alive! author Francine Silverman has put together a wonderful resource both for visitors to Long Island and those who live here. You'll find information about museums, dining, houses of worship, animal shelters, shopping, and entertainment. Long Island Alive!, published by Hunter Publishing, Inc., is arranged geographically using the Long Island Expressway as the dividing line between Nassau and Suffolk Counties' North and South Shores. Looking for a museum on the North Shore of Nassau County or somewhere to get a light bite on the South Shore of Suffolk? You'll find it in this book. Do you need to find a farm market? It's in here too. Keep this chubby paperback in your car. You never know when it will come in handy. Dawn Rosenberg McKay -




2. We residents of Long Island will be tickled pink with the author's thorough research of Long Island's length and breadth, 100 miles long and 20 miles across at its widest point. It will also provide a sweeping view for the visitor to the island. Before it was named in 1614 by Dutch explorer Adrian Block, our island was home to Indians for thousands of years and Indian names from Amagansett "plenty of good water" to Wyandanch, the chief who befriended the white settlers, are still many across the island.

   Silverman's exhaustive investigation of every aspect of Long Island gives the reader a complete picture of every area, covered and explained. From geographical details of its two counties, with Nassau and Suffolk's north and south shores, and latter's north and south forks, all readers' questions are answered, from its largest ethnic group (Italian Americans, 27 percent( to its highest point (Jayne's Hill in Melville at 400 feet above sea level). We are flat!

   The author's 10 reasons to visit Long Island (and we should be proud) are 1) 23 state parks and more than 50 county parks; 2) superb restaurants; 3) scenic waterways, 4) gilded-age mansions open to the public; 5) world-class concert halls and arenas; 6) hundreds of miles of white sandy beaches; 7) more than 100 museums; 8) 7,000 structures built prior to the 20th century; 9) unique architecture and 10) animal refuges and preserves. Sounds like something for everyone.

   From recreations of all sorts from biking and hiking, horseback riding and fishing to golf, tennis, boating and beaches (the 2,400-acre Jones Beach State Park and famous beach draws six to seven million visitors from around the world each summer). In this, the nation's fourth wealthiest area, residents support 1,196 shopping centers in addition to chain stores, boutiques and shops, found in virtually every town. Long Island is described as a microcosm of New York City, offering something for everyone, from restaurants and late night bars with live music, to celebrated concert halls featuring top names in entertainment, lounges, piano bars, comedy clubs and nightclubs. The book lists festivals, events, medical facilities, houses of worship, etc. in addition to accommodations and restaurants across the county, with price scales for each.

   Under Nassau County's North Shore, the reader is afforded an interesting listing and description of specific "Mansions to Museums" - from the Falaise Castle to the Tee Ridder Miniature Museum. Detailed information is given as well for the county's South Shore, before venturing to the less-densely populated Suffolk County.

   This lesser-known area of Long Island, its many historic sites from Stony Brook's Grist Mill to its wildlife preserves, its Film and TV Foundation and its many family-fun facilities, music, theatre and art offerings, spas, cruises, all sports, shopping, museums, accommodations, restaurants and more, are presented in detail by the author. From its South Shore's William Floyd 1724 famed Bayard Cutting Arboretum to its picturesque North Fork with its 25 wineries welcoming the public for visits and tasting and farm stands featuring fresh picked crops from the area's vast farmlands are many and popular with natives and tourists alike.

   Its celebrated 32-mile Fire Island with its pencil-thin barrier beach, no more than a half mile wide from ocean to bay, with its 17 communities' 200 families year round are joined by thousands of visitors every summer. No road or cars here and it's reached by ferry.

   "Let's not forget the island's famed Hamptons, which the author describes as "like nowhere else on the planet," with celebrities underfoot on the streets, markets, restaurants and shops. Like Long Island's Gold Coast, excess wealth abounds, with real estate up to "$ million a pop." All this plus award-winning beaches, museums, windmills, historic sites, water and land sports and lots of shopping, from surfboard to sand paintings and a wide choice of high-tone fashion; a shopper's paradise even for merely the "window-type." Restaurants, theatre, dancing and live entertainment are available after dark. The road to the Hamptons is a traffic nightmare during summer weekends, with tourists vying for the view of "life among the super rich on America's Riviera."

   Easy-to-read maps accompany each area text, excellent advice for additional sources and a helpful index afford readers easy access to Long Island Alive!'s ample array of Long Island information, border-to-border, coast-to-coast...




3. Francine Silverman, where were you when I needed you?
   

   
   When I was a teenager growing up in Montreal in the 1950s I would look forward to my summers visiting my sister in Long Island, New York.
   

   
   It is too bad I did not have at the time a copy of Francine Silverman's comprehensive travel guide, Long Island Alive. All I ever knew about Long Island were its beaches.
   Anyone reading this wonderful guidebook will have to agree that Long Island is not only about beaches- it has a distinct character and soul.
   

   
   Silverman is a veteran feature writer for newspapers and magazines.
   These days Silverman's passion is travel writing. Her first guidebook, Catskills Alive, was very well received, and I am sure Long Island Alive, will be equally successful.
   

   
   Long Island Alive concentrates on different geographical areas of Long Island: Nassau County' North Shore and South Shores, Suffolk County's North and South Shores,
   Fire Island, and Suffolk County's North and South Fork.

   Dividing these areas into subsections, Silverman describes their history, geology, geography, wildlife, and environment and also provides us with useful maps.
   

   
   In addition, the author provides information highlighting the heartbeat of the area with all its activities, attractions, lodging; restaurants, events, festivals and other goodies that make Long Island come alive. There is even an entire section devoted to farm markets.
   

   
   Scattered throughout the book are sidebars of tidbits of fascinating information.
   Did you know that when Dutch explorer Adrian Block sailed around the island in 1614 he named in Lange Eylandt and the name stuck?
   Sea turtles and whales occasionally wash up on beaches along the South Shore.
   Coyotes, bobcats and black bears that are common to New York State are no longer to be found on Long Island.
   

   
   Each section also includes a listing of some vital resources: medical facilities, shopping malls and streets, houses of worship, health and beauty clubs, banks, museums, historical societies and tours, bars and clubs, motels, parks, tennis facilities, newspapers, liquor stores, wineries and even animal adoption centers.
   

   
   As for those of us who are interested in where to dine and stay, considerable space is devoted to the best places to lodge and eat. Where applicable websites are even listed.
   

   
   Silverman succeeds in evoking Long Island's charm and color, and should prove to be an invaluable asset for travelers to this very interesting area.

   This review first appeared on the reviewer's own site
   bookpleasures.com




4. If Long Island Alive is not the definitve guide book for Long Island travel, I don't know what is. This was my first experience reviewing a travel guide, and it was a delightful surprise. Anything the traveler could possibly want or need to know can be found between these covers.
   
   Of particular interest to me was the Long Island history. Beginning with the ice age - which created the unique topography - to the Native Algonquian Indians, progressing through early Dutch and English settlers, the island's history is fascinating. Ms. Silverman also describes the geology and geography and provides detailed maps. It is a diverse land of pine barrens and beaches, state parks and golf courses, hiking trails and woodlands. I was thinking "Wow!" before I'd finished reading the introduction.
   
   The book is arranged rather handily into distinct areas of Long Island - Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Fire Island. The author then breaks down each area into points of interest and backs up her information with first hand impressions, phone numbers, websites, helpful tips and intriguing tidbits.
   
   Sources of transportation available by car, rail, bus, plane, plus directions are provided. Available lodging and restaurants in each area and price ranges are clearly listed. Whether you are interested in museums, the arts, farmer markets, romantic getaways, cruises, outdoor activities, family fun, or world class night life, that information is listed. There's something of interest for everyone and choices to suit every pocket book. This guide also contains practical information, such as banks, hospitals, veterinary clinics, houses of worship, and which destinations are handicapped accessible. If you're wondering if children or pets are welcome, you'll find that information too.
   
   Long Island Alive is complete with any information the traveler could possibly want to know. And it's entertaining reading to boot. Highest recommendation.



5. Reading a guide book is usually something one does before going to the destinations it describes. Francine Silverman's Long Island Alive! is not only an informative book for prospective Long Island visitors, but it is also an entertaining read for armchair travellers. Silverman writes in a narrative form that makes the reader feel a native Long Islander is showing her around the largest island ajacent to the Continental U.S.
   
   The book is divided into seven geographic headings: Nassau County's North and South Shores, Suffolk County's North and South Shores, Fire Island, and Suffolk County's North and South Forks. Farm markets are listed at the back of the book.
   
   From helpful, child-friendly tips to detailed historical descriptions of various landmarks, the author offers the reader useful and timely information. Each geographic section is divided into helpful subcategories for transportation, lodging, shopping, recreation and restaurants. Above and beyond the traditional guide book, Long Island Alive! has Web site suggestions for the curious reader to learn even more than its numerous pages entail. Silverman includes enough historical background to whet the reader's appetite, all the while making him or her want to learn more by visiting the places described.
   
   Long Island's size is not its only impressive facet: the sheer number of fascinating historical places that Silverman depicts makes the reader want to pack her bags yesterday to experience Long Island first hand. Being a masterful writer, Silverman uses clear language to detail the most intriguing tidbits about the island. She inserts trivia in an appropriate manner between more somber entries such as the Holocaust Memorial of Nassau County. "The giraffe is the symbol of Great Neck - for obvious reasons" follows philanthropic opportunities at the Friends of the Arts which sponsors various music festivals and a children's workshop throughout the year. She captures the history of Long Island while simultaneously emphasizing its contemporary offerings. From Walt Whitman's birthplace to the local bar scene, this guide has it all.
   
   My father recently told me that I am the 12th generation descendant of Robert Jackson, one of the founding proprieters of the Hempstead settlement on Long Island. If I ever make a trip to Long Island to visit my forefathers' birthplace, Long Island Alive! is the first thing I will pack.
   
   Christine Louise Hohlbaum
   American author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff
   http://www.diaryofamother.com

No comments about The Catskills: A Bicycling Guide.

2 comments about New York City: A Photographic Celebration.

1. New York is always refered to as a tourist attraction for the United States. I have never been to this city but i've always wondered what it really looked like. Sure they show the skyline on certain television shows but they never get in-depth the way the photographer has. The book captured New York's beautiful attractions and I begun to wish i lived in NYC . I was informed intelligently on everything that the book had a picture of. As an added bonus the pictures were of very high quality.



2. I am a resident of New York and I have a few posters of the skyline of the city. However, after 9/11 I wanted more pictures. I've been to all of the tourist attractions and places in The City that are not so well known. This book does a good job showing the main attractions and the most famous landmarks while including some scenes that capture the typical New York. For example, there is one shot of midtown traffic (not a specific landmark, but typical of life in The City). Because New York City has so many landmarks and sights to see, it is difficult to capture all of them in a book. This book does a good job of showing the most important sights of The City from multiple and unique angles.

   However, some of the pictures are disappointing. Specifically, pictures of Times Square are about 8-10 years old and it has changed significantly in that time. It was always full of billboards and advertisements, but now it is so much brighter and greater now than the way it was portrayed in the pictures. I had also expected more written information from the book about the sights. Lastly, some pictures only show parts of some of the buildings, like the public library.

   Overall I have a very favorable impression of the book. The pictures are good and that's most important. Despite the afore mentioned weaknesses I recommend this book as a picture book of NYC especially in light of the price. The book was definitely worth what I paid for it. I would also recommend this book for people who have never been to NYC.

2 comments about Guide to Adirondack Trails: Central Region (The Forest Preserve Series, Vol 3).

1. This book is another excellent one from the series published by the Adirondack Mountain Club. It borders Newcomb to the north and borders Route 8 on the south. It covers the beautiful areas of Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake. A must for Adirondack buffs.



2. If you are hiking the Central Adirondacks, this is the guidebook to have. The ADK guidebooks give you the information you need to determine if the hike is right for you without detailing everything you will see.

5 comments about New York from the Air: An Architectural Heritage, Revised Edition.

1. if you live in or if you love new york you must have this book that's enough



2. I would not recommend this book for anyone who hasn't lived in New York. I live here and I expected a lot more than I got. After 9/11 I wanted to get more photographic representations of New York City. What I got were inferior photographs and an uninteresting lesson in architecture. Captions to the photographs gave explanations about the design of the building which was of little value. For example the name of the developer, architect, and designer. When multiple buildings were in the picture, as was often the case, the description of each building was hard to follow. There should have been a small schematic with numbers to allow easier interpretation.

   Most importantly however, the pictures were nowhere near as good as I would have hoped. Many pictures were taken at dusk and sunset hours and they came out dark. The shadows, especially of pictures in lower Manhattan are long and dilute the quality of the pictures. Many shots of the World Trade Center and their neighboring Battery Park City and WFC are pretty poor. There is an overhead shot of the WTC that is taken at dusk and the smaller buildings are invisible. No pictures were taken at night, when the city has a new life. There were no pictures of Times Square, only one picture where Madison Squeare Garden is partly in the background, no pictures of South Street Seaport (which would come out well if taking a picture of Manhattan from Brooklyn), and many of the pictures were of obscure buildings that most people don't look at.

   As a native New Yorker I can appreciate seeing some of the unique buildings and architecture, but as far as a book for sights and photographs there is much to be desired. It almost seems that the photographer just took some pictures and put them together, almost haphazardly. The book was definitely not worth what I paid for it. They could have done so much more with the concept of aerial photos, but I was left disappointed.




3. I bought this book because of my adoration for the City of New York, and the beautiful picture on the front. Those looking for an in-depth history of NYC or more of a "hands-on" book, should look elsewhere. This book provides what the title suggests. It is a brief introduction to the vast world that is New York City. The photography is beautiful, although sometimes blurry at edges. There are small paragraphs explaining what you are looking at. Most of the main attractions are covered (Empire State Building, Central Park, Harlem, Greenwich Village, etc), as well as some others that I didn't know about, but had my eyes opened to. I will definitely be more prepared and educated as I go to NYC next time. The only complaint is that most of the coverage is of Manhattan, and it's attractions and not so much of the other parts of New York, as the book suggests. This was fine by me, as I was mostly interested in Manhattan anyway, but could mislead others. I would highly recommend this book if you like the city of New York, or are planning a trip there. This could be a great supplement as it gives you a different view of the city, one that you can't get just by being there. A view from the air.



4. The book consists of excellent full-page photographs of
   widely known Manhattan landmark buildings (other New York
   boroughs are not included) taken from unusual perspective
   not accessible by pedestrian. Someone complained in a previous
   review that most pictures were taken during dawn and dusk.
   I think that lighting was very carefully considered and
   significantly contributes to the beauty of the photographs.
   Description is relatively short, it is a photographic book,
   not a city guide. The photographs are much more artistic than
   in Robert Cameron's book "Above New York", which, in contrast,
   includes also other New York boroughs and photographs cover
   larger areas (not single buildings) and are taken during flat
   mid-day light.



5. Like its fabulous brother, Paris from above, this book possesses breathtaking visuals. New York, like Paris, photographs well. New York, with its spectacular skyscrapers, and gorgeous parks, is a arial photographers dream. Arthus Bertrand, captures the city and his images are so vivid and clear. It's amazing to see many of the iconic skyscrapers photographed from overhead instead of from ground level or from other skyscrapers. I appreciated how close he photographs some of the buildings you can almost see the original masons markings on the stones, it's just total eye candy. If you have a love for this great city or just appreciate great photograph and vivid visuals the I believe you will enjoy this book, really the next best thing to being there.