5 comments about Subway Style: 100 Years of Architecture & Design in the New York City Subway.

1. Interesting - The book is copyright 2004 by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The legal name for the parent agency is Metropolitan TRANSPORTATION Authority. So is this book legal?



2. After having seen too many books narrating the history, especially the first years, of the NYC Subway, this book is quite a surprise. Stunning photographs, with interesting details!



3. Finally a book that appreciates New York's iconic subway system..yeah London has the clean and modern "Tube" and Paris has it's efficient "Metro", but the most famous or infamous and most recognizable is the NYC "Subway". The images in this book are fantastic and the text kept me interested all the way to the last word. I really came away with an appreciation for the history of this great transportantion system and it's surprising beauty..who knew? Highly recommended.



4. I've always appreciated the unique style and details of the NYC subway system. And being a history affecionado as well, this book satisfied my curiosity. A nice blend of historical description, nice collection of photos. I think ultimately it's more on the photo side, but there are succinct captions for each of them.
   
   This is not really a thorough history book but I would describe more as a jumping point should you decide it's something you want to know more about.



5. This book is a beautiful catalog of the visuals associated with the New York City subway system. I have seen books with pictures of the cars, but no other book shows the stations, the history of the transit maps, subway advertisements, even the various designs of tokens that have been used. It's a great job and I'm happy to give it a 5-star rating!

3 comments about Beat Generation in New York: A Walking Tour of Jack Kerouac's City.

1. It would be next to impossible to find these places on your own. Even more impossible to learn as much about each of the sites as is presented in this guide. Each tour follows a logical route and there are plenty of stops that you probably never would have thought of--eg. Serpico's apartment, the former site of Thomas Wolfe's East 8th St. apartment. Using this guide is a great way to see the Village, East and West. And the insight will keep you reading even as you're moving to the next stop. Take your time. Spread the tours over a couple of afternoons. And linger for a while in Washington Square.

   A great companion to this book is "The Beat Generation in New York." I wouldn't recommend carrying this heavy book around with you, but after you've finished the tours, open the book to look at the pictures taken at many of the places you've just visited.




2. of course anyone who lives in new york city can tell you where the white horse and cedar tavern are, but do they all know that where sam goody now stands on sixth avenue and ninth street is the very same place that the cafeteria kerouac wrote about extensively in visions of cody once stood?

   this book is filled with a lot of well-known and plenty of not so well known places where various members of the beat generation ate, performed, lived, got drunk in, or otherwise played out their lives. the tours are broken down by area and there are clear directions to help you find where you're going (even if the place no longer exists). each tour also begins with a street map of the area covered and clearly numbered destinations, which was very helpful, although i did wish that the book had also come with an overview map of all manhattan and destinations so that i could more easily combine tours or skip around to places of interest if i didn't want to follow a complete tour.

   each stopping place in the tour book includes a paragraph or two on why the place is important to beat history and who/what occured there. although the title of the book claims that new york was "jack kerouac's city," the tours really include many of the other important beat figures as well as a few others that were influenced by the beat movement, such as bob dylan.

   this is a great way for beat aficionados visiting new york to get a taste of the city, and a fun way for locals to spend an afternoon or two discovering new spots and seeing familiar places in a new light.




3. Having moved to New York not long ago, I've been devouring the history and architecture of the city. This book blends the best of both, adding a third party to the mix -- literature. Dividing the city -- mostly Manhattan -- into eight two-hour walking tours, this guidebook offers literary references, beat-gen biographical information, and urban commentary in a useful, insightful style. The book is due an update -- the Gotham Book Mart has moved and several once-vacant lots are no longer undeveloped -- but this book has made for several wonderful walking weekends, and I know I'll retrace my steps in the future.

1 comments about Museums of New York City: A Guide for Residents and Visitors (Westholme Museum Guides).

1. This book will go with me in my purse at Christmastime in New York! A real must for artists.

5 comments about The New York Pop-Up Book.

1. The first thing that happened when I opened this book is that the Statue of Liberty fell out into my lap. Then I discovered that the Empire State Building doesn't actually pop up; you have to pry it up, and hope that you're not wrecking something in the process. This is true of most of the "pop-ups" in the book. Also, lift-up tabs get in the way of some of the pop-ups (or vice-versa). I'd say it's a lot of clever ideas badly executed. Probably the makers were trying to do too much. But in spite of all this, I still like it, and if you collect pop-up books, you probably will too. Just be ready to re-construct and re-glue a lot of the stuff.



2. I purchased this Pop Up Book for a 14 year old friend who enjoys Pop Up Books. At the last minute, I decided to purchase one for myself. Both of us are going to New York in the future and thought it might be a good guide. This book is absolutely wonderful. I have enjoyed each page. The detail is tremendous. The writing is entertaining and informative. The Pop Ups give you a feeling of "being there".



3. I have to use my fingers to make them pop-up. Not interesting pop-ups at all-- just plain and simple.



4. The Top of the Empire State Building are not in the book. The edges of the the book are really in a bad condition.I think, it's a seller problem!



5. A wonderful carnival of a book, and like many carnivals it has problems if you look closely. The pop-ups aren't always easy to work, and one piece tends to get fouled up on another. In addition, there are a LOT of little booklets and enclosures- many of them great in themselves but they tend to fall out of the book into your lap. Then you've got an evening of "Where the #@&&%^! did THIS go?" ahead of you.
   Still, it's a love poem to NYC, with all the best intentions.

1 comments about The Cool Parent's Guide to All of New York, 4th Edition: Excursion and Activities in and around our city that your children will love and you won't think ... (Cool Parents Guide to All of New York).

1. This is a decent guide for parents in NYC, though mostly of children who aren't napping in the middle of the day anymore. I liked the portion where they list little excursions you can do with your kids that don't take all day (i.e. would take maybe a few hours). Good representation of all 5 boroughs, something you don't see in a lot of these (most tend to be Manhattan-centric). There's definitely something in here for everyone. I discovered a number of things that look really interesting and different (e.g. you can go down a manhole in the middle of a Brooklyn NY street to see old train tunnels) - b/c they're right - who wants to keep taking kids to museums all the time? You get about an hour in, if you're lucky, before boredom arrives. The other thing I liked was that the guide is up-to-date - sometimes these guides aren't. This one even listed a Trader Joe's in Brooklyn that's not open yet, but coming soon.

1 comments about Take a Paddle: Finger Lakes New York Quiet Water for Canoes & Kayaks (Take a Paddle).

1. As soon as I got a kayak this summer, I bought both this book and the "Take a Paddle" for western New York. This region is a great place to put a little boat in the water--with lakes of all sizes, from little kettleholes to the Great Lakes, plus streams, and rivers, and the Erie canal. It really helps to have a guide to tell you where you can put in and take out, the difficulty of a route, how to get there and where to park.
   These books are well designed and easy to use. I've tried out several routes and found the information very useful. Can hardly wait to get out and try more paddles next spring.

5 comments about Pauline Frommer's New York City (Pauline Frommer Guides).

1. What a great travel guide this is! I recommend it to everyone who is going to New York, or even thinking about it! After reading this you will be ready to go, and be sure to take the book with you. You will need it as a valuable resource. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.
   Pauline breaks the city down into manageable areas and explores each one in depth. I now feel familiarized with New York like never before, and I have visited there 6 or 7 times in the past. I especially enjoyed the chapter on 'Remarkable Sights and Attractions'; including a section on New York's 12 Iconic sights. Some very interesting history along with tips for visiting each sight. The chapter on 'The Other New York' has both delightful and unique ideas to satisfy everyone's curiosity. The walking tours chapter shows a fascinating way to explore the city.
   The book is well-written and includes every aspect of touring New York, from eating to shopping to sightseeing to anything else; and Pauline's love of this city is evident and infectious.
   While other guidebooks can be vague and confusing (as well as cater to those with big budgets,) Pauline Frommer's New York guide is clear, concise, budget-minded, and fun to read. It shows that you really can visit New York on almost any budget and have a great time experiencing it all. This guide will be the first thing in my suitcase when I pack for our trip to NYC next month! Thanks Pauline Frommer, and I look forward to reading your other guides.



2. Having grown up in Manhattan but not lived there in 20 years, I was thrilled to find a NYC guidebook that not only provides excellent suggestions for enjoying NY to its utmost, but also gives really interesting historical/landmark information. It's well-written and engaging and a must-have for people who live in or out of the Big Apple. Kudos to Pauline Frommer!



3. I purchased three guide books in anticipation of a recent trip to NYC. After reviewing all three, I sent the other two back. This was the only guide book that I needed for a great visit to the city. The restaurant ratings were great, detailing reasonably priced restaurants that the locals frequent. The lodging B&B information was great too although I had already made my reservations before buying the book (the hotel I had picked turned out to be favorably reviewed in the book). The sightseeing and shopping sections and the getting around the city sections were right on and, besides saving us time and money, steered us to the best things to see and do for a limited stay. It is nice to have a guide book written by a local resident who really knows her way around the city!



4. I have been to NYC twice and picked up this guidebook in anticipation of my third trip to New York. I have not actually brought this book with me to NYC yet, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the best one out there. It has tons of ideas on how to visit the best places for the least amount of money. I probably saved a couple hundred just on tickets to shows and museums alone by using the tips in her book. I can't imagine traveling anywhere else without the help of Pauline. It truly is an amazing book. I particularly love the Accomodations section and The Essentials of Planning section. The only other book I would get to take on your trip is a good old trusty map. I personally recommend the Knopf Mapguides. With these two in tow, you're ready to hit the city and "Spend less, see more."



5. One of the best guides on New York city. It does not list places like a typical travel guide! It gives you a good local's low-down on this city that can intimidate an outsider!

1 comments about Cafe Life New York: An Insider's Guide to the City's Neighborhood Cafes (Cafe Life).

1. Coffee houses have been apart of New York for over three hundred years, with the first opening up in the seventeenth century - 1696. "Cafe Life New York: An Insider's Guide to the City's Neighborhood Cafes" is a guide to one undeniable fact of New York life- New Yorkers love their coffee. A mix of history and guidebook information with a touch of author Sandy Miller's own opinion and personal stories, "Cafe Life New York: An Insider's Guide to City Neighborhood Cafes" covers the best of the best of the coffee houses of New York. Beautiful color photographs throughout adding a grand and excellent descriptive touch, "Cafe Life New York: An Insider's Guide to City Neighborhood Cafes" is highly recommended to coffee lovers and armchair travelers alike - and especially for coffee lovers thinking of visiting the Big Apple.

4 comments about The Unofficial Guide to New York City (Unofficial Guides).

1. On a recent business trip, this guide offered everything I needed-- a cheap place to stay, some great places to eat, great rates on all the top attractions, and even Broadway shows without paying full price.



2. Who wouldn't like to get the unofficial word on a big complex city? Who wouldn't like to feel that they were going to be able to find the places that make a city memorable, and that they weren't going to stick out as easy pickings while doing so?
   
   These guide books promise, essentially, that you will know what you are doing before you've actually had the experience, removing some of the nasty anxiety of going horribly wrong as you set out to find urban magic. Some of their features are excellent. The hotel section, for instance, is comprehensive and gives several ways of looking for a hotel that might match your needs. Neighborhood overviews are also very fine.
   
   HOWEVER! other aspects are both annoying and silly. Addresses are often wrong; hours of operation ditto; information about public transporation is (to be charitable) out-of-date. Nothing quite beats hopping confidently onto a bus with a pocket full of dollar bills, only to discover that busses only accept tokens or quarters.
   
   They don't do badly at explaining what attitude you need to take to manage in New York, but neither do they do well. They hint, for example, at the importance of tipping, but do not convey the underlying fact that tipping in NYC is essentially small-time protection money. Not that that's a bad thing. Similarly, restaurant coverage was unimaginative, but maybe there is no way to predict whether a tourist would prefer a very very safe and bland experience, or is more adventurous and would prefer places where the locals eat. Even then, which locals?
   
   This book helped us find a hotel that pleased us. Still, the other aspects annoyed us sufficiently that we left it behind in JFK before we took off.



3. If you need a guidebook that will help you plan an itinerary, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! This book, while chock-full of information, gives no practical tips whatsoever about how to arrange activities while touring. I read through it twice and came away with snippets of information but nothing that helped with actually planning how my family would spend each of our four days in the city. The index is incomplete and much of the information is sketchy at best. I would NOT recommend this as a resource, especially for first-time visitors.



4. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is excellent, the best Disney guide, specially for it's details. I wanted a New York guide, so I guessed this would have the same quality. I was wrong. It doesn't comes close. Fodors is a better choice with more useful information. The Unofficial also needs a more careful update. It's written that I could find a Warner Bros store at Columbus Circle, but the Warner stores closed many years ago. Fortunately I was already well informed.

No comments about Frommer's Portable New York City 2008 (Frommer's Portable).