5 comments about Secret New York: Exploring the City's Hidden Neighborhoods.

1. As a new resident of New York I was thrilled to find this book. The walking tours exposed me to neighborhoods that I probably wouldn't have explored otherwise, and the "secret" facts about more well-known locations made my visits to these areas even more enjoyable.



2. The greatest thing about this book is that it is engrossing and useful not only to people like me, who grew up in New York, but I imagine also to people who want to get to know and love New York. I can't think of a single restaurant or site or anything that this book did not capture -- both the classics and the hidden gems. It is also much more readable and entertaining than other tour guidebooks I have read. I like to read it just for the fun of reading it -- not just for walking tours. This book is a must-read!!



3. I've now picked up 3 copies of Secret New York to give to friends who think they know everything about our adopted city - they don't! This book captures the essence of New York; it's neighborhoods and treasures that the average Joe would not find on his own. Also, it boasts original photography. If you're looking for a guide book with bullet points and stock photos, buy a Fodor's. If you want a really unique insiders look at our town, you'll love this book.



4. When I received this book as a gift a week ago I was reluctant to even open it, as I've become quite disappointed in the superficial nature of most guide books. This, however, turned out to be anything but that. A captivating collection of well-plotted walks through the city's best neighborhoods, "Secret New York" is also loaded with historical depth rarely found in this genre. Best of all, the prose is very well crafted and reminds one that even a guide book can and should be written by a talented writer.
   
   This book is jam-packed with interesting information about New York. Who would have known that Dutch maidens used to wash clothing on what would become Maiden Lane? I didn't. Or that the Bryant Park hotel is meant to resemble a fiery radiator? News to me. How about the fact that a string quartet performs in the Ralph Lauren flagship store around Christmas time? I'll have to check that out.
   
   Now living in London, I often think back to my days in New York with a sense of nostalgia. This charming book full of great pictures had brought the beloved neighborhoods back to life for me, with rich detail pouring off of every glossy page. My only reservation is that the book does not go into enough detail on the outer boroughs, perhaps due to limited space. Hopefully a second edition with more coverage thereof will soon follow.



5. Within the "secret" NYC book, there is a chapter of "secret" places. These include the Brooklyn Bridge and Ellis Island. Also, the book is very focused on Manhattan, and I was hoping to hear about City Island, etc. Obviously, other people love the book, and it probably isn't a bad book, just disappointing if you're looking for "the City's hidden neighborhoods" rather than Grand Central Terminal.

No comments about Hip Hotels: New York (Hip Hotels).

4 comments about Gangsters and Gold Diggers: Old New York, the Jazz Age, and the Birth of Broadway.

1. Gangsters and Golddiggers is a fascinating book that introduces you to the unique characters that made up early broadway. From its early existence as an Indian trail to the rise of theater and organized crime, this book offers a glimpse into a world that vibrates with violence and lust. Gangsters and Golddiggers reads almost like an epic motion picture. Definately pick this one up.



2. Author Jerome Charyn provides the reader with a cast of colorful characters such as Arnold Rothstein who used to enjoy wasting his time in Lindy's Restaurant, Al Jolson who was very difficult to live with and a self promoter, Legs Diamond, who detective Johnny Broderick once stuffed into a garbage can, Flo Ziegfeld, who glamorized the American girl, former singing waiter Irving Berlin who sang at Nigger Mike's and then went on to become the writer of over one thousand songs. Author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald and wife Zelda, gangster Owney Madden, Fannie Brice and her husband Billy Rose who was 5' 3 1/2" in his elevator shoes "who walked with the bounce of an overwound toy." Bert Gordon, W.C. Fields, Ruby Keeler, boxers Jack Dempsey and Johnson, and, of course, The Bambino himself, George Herman Ruth. The book is filled with anecdotes of these and other famous and infamous characters that made The Great White Way the historic place it is today. If you like social history you should love this book. I did come to one conclusion about a great majority of these individuals. As famous or infamous they may have been, many of them shared a feeling of loneliness even though they were major players in American social history.



3. Well, this book is filled with lots of interesting stories, but it's so disorganized it seems like it was written by an Jazz age drunk! Better editing would have done wonders for this book which has great stories about some of the celebrities of the 1920's, but flows sloppily from one anecdote to another.



4. This book is simply awash in great little anecdotes about the folks who spent their days in and around the Broadway of the early part of the 20th century. We get tales of the famous and the infamous, the good and the bad, the rich and the not so rich, and a myriad of supporting characters so colorful they could fill a Damon Runyan book of stories. It's not meant to be a book of mini biographies, but there are some interesting lives explored. The book also contains one of the most incisive analyses of "The Great Gatsby" I've ever read. If the author leaves you wishing for more information about some of the people you meet, that may be the book's only failing: it's too short. I could really have enjoyed reading another few hundred pages about the people and places he describes!

No comments about New York City (America Series).

No comments about Greenopia, New York City: The Definitive Guide to More Than 1,300 Eco-Friendly Businesses and Resources (Greenopia series).

1 comments about Hedonist's Gudie to New York (A Hedonist's Guide to...).

1. The HG2 New York is well written and very nicely presented. The maps divide NY into different sections and these are cross referenced to reviews in the guide. All in all an excellent guide!

5 comments about New York, Empire City: 1920-1945.

1. A wonderful pictoral history of early 20th century New York. One will be astounded at the space between the buildings of the city and the level of architecture throughout. In our daily hustle, this book reminds us of the beauty of the many buildings that make up the skyline of New York. Enjoy.



2. When David Stravitz bought around five hundred glass negatives from a New Jersey photo shop in the late seventies I bet he didn't realise what a nice little earner he was onto. This treasure trove of images has so far produced two books, the amazing day-by-day building of the Chrysler Building (ISBN 1568983549) and now 'New York, Empire State'.
   
   Both books follow the same format, page after page of very detailed architectural photographs of the city in the first fifty years of the last century. This book has a hundred images (thankfully in 175dpi) taken by commercial photographers Peyser and Patzig probably for architects and builders as a record of their endeavours.
   
   It is the detail in the photos that makes the book so fascinating. Taken on eight by ten glass negs after carefully selecting the right position reveals street scenes and buildings where you can read the road signs and study the detail work on skyscrapers that would be impossible to see from street level. Nearly all the photos are of commercial property though near the end there shots of tenements, shops, sport arenas and Coney Island. Needless to say many of the buildings shown came down years ago.
   
   Each picture has the name of the building or city area and Christopher Gray adds more detail on six pages at the back of the book and this is where I felt the reader has been badly let down by the publishers. There are 130 photo pages yet only sixteen have page numbers, which makes nonsense of Gray's page numbered captions and the three page comprehensive index. Strangely page 105, with a whole page photo does have a number and this, I assume, was to be the case with every page but someone screwed up! Very frustrating (and do I get a refund?).
   
   I recently reviewed a similar architectural photo book about New York City with 170 stunning photos taken by Samuel Gottscho between 1925 and 1940. Included are some marvellous Manhattan night photos as well as shop and house interiors. Gottscho's work helped to define the popular skyline silhouette image of the big American city. Have a look at 'The Mythic City' (ISBN 1568985622) by Donald Albrecht.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



3. No regrets but I wish there were more photos of the city and street scenes.



4. I love the fantastic black and white images in this book, you forget how spectacularly beautiful the New York skyline was before the 50's, 60's and 70's international style of Mies and SOM ruined the skyline blocking many of these breathtaking buildings from view and altering an iconic american image forever. At any rate, this is a really good book, with well researched, interesting text and aforementioned great photo's. As you look at all the beautiful buildings and lament the loss of so many over the years, you can't help but want to throttle Robert Moses and David Rockefeller.



5. A rare glimpse into a glamorous New York as it once was. An amazing time machine. The photographs are of absolutely stunning quality.

2 comments about New York's 50 Best Places To Take Children, 3rd Edition (City and Company).

1. Awesome book with great suggestions- well written, easy to use! We and the kid loved the suggestions.



2. I would give this book 3 1/2 stars if I could.
   
   Buy this if you want to get to know NYC attraction if you live in New York. It made me excited about getting to NYC. Buy another book if you want a resource that can help plan where to go during a vacation stay.
   
   I bought this book along with another well known travel book. I liked reading this book a lot more as it was much better written. It suffers in comparison with the other book because it's just not that useful when in NYC.
   
   Regrettably, it wasn't up to do date -- like recommending the USS Intrepid while the attraction is closed. That's okay -- just not great.
   
   Moreover, as a book for vacationing, it wasn't much use when we got into NYC. A map would have been great. It's best for reading ahead of time and thinking about places to go but not for planning on the go or working out things just a day or two in advance.

No comments about Manhattan in Detail: An Intimate Portrait in Watercolor.

1 comments about Making Mountains: New York City and the Catskills (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books).

1. I am enjoying this book very much. I was born in the Catskills and I am learning so much that my parents never told me. It is very well written.Making Mountains: New York City and the Catskills (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)