1 comments about The New York Book of Shops, 2nd Edition (City and Company).

1. This is the new edition of this book. I loved the first so much I had to have the newest one because I didn't want to miss any new shops that had opened since publication of the last edition. I only get to New York once or twice a year so I want to make the most of my time when I am there. The book lists great shops that sell anything from food to jewelry by regions of the city. You can also find out the nearest dry cleaner or shoe repair service in case of an emergency. The author mentions great sites to have a cocktail and take in a breathtaking view of the city. There are sections on the shopping possibilities in the East Village, Soho, Nolita (North of Little Italy), the Village and Meatpacking District, the Lower East Side, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, Tribeca, and Brooklyn, in Williamsburg and South Brooklyn. The shops are indexed both alphabetically and by type, so the guide is very easy to use.

5 comments about New York City Laminated Pocket Map by Pocket-Pilot.

1. ... be it as a newbie or not, it is this map. Accurate, perfect format, and above all, indestructible. Survived long days in my pockets without wear or tear, and continues to draw jealous looks from everyone with a crumpled and dog-eared paper pocket map ;-)



2. This really is a great little NYC map. It unfolds and refolds easily without that frustrating 'which part do I fold in now?' experience traditionally associated with folding maps. The lamination ensures that it won't suffer from wear and tear. Get one!



3. I was blown away with all the info they crammed into a two sided page that folds up to 3" x 4" pocket size & it's water proof too. I can't imagine what you'd need that this little map doesn't have. One side includes the "street" map with a list of all the "main" street names & guides for all the sights along with the NY City subway routes.
   
   The other side includes day trip suggestions, top sights to see and this larger map covers NYC and all the surrounding areas ... The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan Midtown, Financial District, Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, SoHo and a bit of info about each including subway info.
   
   This map also has facts of all kinds about the city ie: history & statistics, climate, airport info, and my favorite ... listings of all the museums/galleries, music/theaters/opera, skyscrapers, parks/gardens/zoos, annual festivals/festivities, & other sights with a brief explanations of each and their location on the map.
   
   I bought several books at the same time I bought this map. I've been studying this map and charting on my trip and haven't even looked at the books yet. This map is really all you need unless you want to read up on the history of sites before you arrive. DS



4. These are great maps! My daughter used London and Paris while in Europe and we just used NYC. You can put them in your pocket and yet they are detailed enough to use the subway maps.



5. This map is of a very convenient size, folds up easily, and, as it's laminated, is unlikely to split at the folds anytime soon.
   Includes useful transit and sightseeing information.
   My only complaint is that, for someone whose eyesight isn't what it used to be, the small print used for street names, etc. can be hard to see in anything but the most ideal lighting.

5 comments about Take a Hike New York City: Hikes Within Two Hours of Manhattan.

1. This is the must-have book for anyone who loves hiking. It's got the best trails, along with tons of great info. Everything you need if you live in and around New York City and love the outdoors.



2. This book details, in an easy to read fashion, legitmate day hikes (3-9 miles) in the NY/NJ region. If you are looking for hikes that offer the best of what southern NY and northern NJ has to offer, this book is for you.



3. I've lived in New York City for ten years, and just when I thought I'd done/seen it all, along comes this great book! I just completed my first hike outlined in "Take a Hike: New York City" yesterday (in the Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey) and I'm hooked. I carried the guide with me and - being a novice hiker - found that all the detail was perfect and wise. And it's smartly written as well with a bit of humor! I might last another ten years in New York now that I've been introduced to another facet of the city I call home.



4. Easy to use and informative. I look forward to picking hikes for the summer.



5. Saying that I use this book almost every week end should be enough.
   This is the best book to have for one day getaway from New York.
   Reliable and of good advice.
   This is The book I read to chose my week ends hike when I can't leave for more than one day. It has saved my week ends more than once!

5 comments about City Walks with Kids: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot (City Walks).

1. This is a great resource for locals or tourists visiting NY. It's also the perfect hostess gift for savvy parents. A real winner!



2. Our family recently returned from a visit to Manhattan. We used 5 or 6 texts as well as this boxed set of walking tours. The set consists of 50 3-3/4 by 5-1/2 inch heavy stock cards and a folding master card that shows all the walks in the context of a five bouroughs map.
   
   There are 3 walks in Central Park, 6 Midtown, none north of the park and 20 south of the Flatiron Building. Four walks cover The Bronx, one is in Queens and 4 in Brooklyn. Each walk card shows a moderately useful map on one side, which does not show all streets but does list subway and bus information as well as web and phone information; on the other side the text points out historic buildings, book stores and museums.
   
   It was very convenient to grab a few cards as we went out the door. There is also information about kid-friendly restaurants, which was very helpful. We also had the City Walks set (for adults) and while there was overlap in areas covered, there was not much in content, which made this worthwhile.
   
   I would definitely buy this set again.



3. This is an interesting product, packaged and produced in a very high quality manner. It would be nice, though, if it would also include more unexpected sites to visit (if so, I would've given it 5 stars instead of 3). Thanks.



4. This is a great resource for either a New Yorker or someone who is planning a visit with kids. These cards are portable and contain a good bit of information, including phone numbers, subway routes, and websites. Each card focuses on one destination, but mentions other attractions near the "walk," which makes it easy to plan out your excursion.



5. After living in NYC for a few years, I got this for some friends visiting the city. There were cool places I did not previously know about (especially in non-Manhattan areas like Bronx and Queens). The cards can help you plan trips around each attraction, which is helpful so you often don't have to do extra research to find out transportation, for example. The illustrations are colorful and fun, but definitely kid-ish in design. The cards and box are slightly clunky to carry around, however.

5 comments about My New York: New Anniversary Edition.

1. I thought that this was an excellent book. The pictures are great. I read it to my kids before visiting New York and after reading the book my kids could not wait to see all of the places that we read about. My daughter was especially thrilled to ride the same horse on the central park carousel that the little girl in the book rode.



2. The pictures are colorful, very detailed, and are a lot of fun to look at. It's narrated by a little girl who's venturing the famous sites of NYC. I had fun reading it and I'm
   sure kids will like it. I got the new anniversary edition. I really recommend it. NYC may change years from now. This book captures and reminisces our exciting city during our time...2002.



3. Bought this for my little cousins overseas to help them understand where we live. Apperently their mother likes it more than them! Now they know where I'm talking about when i say we went to Central park today or the zoo. i'll be buying more for my friends children as gifts. Great book.



4. By PHIL
   
   I'm happy I read this book because there are many cool things in this book. It explains all the cool things that you can do in New York City. It has the whispering room in Grand Central Station. You whisper into one corner and someone whispers at the other and you can hear each other.
   And lots of things like that. It is mostly for kids 7-11 years old but adult tourists will like it to.
   
   ...Story Board...
   
   It's about a girl that made an agreement with her mom to go on trips every weekend. The girl's name is Becky. She and her mom go to places that are fun in New York.
   
   On one trip they go to Radio City Music Hall to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Her friend Martin comes with her. In the book, she describes how the orchestra rises out of the floor in the beginning and then goes back in. I went to this show with my parents and this really does happen!
   
   They also go to the New York Public Library, Central Park Zoo, the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, Times Square and other cool places.
   
   I recommend this book to any tourist trying to find fun stuff to do when visiting New York City.
   
   This Book Is So Darn Cool!!!



5. The idea of the story is very cute. A letter is written to a friend that will be coming to NYC. The pictures, though, are wonderful. The are very colorful and take you all over the city. Love this book!

2 comments about Michelin Red Guide 2008 New York City (Michelin Red Guides).

1. The Michelin Guide is a standard in the restaurant review business. It has a pedigree that is much more revered in France than in the United States. Personally, I feel Zagat tried harder and won. Ideally, you should own both red books and consult with each before planning a dining experience but inevitably, the one that you would resort to most of the time is Zagat, not Michelin.
   
   Michelin is not laid out in a cohesive user frienndly manner. It is divided by neighborhoods which is fine if you suffer from agoraphobia and your primary goal is to seek out a restaurant in a small definitive radius.
   
   Usually, when one dines out one is looking for a particular type of restaurant i.e. a romantic restaurant, a before theatre prix fix, a small tapas place, an over the top restaurant to max out your expense account, etc. To identify these restaurants and many many more, Zagat is the top choice. Michelin confines their reviews not only to particular neighborhoods but to a small number of particular restaurants as well! It only chooses to review what they consider Michelin worthy.
   
   If you're interested in only THE top restaurants, Michelin is for you. You will learn which restaurants, mostly French, in Manhattan have earned the coveted Michelin stars. However, if you want to have a glimpse of each and every restaurant in NYC from the pizza place downtown to the 5 star establishment in midtown... buy the Zagat.
   
   Go ahead... if you're like me and want to have the best of both worlds, buy both!



2. The Michelin Red Guide is the most respected Restaurant Guide in the world. There have been chefs that have committed suicide when they lost a star. They have exacting standards or service and understand haute cuisine better than any one else in the world. And this is precisely why they are almost totally irrelevant to Restaurants in New York City. They do not understand that American standards of service are different, not worse, not lower, just different. Nor can they understand cuisines that do not fit into their narrow concepts of haute cuisine. So chefs like Mario Batali and Yasuda-sama will never do as well as they should.
   
   You are better off with the Zagat's guide.

No comments about Zagatsurvey 2009 New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining (Zagat New York City Gourmet Marketplace).

2 comments about Michelin Green Guide New York City (Michelin Green Guide: New York City English Edition).

1. 
   I had an older version of this guide when I lived in NYC. It was great. That was 30 years ago. I'm going back next week. After reviewing all the guide books, I still find this one the most useful. Wish me a good trip.



2. I purchased the Michelin Green Guuide New York City after borrowing it from the library several times. It was a worthwhile purchase, if only for the subway map. It gives a tourist all the information he/she needs to plan a trip to NYC, how to chose places to see, subway information and restaurant suggestions in the area of the attraction. The other plus about this guide is the shape, which fits into the pocket of cargo shorts or into a tote bag.

5 comments about Clublife: Thugs, Drugs, and Chaos at New York City's Premier Nightclubs.

1. Rob the bouncer is full of tips for 'guidos' about how to act in clubs. Unfortunately, real guidos won't be buying, much less reading, his book. So that leaves curious voyeurs who seek a glimpse of the annoying scenes that play out at big clubs like 'Axis' in NYC and others in places like South Beach, where I live. There's no plot, except for a romance with 'Amanda' the bartender. Rob says all he has to say within a few pages, and the rest is repetitive hamburger helper. The prose sounds like a blog, which is where it evidently came from. You wonder if the author pitched it to an agent, or vice versa. Still, I read the thing, depressing though it is. You will, too.



2. It's interesting to see it from the bouncer point of view, as these are the people that club promoters deal with the most. But while I will say he is very well spoken compared to most people working the ropes, that isn't saying much. I think a lot of times you will find yourself relating to him, but much the same way you would relate to your buddy in a pub while you grab a drink. I would have liked more of a deeper insight into his personal fears and insecurities. A fun read, especially when you know a lot of the situations he is talking about, but this reads more like a extended version of a magazine article.



3. I've been looking forward to this book for a long time. It did not disappoint, as it had some of my favorite passages from his blog, but he put them together in a fresh new story line. Yes, some of the vignettes were familiar, but I liked the ending. It's hopeful but not cheezily so.
   
   "Rob", thanks for putting in my favorite passage, the one about the girl with the glasses and your fantasy of a DUMBO loft. "In those dreams, I loved her for her quirks." I could close my eyes and see you.



4. Clublife is an enjoyable read that offers much more depth then one might expect from the typical "blog to book" hype. Clublife the book started out as Clublife the blog, a popular site where Rob the Bouncer details the antics of the clubgoing masses he contends with as a bouncer in New York's club scene. If you're worried that the book is nothing more than blog entries cobbled together in book form, relax. Rob pulled off a real novel that's worth reading.
   
   The book covers a two year period of Rob's bouncing career, and provides a look at the rise and fall of the nightclub "Axis," as well as an autobiographical look at Rob's personal life, told in an unflinchingly honest style that is at times both touching and hilarious.
   
   Here's what the author had to say about his book:
   
   "I don't think it's long enough. There was a lot more I could have said, and parts of it, instead of contributing to the "plot," read like extended, self-indulgent bitch-fests. There's occasionally too much dialogue. It moves in spots, though, and I suppose that's what counts."
   
   It's not a lengthy book, true; and it wouldn't have hurt anything if a bit of Rob's guido commenary had been trimmed back, but there's gold in Rob's ranting, and he's dead wrong about the dialogue. Rob captures conversation like nobody's business. He has an ear for it, and the conversations we get to "listen in" on are the book's strength.
   
   Clublife is fun, candid, and very much worth reading.



5. Okay, I'm going to unleash some criticism, so let me start thing off first by stating that Rob definitely has writing talent and I enjoyed his book. He does an excellent job portraying the nightclub world as he saw it. The writing is good and sometimes even funny. If you are a guido, a thuggish form of Italian male that Rob definitely despises, then you will either hate this book or love that it puts you and your kind in a momentary limelight.
   
   My main criticism is that I found Rob's stories to be lacking. Or maybe I just bought this book with too high of expectations. I mean come on, you worked in the biggest baddest nightclubs in New York City and these are your best stories? I have friends who work as bouncers and bartenders in some dive bars around the city and they can tell me better stories about the fights and the freaks that they encounter every night. There was also not much dirt spilled about the people around him. A book with nightlife subject matter should have been filled with this kind of juicy stuff. It seemed like Rob was giving us the PG13 rated version of what he really saw. Maybe he didn't want to throw anyone under the bus or maybe the publisher wanted to produce a tame story. Oh yeah, the lists Rob puts together about things like "How you should approach a bouncer" were also kind of lame.
   
   But all in all, it was a good book that I enjoyed. Maybe now that Rob is a published author he can do a sequel that is not so tame.

No comments about Fodor's Around New York City with Kids, 4th Edition (Around the City with Kids).