5 comments about Knopf Guide: New York (Knopf Guides).

1. We used this book on our first visit to Manhatten and found the book to be very helpful. After preparing for our visit with this book, I felt comfortable and a familiarity with the city.



2. folks, this is the best idea for a tourbook/map that i have stumbled across yet. i'm not prone to raving, but this will garner praise from me until the cows come home (bearing foot & mouth) no doubt.

   so, why is this so great? first of all, it's simple and well designed. the city is broken down into sections. you turn to those pages and there is a brief description of places to eat, shop, etc. the pages then open up into a map of the section with a description of major sites in the area.

   brilliant! no fumbling around a big map trying to find your street. no squinting to figure out where you are. it's easy to find landmarks, metro stops, etc.

   the card stock is nice and heavy and has lasted well even in my back pocket. the descriptions have been helpful without being too lengthy. and at this price, it's quite competitive with other maps while providing much more.




3. If you are traveling to NYC, and spending your time in Manhattan, this is the only map book you will need. It's compact, and will fit in your pocket, and is easy to use and to read.

   It starts with a map of Manhattan, which is divided into several sections. Each section has a corresponding map. When you open the book to a section, you will see some text and small pictures showing some of the highlights that you may want to see in the area. Then, the page folds out to a detailed map that is large enough to read easily, even while your walking, but still quite compact. The paper is very heavy, and after ten days of extensive use, my book has no torn maps, or even battered edges.

   The back of the book has both bus and subway maps, and although they are pretty small, you can still use them to get around on public transportation. The only thing I used to supplement this book was a compass, which helped when we emerged from a subway tunnel, and needed a quick direction.

   The cost of this book is only slightly more than a traditional map and is, in my opinion, an incredible value for the money. As a first-time visitor to NYC using this book, I was amazed that I never got lost; not even once!




4. It's the most handy guidebook I ever used. It tells you all the attractions in Manhattan and it doesn't flood you wth words. It organized into sections, so you don't have to fold the map over and over to find where you want to go. If you love to travel by yourself and you don't want to carry a big book around and look like a tourist, you should get this book.

   It's only good for Manhattan though.




5. These Knopf Guides are fantastic. They are beautiful little books, they are not quick guides, they are conscious and indepth. The images are well presented and the text highly informative. This book on New York is especially good, New York is unique and lends itself well to a guide of this kind. Highly recommended.

No comments about Guide to New York City Landmarks.

No comments about Best of Brooklyn (Zagat Survey).

2 comments about Moon Handbooks New York State.

1. Since 2000 I have used the second edition of this guide as my bible to the history, sights, and most fascinating dining and lodging spots of the central New York area where our children have gone to college. This Guide has made our trips to central New York among the most enjoyable of any I have taken anywhere in the world. The Moon Guide imparts an appreciation of its subject that is unmatched by any travel book I have ever owned. I can't wait to receive the new Third edition -- kudos to the authors!



2. When I want to plan a vacation or want more information about a certain area the first thing I reach for is a Moon Handbook. Though I live in New York State, there are many things to know. When I took a recent camping trip to the Catskills I found that this particular book had more information on the area than did the Moon Handbook that covered just the Hudson Valley Region, which includes the Catskills. I would have imagined that the NYS book would have been less detailed than a book specifically about that area. Anyway, the only downside is that it doesn't include some of the State parks I'm interested in, but otherwise a very good book by a publisher I've grown to trust.

5 comments about New York from the Air (From the Air).

1. This is a great book! I have visited New York City many times in my life on business and have always loved that famous skyline. Viewing the city from the air gave me a new appreciation for the great beauty of the buildings that make up that skyline, the grand design of Central Park, and the other elements that make New York City "world class" in so many ways. I also enjoyed the brief history of New York contained in the introduction and the interesting facts and trivia in the photo captions.



2. This book is just amazing! It is sooo reasonably priced for a book of this magnitude. If you have never been to New York City, you will still appreciate this book. It is like a tour without ever being there. I have ventured to NYC once, and this book just brings back great memories.

   There are pages upon pages of pictures, which also have captions. These captions tell some of the history of the sights. I definitely see this as a good investment.




3. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what the City of New York is really like. If a tourist to NYC were to leave their camera at home, all they would need to do to is leaf through it's pages - it's THAT good! The Capital of the World is yours to explore!

   Personal Note...
   I remember buying my first copy of this book during a lunch break in the summer of 2000 from Strand's Bookstore on Fulton Street - about 3 blocks from where the Twin Towers once stood. The images of Lower Manhattan stir emotions that I didn't know I had.




4. While in holiday in NYC in Dec 2001 I was looking this title everywhere as I thought it was out of print. However, I found a copy in a tourist shop under the Empire State Building, as a reprinted version with a newer picture on the cover -ISBN 1-57145-276-1. It was well well the $21 I paid for it. The pics are very good and there's just enough text keep it interesting. Well worth the money and a really good souvenir too. Could not find anything better for the money despite spending hours looking for this title everywhere!

   It now lives on my coffee table back in GB!




5. 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.

1 comments about Time Out New York Eating and Drinking, 2007: The Essential Guide to the City's Best Restaurants and Bars (Time Out Guides).

1. If you're a city slicker, club crawler or any other stripe of sure footed cement stomper this is the guide for you. While your at it check out TimeOUT's other city guides London, Paris? pourquoi pas mon amie? Just thing for those urbane urbanites!

2 comments about Gotham Comes of Age: New York Through the Lens of the Byron Company, 1892-1942.

1. This book has many things to commend it, from th fine paper stock to the marvelous images selected by Peter Simmons. Look at the pictures - really look at them and you will be brought back to a different era! I recommend it!



2. "Travel back with us to turn-of-the-century New York, when the raucous spirit of vaudeville and burlesque colored the stage, Turkish baths were all the rage, and the city's newly wealthy industrialists fashioned grand palaces that rivaled those of European royalty. Gotham Comes of Age unveils 170 images selected by the Museum of the City of New York from the vast collection of the New York-based Byron Company photographic studio (in business from 1892 to 1942). In addition to capturing the high-society high jinks of New York's most gaudy and profligate era, Gotham Comes of Age also presents many views of the city's daily life: skaters in Central Park, tenement dwellers seeking fresh air on the stoops, and today's landmarks--such as the Church of St. John the Divine and the original Times building--in the early stages of construction.
   
   "Together, the photographs in Gotham document the maturation of a great metropolis and offer an absorbing and evocative perspective on the lives and pursuits of yesterday's New Yorkers. The book includes an introduction by E. L. Doctorow, text that puts the Byron Company's work in historical context, a brief introductory essay for each chapter, and informed, insightful notes on the photographs.
   
   "216 pages, over 170 duotone photographs, size: 8 1/2 x 11". Smythe-sewn paperbound book, with flaps. ISBN: 0-7649-0906-1."--© Pomegranate

5 comments about Avant Guide New York City: Insiders' Guide to Progressive Culture (Avant Guide New York City).

1. when we first scanned this guide we thought perhaps we were too old to appreciate it {my husband and I are in our fifties]. However, we loved every bit of it and were especially helped in terms of what not to do or where not to eat.



2. Honestly, I've been living in New York for the past two years, and I think I have a reasonably fair grasp on its nighlife, restaurants, whathaveyou. Not only did this book have a listing of some of my favorite spots, but it talked about some places I wish I'd known about earlier. Some good stuff here.



3. I love to travel and I love guidebooks. This one is the best series Ive seen. it makes me laugh, has a great senseability about the places I like and really feels like it was written by a friend. I never write these reviews, but Im inspired to write this one because the book is so good.



4. I am a big fan of the Avant-Guides. I used this book almost exclusively for a trip to NYC in the spring of 2002--thus some of the information had changed. Otherwise I would have rated it at a 5 star. The information on the museums and where to get the best deal on theater ticket was very helpful. I have since ordered the guides for Las Vegas, New Orleans and Toronto in hopes of finding the same cool, underground type of information provided for NYC. PLEASE--do guides for Montreal, Washington D.C. and Seattle.



5. I Just returned from 1 week business/pleasure visit to New York and I found this guide full of good recommendations and descriptions were accurate. Better than Lonely Planet or Time Out's, which I also bought. Quite a useful guide with plentiful restaurant, watering hole and sight-seeing suggestions. It's replete with valuable information about attractions, hotels, eateries, shops, spas, etc. Beyond this, however, the layout is terrific, and the book is remarkably easy to use as a result. The maps, in particular, are helpful.I'd definintely purchase an Avant Guide guidebook again. I am happy to say that this book was by far the best single-city guide I used.

No comments about Night+Day New York (The Cool Cities Series from Pulse Guides).

No comments about Six Heritage Tours of the Lower East Side: A Walking Guide.