No comments about New Yorker's New York City Map: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island.

No comments about Secret New York: The Unique Guidebook to New York's Hidden Sites, Sounds, & Tastes (Secret Guide series).

5 comments about The Mini Rough Guide to New York City.

1. This was my first trip to NYC and I found the Rough Guide very helpful. There were detailed maps of the bus system, the subway system, lodging and places to see. There was also information on the outer boroughs, useful for my trip into Brooklyn. The one thing I didn't like was that restaurants weren't listed in the index. You had to go to the restaurant section of the book and look in the neighborhood, then under the type of cuisine. Which meant when my friend recommended a specific place, I couldn't look it up in the book easily, or even be sure it was listed.



2. The Rough Guide series is one of the consistently best collections of tour literature available anywhere. Previous guides I have used have been for France and Scotland, and both were excellent.

   On the plus side, I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the restaurant recommendations (though I did not have the opportunity of staying at any hotels this time) and I liked the organization of the beginning as a neighborhood-by-neighborhood tour of New York. Many guides are so Manhattan-centric as to leave a false impression of the Big Apple: This one was remarkably even-handed throughout.

   Curiously, the main problem was that, at times, the authors did not know whether to describe a particular tourist sight in terms of the neighborhood chapter or in terms of the museums chapter. At times, such as in the description of the Fraunces Tavern, one is sent scurrying between chapters. Other than this, I felt that this guide deserved five stars.

   The numerous black and white maps are of high quality, and the index is particularly useful given the book's organization. This one's a winner.




3. I just returned from NYC guided by this book. The content on places discussed is wonderful, but the neighborhood organization leaves you flipping back and forth sometimes, as another reviewer describes.

   I can't imagine how anyone purchases a tour book on-line (I have to browse at a physical store and then come here to buy!), but here are a couple of things I noticed:

   1. This guide, while it advises travelers to use the subway, does not provide suggested stops for individual attractions. The exception is in the museum section. As a result, I had to walk around always having this book and a subway map on hand, with my companion and I shuffling through the two to figure out which stops lined up with which street addresses the best.

   2. The restaurant section was not very helpful because of its organization. I would have preferred to have restaurants listed with things they are near in the neighborhood sections. For example, most of our days were organized by going to the things as listed in a neighborhood section of the book, but when we wanted to know what to eat, we had to stop and find the appropriate section way in the back of the book under restaurants and then cuisine headings.

   3. As the editors suggest in the introduction, this book does a great job of suggesting bargain options for getting to, getting around, and getting entertained in New York City, but it still presents other options as well. People who like to travel on a budget but also like to splurge every now and then will be well-informed on both fronts.

   4. The authors do a wonderful job of providing background information about sites listed in the book, which we found to increase our appreciation of places visited greatly. It also made it easier to decide ahead of time which places we wanted to see and which we could do without.

   This is a great guide, but be sure you find a tour book that fits your style, especially for a city as daunting as New York.




4. Let me just say this, if you are interested in Architecture and Art, this book is wonderful!!! It goes into great detail about all of the neighborhoods historical buildings.

   I am a traveler who goes to see the buildings and this book has given me a great insight into where I can go see what, and at the best angle.




5. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting NY.

No comments about Requiem: World Trade Center : Once upon a Time in New York City.

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.

No comments about Freeing the Angel from the Stone A Guide to Piccirilli Sculpture in New York City.

2 comments about Brooklyn's Gold Coast: The Sheepshead Bay Communities.

1. having grown up in sheepshead bay, I couldnt say no to this book. Pictures and history are quite interesting, but they arranged somewhat haphazardly and the history is not in chronologic order. A good book if you are from the area



2. The book has some good photos, but the printing is poor quality and the layout and design are sloppy and confusing.
   Whole sections of the text are lifted directly from Vincent Seyfried's "The Long Island Railroad: A Comprehensive History." And the source of some of Brian Merlis' photos must be questioned.

No comments about Welcome Back to Brooklyn.

No comments about Touring the Upper East Side: Walks in Five Historic Districs.

5 comments about Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987.

1. Bobbito's little tour of the history and evolution of the sneaker culture gives us a personal look into what made the sneaker game what it is today. Although Bobbito should be well respected for his knowledge and contribution to the sneaker culture his elitist attitude towards shoes made post 1980s is somewhat off-putting to the generation that came after his.



2. I got this book as a gift for my son and he loves it! Definitely a must have for any avid sneaker collector!



3. Yes, Yes Y'all,
   
   I'm not a sneaker fiend (not that it is a negative term), but this book is "DOPE"! If you are a sneaker addict, then this book is for you. Buy this joint NOW!
   
   Peeese!
   
   Mr. J.



4. If you are at all into the sneaker culture get this book. It brought back such great memories. I thought that a few of my friends and myself were the only ones who flipped over kicks back in the day. Bobito puts out quality material. I have some of his videos as well.



5. If you love hoops and played any serious ball in the 60's or 70's this is a must read. It has become a coffee table book in our home and I find myself picking it up often to look at the classic pictures of BBall shoes or to get a laugh from the dead on observations and memories. I was in the thick of the changing world from canvas Chuck's to adidas, Puma, Pro Keds... the pre-Nike era.