No comments about The Day-Tripper's Guide to New York City.

2 comments about The Big Onion Guide to Brooklyn: Ten Historic Walking Tours.

1. Take a narrowed focus on Brooklyn, New York alone, put it in a tall but narrow pocket-sized take-along tote, add historic photos from the Brooklyn Historical Society along with maps and directions, and you have created a walking tour guide unique in its approach and scope, with The Historic Walking Tours: Big Onion Guide To Brooklyn. Several pages of fuzzy printing mid-book don't but temporarily mar the success of a wonderful little guide probing many historic neighborhoods and buildings.



2. As a fellow tour guide, I know Big Onion does good work, and this is no exception. As a rival tour guide (New York Like a Native), I'll also suggest that this book, like any guidebook, is no substitute for a live guided tour. There are a couple of errors (but not at an unacceptable level). More importantly, any tour enshrined in a book is already out of date--for example, a tour of Fort Greene & Clinton Hill should address the looming Nets arena complex. And any book has space limits; this omits numerous streets, buildings, institutions, and bars/restaurants/stores I'd want to mention.

2 comments about Lonely Planet New York City.

1. This book has a lot of good information that I used for my wife's & my first visit to New York City. It has more information than most people will need unless you're going to be sightseeing in NYC for at least one month. It has some restaurants listed but the Zagat Survey book is best for restaurants.



2. This was an excellent guide for my fist ever visit to NYC, and I feel that it will continue to be useful for many trips to come because there is SO much there! This book has an abundance of information on all areas of the city. It had great overviews of Manhattan as a whole, and minute details that prove to be important as you make your way around the city (for example, hours of all the museums, and a detailed map of Central Park). It even had really neat walking tours around all the different neighborhoods (the snapshot maps are great) that pointed out the don't-miss sights around each area of Manhattan. For those exploring beyond Manhattan, it also has chapters on all the boroughs. It could have included a little more of the nightlife, but the restaurant selections more than made up for that. The Subway map in the back of the book is a very valuable asset, and I found it helped make the trains quite manageable.

   This book is a must have for any first-timer to Manhattan, and probably even has new information for those that have been there many times.

1 comments about Frommer's Portable New York City 2007 (Frommer's Portable).

1. Take the United States' largest city, limit yourself to 200 pages, and then write in a style that never fails to state and then restate the obvious, and you have this embarrassment of a travel guide, published by the usually reliable folks at Frommer's. While having the distinction of being a slightly better guide than either the Portable Paris or Portable London volumes, this is not high praise, since the aforementioned guides are among the worst ever written. Still, the author of this guide provides largely accurate information, something lacking in big dollops in the London and Paris attempts.
   
   The problem with this New York edition is that its subject simply cannot be well-covered in 200 pages. And it would be interesting to know who edits these books, although it would be no surprise to find it was Edward Scissorhands. The narrative is choppy and incohesive, and the information provided- while accurate- is woefully incomplete. A traveler simply could not make an informed hotel or dining choice by using this guide, and isn't that sort of Travel Guide Book 101?
   
   It has been suggested that this writer has overly carped about the poor selections included in this series' Paris and London volumes, but here it is less the inclusions than the omissions that cause concern. In a city this size, it must indeed have been formidable, for instance, to try to recommend restaurants in every part of Manhattan of every variety in every price range. But if one chooses to include Wondee Siam (very fine, by the way) and omit Per Se and Le Bernadin, there is simply no way one will not look particularly foolish (and while I am thrilled that the under-appreciated Aquavit got a nod, it is virtually inconceivable that the Arctic char is what the author chose to recommend since this restaurant brims to overflowing with innovative Scandinavian cuisine).
   
   There is nothing in this guide that you probably don't already know if you are above the age of twelve. Apparently, this is Frommer's attempt to take advantage of what the editors perceive as our "sound bite" mentality and give us an MTV version of a truly symphonic city. What a shame!

5 comments about The Spiritual Guide to New York: Yoga, Buddhism, Wicca, Kabbalah and Beyond.

1. Finding anything, from the perfect bagel to the best socks, in NYC can be daunting, because there are always so many choices. Waage and Applestone help attenuate this difficulty by doing the hard work of culling through the thousands of offerings for alternative spiritual activites in NYC. The breadth of their analysis is striking, as is their insight into the range of activities and facilities available throughout New York. My friends from Europe were particularly happy to find a guide that was as thorough, clever and fun to read as this one.



2. I'm not much of a freaky religous person, so this book was perfect for me. I enjoyed it as an opportunity to learn more about the very diverse and numerous ways in which people seek out and find their spiritual needs. If finding a place in NY that fits your personal needs is your goal, this book is definitely for you. If having an open mind and understanding the way others fulfill their inner-self, this is also a good read. Could have had more pictures, but I guess it helps to leave it up to your mind as to how to interpret the zillion locales in NY.



3. I had just started a program of meditation at my local Buddhist center when I traveled to New York for a conference. Thanks to this book I did not miss a beat in my new regime and I made some new friends.



4. This book is Great! I bought it because I
   was looking for a good yoga studio in my neighborhood. The reviews were
   right on and I found a place that I LOVE. Next stop, a meditation class...



5. I used to know everything about everything in New York. When I lived there. Now that I go back on extended visits, this book has helped to keep me in the know and introduced me to places, not just in the city, but when I go to the Hamptons on the weekend and need a good Yoga class.

   The reviews are written in a way I can relate to -- I feel like I can take the authors' word for it. Even if you're only going to spend a week in NY and don't want to miss out on your yoga class (or your wicca circle), this is a great resource.

No comments about Time Out Shortlist New York 2009 (Time Out Shortlist).

1 comments about New York.

1. In "New York" the architectural landscapes and skylines of the city of New York are showcased in the cover-to-cover photography of Christopher Bliss. All five of the boroughs comprising "The Big Apple" are represented both in terms of their downtown and uptown landmarks, as well as the brownstone neighborhoods. A tribute to the diversity and vitality of the nation's premier city, "New York" could well serve as a template for how other major American cities could be (and should be!) photographically documented.

No comments about Where the Ball Drops: Days and Nights in Times Square.

No comments about Photographing New York City: Amphoto Travel Guide for Photographers.

No comments about Insight City Guide New York (Insight City Guides (Book & Restaurant Guide).