Product Description
"Terse, dramatic . . .of equal interest to academics and lay enthusiasts, this serious yet highly readable book addresses Mafia reality more succinctly and clearly than any similar work in recent memory."-Kirkus Reviews

"Wherever Puzo's bestsellers and Scorsese's films are popular, this well-organized description of the extent of the Cosa Nostra control of six New York City industries-and the government actions that broke down that control-will appeal."-Booklist

"Jacobs's structured approach offers a careful dissection of the Mafia way of doing business that is as effective as a Gambino-orchestrated labor strike."-Publishers Weekly

"This book fills a sorely needed gap in the literature on the intersection among organized crime, public policy, economics and law."-Gerald J. Russello, The Law and Politics Book Review

Cosa Nostra. Organized crime. The Mob. Call it what you like, no other crime group has infiltrated labor unions and manipulated legitimate industries like Italian organized crime families. One cannot understand the history and political economy of New York City-or most other major American cities-in the 20th century without focusing on the role of organized crime in the urban power structure.

Gotham Unbound demonstrates the remarkable range of Cosa Nostra's activities and influence and convincingly argues that 20th century organized crime has been no minor annoyance at the periphery of society but a major force in the core economy, acting as a power broker, even as an alternative government in many sectors of the urban economy.

James B. Jacobs presents the first comprehensive account of the ways in which the Cosa Nostra infiltrated key sectors of New York City's legitimate economic life and how this came over the years to be accepted as inevitable, in some cases even beneficial. The first half of Gotham Unbound is devoted to the ways organized crime became entrenched in six economic sectors and institutions of the city-the garment district, Fulton Fish Market, freight at JFK airport, construction, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the waste-hauling industry. The second half compellingly documents the campaign to purge the mob from unions, industries, and economic sectors, focusing on the unrelenting law enforcement efforts and the central role of Rudolph Giuliani's mayoral administration in devising innovative regulatory strategies to combat the mob. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It worked for me ...
I used this book for research for a new novel set in 1973 (after the court ordered banning of Deep Throat). Gotham Unbound provided just enough information to get the job done.I'm pretty familiar with what this book covers.Nevertheless, the detail provided is enlightening. ... Read more

Product Description
At the end of World War II, New York City went through a period of transformation, as war rations gave way to prosperity, loved ones were reunited, and babies were born into a new era. African American soldiers who fought in the name of democracy demanded equal rights at home while Billie Holiday reminded us of the "Strange Fruit" this country had given birth to. Women left the factories and returned to the domestic front, raising children and catering to their husbands who toiled in a pre-technological lifestyle that has long since disappeared.Photographer Vivian Cherry began her career in the early 1940s while working as a dancer in Broadway shows and nightclubs. Cherry supported herself partly as a "darkroom technician" for Underwood and Underwood, a prominent photo service to news organizations. She began shooting the world around her during this time of change. As a street photographer she combined informal portraiture with cityscapes of the Lower East Side, the Third Avenue El (and it’s ensuing demolition), the streets of Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Meat Packing District. Searching for more skill as a photographer, Cherry joined the Photo League, where she studied with Sid Grossman, who had a profound influence on countless photographers of the 1940s and 1950s. Cherry began selling photo essays to popular magazines while continuing to work in Broadway musicals and supper clubs. Her work from this period, collected here for the first time in Helluva Town, provides lively vignettes of our collective memory, suffusing gritty street scenes with warmth and gentleness alongside social consciousness and history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The Cherry on top
Ms Cherry, trained as a dancer, got her start with the classes organized by the Photo League in the early forties and she is one of several female photographers who absorbed the teachings of Sid Grossman.Others include Lisette Model, Helen Gee and Erika Stone.She is probably the last surviving member of the League and amazingly still covering NYC with her camera.

This is the first of two PowerHouse books, the other (forthcoming) one is Vivian Cherry's New York, with photos from the last decade or so.Her style is typical New York School: capturing the passing street scene in the same way as Arbus, Donaghty, Frank, Klein, Levitt, Weegee and a handful of others.

The eighty duotones are divided into: Third Avenue El, passengers and its removal; Blacksmiths; Bowls; Fruit auctions; Lower East side; Children.One of the editorial problems with the book, I think, is that there are too few photos in some of these chapters, for instance blacksmiths only has six, bowls five, fruit auctions nine and East side twelve.These hardly seem enough for an essay on the subject and surely Cherry must have taken more.The El and its removal has twenty shots including some wonderful compositions of passengers and spectators.

One of the stylistic features of the Photo League was seeking out the spontaneous shot of some activity on the street, the complete opposite of the controlled posed photo but I was struck by a couple in the book that seemed posed (still wonderful photos, though) one on page twenty-one is of three identical looking men, all wearing hats sitting in three separate seats on one side of a subway car, the other, page ninety-one, is of a group of seven kids, all holding bits of wood as make believe swords resting on friend laying on the ground.

PowerHouse books have a reputation of producing quality photo books and Helluva Town maintains it with good paper and lovely solid black 200 screen duotones.I wonder though if their two books on Cherry would have been better as one big book?A sort of thick, chunky monograph to give Vivian Cherry the credence she deserves.

***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

an older New York
Vivian Cherry's photgraphs are fantastic! This book is a wonderful addition to any photography collection. Each page could stand alone as a homage to a time past, they are insightful and intense glimses of old New York.

Unique photographs of a disappearing New York
Vivian Cherry captures ordinary people in their everyday lives and turns the moments into extraordinary pictures. In the era of humanistic street photography, Cherry was one of a handful of women street photographs, and it's about time that others get a chance to see her beautiful photographs. Some of her most memorable photographs include the demolition of the 3rd Avenue El line, and the startling series that depicts a group of kids in East Harlem who are playing at adult violence - aiming real-looking guns at each other and staging "lynchings," including one picture of a Black youth who is pretending to be lynched. The power and beauty of Cherry's photographs is inspiring. The photographs are important sources of history--capturing New York in the 50s--but are also beautiful, touching photographs. They take you into a time and place, and the faces of the people in the photographs stay with you long after you look away, making you want to look at them again.

Film Noir Snaps Disappoint
This is a rather slim collection of b/w photographs of mid-century Manhattan. A few interesting shots of outer-boro commuters sitting on rattan subway and el seats with the funny hats people wore in the 40's; the rest are unremarkable pictures of prosiac street scenes. Manhattan has always been the mother lode of subject matter for photography, whether the theme is architecture or the man on the street. There are countless coffee table books by better photographers at lower prices in most book stores.

This was a disappointment!
I bought "Helluva Town" both because I grew up in the '40s and '50s and also because I like books on photography.

This was a disappointment.It is not a very large collection of photos and there were too many taken of the same subjects, so it became boring.

I looked through it once and returned it. ... Read more

Product Description
Try New York City's best coal-oven pizza or indulge in steamed dumplings and dim sum.Ponder hundreds of masterpieces under one roof, give your regards to Broadway or sip cocktails inside one of Manhattan's most opulent rooms —Fodor's New York City 2005 offers all these experiences and more!From the Upper West Side to Battery Park, our local writers have explored the Big Apple, to find the best hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities to prepare you for a journey of stunning variety. Before you leave for the city that never sleeps, be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.

The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best —"Fodor's guides are saturated with information."

-New compact trim size make these guides even more portable
-Two-color interior design makes it easier to find the information you need
-Fodor's Choice Ratings flag must-see sights and hidden treasures
-Hotel and restaurant reviews cover all budgets
-Plus multi-day itineraries to help you build the right trip for you and/or your family ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent !!!
I am from Brazil and this travel book has been an excellent help to my future travel (on January / 06). It has a lot of maps, good tips for all budgets, great itineraries and, the most important, is too organized.

Certainly, it is a very good purchase for all.

Informative Travel Guide
If you can only buy one travel guide and tangible information is what you are looking for your money will be well spent on Fodor's 05 New York City book.It clearly lays out Manhattan, as well as the different boroughs, and details what each has to offer. It is also filled with lots of maps.It describes and rates shops, restaurants, nighttime entertainment, performing arts, etc. for each area. This book was a great prep book to plan our trip and it was a great reference book while in New York.As a matter of fact, I carried only a few things in my backpack everyday.They included a subway map, camera, extra film, and this book. ... Read more

Product Description
It is no secret that with each new office park, strip mall, and housing development that slices through the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut landscape, more and more indigenous plant habitats are being destroyed. Concrete, after all, is not a friendly neighbor to vegetative life. Less common wisdom, however, holds that plants native to this region have been disappearing rapidly for a variety of reasons, and some of the causes can be avoided, even as construction projects continue to move in.



One of the most serious threats to indigenous plants is the introduction of invasive non-native species by landscapers after new developments are built. In this unique guide, ecologist Margaret B. Gargiullo presents a detailed look at the full scope of flora that is native to this region and available for propagation. Geared specifically for landscape architects, designers, land managers, and restorationists, this book offers practical advice on how to increase the amount of indigenous flora growing in the metropolitan area, and in some cases, to reintroduce plants that have completely disappeared.



More than one hundred line drawings of plants and their specific habitats, ranging from forests to beaches, help readers visualize the full potential for landscaping in the area. A separate entry for each plant also provides detailed information on size, flower color, blooming time, and its possible uses in wetland mitigation, erosion control, and natural area restoration. Some plants are also highlighted for their ability to thrive in areas that are typically considered inhospitable to greenery.



Easily searchable by plant type or habitat, this guide is an essential reference for everyone concerned with the region's natural plant life. Since most of the plants can also be grown well beyond the New York City metropolitan area, this book will also be useful for project managers doing restoration work in most of southern New England and the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.



... Read more

Product Description
A is for Atlas

B is for Bagel

C is for Chrysler Building

An ABC book that pays tribute to a child's view of New York City

An ABC book unlike any other, ABC NYC reinvents the genre using an alphabet unique to New York City. From subway signs to building graffiti, NYC's letters are represented everywhere you walk: M is for Manhole cover, T is for Taxi. A child's guidebook to life in New York, ABC NYC beautifully captures the visual vocabulary of the city kid with bold black-and-white photographs and vibrant letters found in some of the most surprising places. Perfect for the youngest set learning the alphabet or collectors of New York memorabilia, ABC NYC is as striking and energetic as the city it reveals.AUTHOR BIO: Joanne Dugan is a New York based photographer whose work has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. She hand prints her limited edition fine art photographs in her darkroom in New York City's Union Square district. She is also the photographer behind the best-selling book Taxi Driver Wisdom and two fine art monographs. Pamela Hovland is a designer and educator whose work has been recognized by numerous national and international design organizations. Even though she learned her ABCs while growing up on a farm in Minnesota, she has lived and worked in New York City and Connecticut ever since. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Babies love this book!
My twins did! I use this and "123 NYC" everyday during book time and they love it.And I love NYC so it is a nice diversion for me to :)

A classic book: for NYC what Make Way For Ducklings was for Boston.
I live in NYC and bought these books for my nieces who live in Texas when they came to visit.
They utterly loved them.They picked out things in the book and found them on the streets and can not stop talking about the things they saw and learned in the books: watertowers, manhole covers.
This is a beautiful and classic book about New York.And I think it really changes the way a child will look at any city.I've bought this for all of the children in my life- those who live in NYC and outside NYC and both they and their parents constantly tell me how the book has become part of their child's thoughts and life.
Which NYC would you rather a child know?Eloise's?Or this- this populist, loving, beautifully observed way to love and involve yourself in NYC in a child's way that adults love too.
Also love 123 NYC.

Great Book!
I bought this book for my first grandchild because the photographs are colorful and unique to her "hometown!"The best part is the last page, which gives the locations of all the letters depicted in the book...I can't wait to take Olivia around town and show her where the ABCs came from!A wonderful companion book is 123-NYC also by J. Dugan.

ABC NYC
This is a lovely book for city children who don't understand that 'c' is for 'cow'."C" is for Chrysler building.I have given this book to several children, New Yorkers and ex-New Yorkers.They all like 'b' is for 'bagel'.

ABC's with NYC Attitude
We live in NYC and I was looking for an ABC book for my daughter's 2nd birthday.There were several on NY so I almost got one, but the text was a little too advanced than what I was looking for, and the art was mediocre.Then I was browsing in a bookstore and saw this one on display.It took one skim and I bought it and we LOVE it.With black&white photos, bold colors, and letters straight from the city, it's more "New York" than any book with painted pictures could ever be.I think my favorite is "M is for Manhole - there are 500,000 to jump on!"So so true.But then, "J is for Jackhammer - cover your ears" is also too true.It's a perfect book for children and grown-ups to share together and bond over the ever-unique experience that is New York City. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Go New York!
This is a great addition to the board books Puck normally writes. The wire art and the illustrations by Rey David are particularly strong and attractive, and help make New York City magical. The text describing New York landmarks and features contributes to an interactive experience for child and parent. What about a Wow! Chicago, L.A., New Orleans, Boston and Miami?

An inviting creation that will score high interest points with young people
"Wow! New York City" is a fun, creative, contemporary book inviting kids age 4-8 to explore the wonders of New York City. Particularly intriguing are artist Rey David Rojas' "paper clip" created illustrations that feature famous sights of New York City represented in a wire-framed artform that is actually based on copper wire metal sculptures, with assorted bright background colors. The most difficult artwork to create, and perhaps the most striking one is the "Imagine" mosaic tile representation, incorporating wire-replicas of hundreds of tiny tiles in a stunning total effect. The spare but effective text is the perfect New York City tour narrative, delivered to accompany the paper clip wire sculptures artworks that feature icons of New York City such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, or even a taxi! "Wow! New York City" is an inviting creation that will score high interest points with young people unfamiliar with the vast variety of artistic, social and cultural offerings of the Big Apple.

Amazing Art
One of the coolest children's books I have seen. A unique concept that has piqued the interest of both of my boys (ages 3 and 6). We love the explanations at the end of the book. Very good quality. It's a new way of looking at NYC! Love it...

Fantastic book about New York City
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R6N4C9AR7TVKG Wow! New York City
Imagine a City Built with a Paper Clip . . .

Puck (Author), Rey David Rojas (Illustrations by)

New York City has never been more whimsical than in this visual narrative that uses wire-art sculptures to explore the Big Apple. Everything starts with a paper clip that unfolds to create some of New York's most famous symbols, including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. A lively text accompanies the striking visuals, and six pages of information chronicle everything needed to know about the included attractions and landmarks.

Puck is the author of the series Cool Counting Books(tm) which includes 123 California, 123 Chicago, 123 New York, 123 San Francisco, 123 Texas, and 123 USA. He has worked as a writer, editor, and translator for national publications and publishing houses. He lives in New York City. Rey David Rojas is an award-wining visual artist who studied in the renowned Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (National School of Visual Arts) in Mexico City, and has illustrated children's books for some of Mexico's most innovative publishers, such as Editorial Serpentina and Libros del Escarabajo. Wow! New York City: Imagine a City Built with a Paper Clip . . . (Great City Books)

Love this book!
My little one and I love this book! He loves the pictures of the places and things he's seen in NYC. The artwork is incredible! I don't think I've ever seen a children's book with art like this- and I think it's a great idea to show how the art was made! Can't wait to see the next book in the series! ... Read more

Product Description

As perhaps never before in its extraordinary history, New York has captured the American imagination. This major anthology brings together not only the best literary writing about New York -- from O. Henry, Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Paul Auster, and James Baldwin, among many others -- but also the most revealing essays by politicians, philosophers, city planners, social critics, visitors, immigrants, journalists, and historians.

The anthology begins with an account of Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609 and ends with an essay written especially for this book by John P. Avlon, former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's speechwriter, called "The Resilient City," on the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center as observed from City Hall. The editors have chosen some familiar favorites, such as Washington Irving'sA History of New York and Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," as well as lesser-known literary and historical gems, such as Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for Central Park and Cynthia Ozick's "The Synthetic Sublime" -- an updated answer to E. B. White's classic essayHere Is New York, which is also included. The variety and originality of the selections in Empire City offer a captivating account of New York's growth, and reveal often forgotten aspects of its political, literary, and social history.

Customer Reviews (7)

Arid
You'll love this book if you're interested in fairly dull essays written by people most of whom you have no knowledge or care. After reading about halfway through, I tossed it into the "pass along" stack. That said, the book does have some very interesting and memorable essays concerning the British attack on New York City at the beginning of the American Revolution. But if you're hoping for a colorful essay-type history of New York City as I was, purchase another. This is more of a collection of writings by people who happened to have lived in or around New Your City.

Essential, Thorough NYC Reading
A true behemoth of New York City lore, Empire City isn't so much a textbook (although I used it as one) as the product of a couple of historians lovingly digging up primary documents and arranging them to tell four centuries of NYC history. Compiled by Kenneth T. Jackson (frequently seen on history channel documentaries about the city)and David S. Dunbar, it has first-person Joe Schmoeaccounts, political documents, critical essays, travel journals, fictional selections, and plenty of ephemera, and divides them into 5 majors epochs: the Colonial Period, Rise to National Dominance, Industrial Metropolis, World City, and World Capital.

The first part, the Colonial Period (1624-1783), covers the largest span of time in the fewest pages. Due to the language of the period though, the primary documents here are perhaps the hardest to trudge through. But there's some great stuff here, from an account of Henry Hudson's maiden voyage up the Hudson, to a few initial colonial social contracts between the city's first citizens, though accounts leading into the Revolutionary War. Jackson ends the epoch with his own heart-wrenching, ironicaccount of the slave ships of the British Army, where American prisoners were served rotten food as a deal between British General Howe and a New York City mercantilist when said mercantilist found out Howe was having an affair with his wife.

Things get moving at a much quicker pace in the second part, Rise to National Dominance (1783-1860), with documents of the laying out of the street grid in Manhattan, DeWitt Clinton's then-revolutionary idea of using the public schools to educate the poor as well as the well-off, and plenty on the notorious Five Points district. There are also lots of accounts of European travelers having a look around at the Great Experiment (including a certain Victorian novelist who almost ruined his career with his account), but more important to this section are some of the first writers of the American literary tradition, including Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville.

Industrial Metropolis (1860-1898), the third part, starts off with a selection of writings by a couple of relatively obscure black citizens of New York who might be credited as the start of the long, proud line of African American literature to spring from the tight racial relations of New York City. An account of the Draft Riots of 1863 follows, and the bulk of the literary work of this section is decidedly political, with most sides drawn between representation and/or endorsement of the capitalist model that, let's be honest, NYC was built on (George Fitzhugh, Horatio Alger, Edith Wharton), and a worker-based outcry against the dehumanizing effects of that model (Thomas McGuire, Henry George, Jacob Riis). On a lighter note, there are accounts of the building of Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as a poem in praise of the Statue of Liberty and an early view of Coney Island before it was ever lit up.

The last two parts take up more than half of the book, which is understandable as by this time the printing press was heralding the rise of mass media and New York was replacing Boston as the literary capital of the world. It's no surprise, then, that a decent portion of part 4,World City (1898-1948), is composed of giants of the American literary tradition, including Henry James, Henry Adams, O. Henry, Theodore Dreiser, John Dos Passos, Dorothy Parker, Thomas Wolfe, Henry Miller, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Mitchell, and John Steinbeck. It's filled in nicely with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia's Ten Misconceptions of New York, Le Corbusier's chimeric fancies about filling every space with a skyscraper, the compact that established the Port Authority, numerous documents of the horrendous worker treatment and tenement laws of the turn of the century, and "Brooklyn Could Have Been a Contender," a modern essay by John Tierney that imagines a world where Brooklyn hadn't accepted Manhattan's conditions for consolidating into the New York City we know.

If part 3 showed the roots of the Harlem Renaissance, the fourth part and then the fifth, World Capital (1948-2002), reveal the bulk of its fruits; they're represented with selections by Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, and James Weldon Johnson in Part 4, and James Baldwin, a searing poem by Federico Garcia Lorca about Harlem, and a slew of white writers who were influenced by them including Bernard Malamud, Jack Kerouac, and Tom Wolfe in Part 5. The rest of World Capital could probably be second-guessed more than any other section simply because of the wealth of material being written in and about NYC in the last half-century, but I don't have many complaints. This part is especially heavy on city planning arguments (what was that old saying? Something like, "New York would be the greatest city in the world, if they ever finished it."), with Robert Moses on one end of the spectrum and the Young Lords on the other and plenty in between. I got a little nostalgic to see they included Joan Didion's "Goodbye to All That," the first thing I ever read on the subway when I came to the city. And they even were prescient enough to include a short essay by Junot Diaz of recent Oscar Wao fame, a cool little piece where he reveals some of the origins of that great novel with his mashup of New York City and science fiction imagery.

A Wonderful Collection
Here's a wonderful collection of diverse writings about New York City ranging from an account of Henry Hudson's 1609 voyage down the river that took his name to a very poignant piece about 9/11 by a member of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's staff.Articles by such well-known writers as O'Henry, Theodore Dreiser, Herman Melville, Stephen Crane, Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck (all who have lived in the Empire City) are included.Each selection has a brief introduction packed with interesting facts about the City and the writer of the piece.A great read and reference.

An Extraordinary Collection
Superlatives seldom meet the mark, except EMPIRE CITY. This is a book of superlative moods, the city of true night and day, and of gifted writers meeting on Gotham's every old and new corner. Each in their own time, they're overwhelmed by the city's human vastness, its diversity, even attracted to its loneliness - the city's unique ability to confer absolute privacy in neighborhoods and buildings that rise into the sky.

To paraphrase, one writer said, "No matter the hour, there's always something exciting happening in New York." Like rubbing minds with Jack Kerouac, or going uptown with Federico Garcia Lorca, and James Baldwin - or rooting for the Yankees with Bruce Catton. Last night I sat ringside at the Polo Grounds for the Firpo/Dempsey fight; the day before I broke my back as a laborer on the Brooklyn Bridge; tonight I'm taking the ferry to see Whitman's leaves of grass. And after that, supper at Delmonico's.If I have energy enough come morning, it's off on the Half Moon to discover Manhattan - and you're welcome to come along.

I haven't even scratched the surface, because there's always something wonderful to do in Jackson & Dunbar's superlative collection, EMPIRE CITY.

New York's Biography
Editors Kenneth Jackson and David Dunbar have amassed an enormous collection of essays, letters, diary entries, and poems about New York written by New Yorkers and visitors to the city from the dawn of the modern age (ca. 1600) to just after the ravages of 9/11. While an overwhelming majority of the pieces are pro-Gotham, I was glad that Messrs. Jackson and Dunbar had the wisdom and integrity to present some works that express anxiety and doubt about New York's status. The result is an extensive, celebratory, sometimes warts-and-all biography of the world's greatest city. As Mr. Jackson remarked in the 1999 Ric Burns New York Documentary, New York is not a stagnant, static thing: "New York is always becoming". He and Mr. Dunbar are to be congratulated for reminding us that New York's biography is long, and with a lot more greatness to come.

Rocco Dormarunno,
author of "The Five Points, A Novel" ... Read more

Product Description


THE GUIDE TO WHERE BARBRA STREISAND-DID-WHAT-WHERE and WHEN in NEW YORK CITY

* Where she lived-sang-dated-dined

* Where Barbra's father lived

* Where Barbra went to school

* Where was The Lion, the place she won a talent contest

* Where she filmed

* Where Barbra worked as a receptionist

* A journey on the sidewalks of New York City, following in the incredible footsteps of BARBRA STREISAND ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A gem for a fan
For a die-hard Barbra Streisand`s fan it`s a really useful guide. If you come to New York for a vacation and want to track Barbra`s steps just for fun - it`s a must. I think that even New Yorkers can find in it some interesting places to visit.
Well, this gem definitely is not from the exquisite jewellery shop; it`s rather a homemade trinket of sentimental value. The quality of photographs should be far ( and I mean FAR) better, that`s for sure. The commentaries sometimes are chaotic. The whole book has this amateurish flare - attractive for a fan, but, I guess, hardly acceptable for a regular reader.
So if you are a Barbra fan - get it and start your Barbra - New York adventure. If you are not - visit New York with other guides in your hand.

Agnieszka

A MUST READ FOR ANY BARBRA STREISAND FAN
INGENIOUS AND ENTERTAINING FOR ANY BARBRA STREISAND FAN. EASY TO READ WITH FABULOUS PICTURES. FROM COVER TO COVER TAKE A WALK THROUGH NEW YORK CITY, WHERE THE ONE AND ONLY "MS. STREISAND" GREW UP. THANK YOU FOR LETTING US FOLLOW ALONG.

Can't wait to explore New York City with this book in hand
What a treat !
An awful lot of research has gone into this book, and very well laid out too.
I cannot wait to explore New York City with this book and see the places for myself.
I am sure Barbra would be proud !!

Huh?
What sort of publisher would publish this trifling book?A waste of money and paper on a book whose information can be found online for free.

For Barbra crazies only.

A serious must-have for any Barbrafile
Known for a unquenchableappetite for gobbling up anything in print regarding Barbra, I ordered this book the very second I heard about it, and let me assure everyone- from the biggest fan to the mildly curious- that this is THE most interesting, totally absorbing, detailed account of Barbra's life in New York yet- literally an account from womb to tomb. Like myself, you will find yourself pulling on your walking shoes, grabbing a subway map and heading out onto the streets to have a look at every landmark that author Bernie Ardia has so painsakingly accounted for in photos and text. Mr.Ardia hints that there is more in this serier of chronicling early celebrity lives- I cannot wait to see who will be next on his own personal"This is Your Life" show.... ... Read more

Product Description

At age eleven, Rosie Lepidus's main concerns are winning ring-a-levio, going to school, and staying out of trouble. But when Mama falls ill with pneumonia and Papa throws all the family's savings into the nickelodeon business, the burden of caring for her family falls on Rosie's shoulders.

Tall for her age, Rosie is able to pass for sixteen and take Mama's place sewing sleeves at a shirtwaist factory. Her family needs the money. But working conditions are horrible and the factory boss is incredibly strict. The girls are fined for nearly everything -- even talking or humming! Within days of starting work, Rosie hears the buzz about a huge strike of twenty thousand shirtwaist workers. It's the strike that Mama's been working toward for ages: a huge push for change in the workplace. Rosie wants to join in, but as the streets become more dangerous, Papa asks his daughter to return to school. And Rosie must choose: follow Papa's orders...or fight with everything she's got. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Taken the scare out of visiting New York City
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/06)

Anticipating a trip to the New York City and area, this book certainly has taken the scare out of visiting an incredibly large city."Serendipitous Outings Near New York City" simplifies the trip and gives the reader an opportunity to visit New York City with ease.

Harrison and Rosenfeld intended this book for all walkers - experienced trail hikers, antique hunters, nature lovers, as well as slow walkers that just love to browse and enjoy conversations with those they meet.The book starts off with the "Deserted" Village in the Allaire State Park of New Jersey.The authors give a brief history, description and when the village is open.They explain that guided tours are available if one so desires, but they also encourage self-guided tours.After the walk, they suggest a trek to the Atlantic Ocean where another small town exists.

This is only one of the many walking trips that the authors suggest.They include an easy to follow map and there is no doubt they have trekked the streets and areas themselves.They say things like "Before leaving Stonecrop, be sure to walk on a small path through the woodland garden: Azaleas, rhododendrons, and other shade-loving plants have been carefully placed to blend harmoniously with this natural habitat.Nearby is a pond surrounded by lilies and groupings of..."How enticing is that!With descriptions like this, one can't help but wander on the path.

I'm looking forward to using this book on my trip to the area.At first I wasn't anticipating visiting some of the areas which include New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.However, after perusing this book, the travel plans will have to include these areas.
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Beginner's Guide to the Manhattan Mindset
If you're at all a fan of New York City, especially when defined as a cultural mecca, then this is a must read for different reasons than those that The Warhol Economy advertises. An extensive, heady gossip column gone delightfully awry, The Warhol Economy is a book completely infatuated with the city's culture and the industries lying behind it. Fellow New Yorkers and fans of the city and its artistic presence will not be disappointed, and even casual readers will get caught up in her name-dropping passion for the creative denizens of the Big Apple. However, if you're a fan of the artist Andy Warhol, you'll quickly see through the thin veil to realize the author is simply using the artist's name to move copies off the shelves a little more quickly. Very little knowledge or new wisdom involving Warhol is imparted. There is intrinsic value in the above truths, however. First of all, the name Warhol is synonymous with both Pop Art and New York, and, he himself would consider the mention high praise, thinking the concept as being "very pop." Secondly, while the author tends to ramble, loosely relating several familiar topics and famous people to the art and fashion scene of New York, through her chosen verbiage she inadvertently paints a very detailed portrait of the Manhattan collective groupthink. These thought processes are of great value in any timeframe, since as she even points out, "all business is done in New York." Thirdly, such a move to associate her work with Warhol was smart for business, which is really the biggest, if not the only lesson being a resident of New York will teach you.

Fuelled completely by shoes
Completely redundant in that she mentioned only a handful of New York City's avante-garde. The book is interesting but limited in its discussion of the subject. Apparently she thinks that Charles and Ray Eames are brothers and that the MMA is now the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. I wouldn't waste your time, if I were you.

one of the cool kids
Huffingtonpost.com says it best! "Interviews with bold-faced names including designers Diane Von Furstenberg and Zac Posen, musicians The Talking Heads, and club owner of the legendary CBGB's, Hilly Kristal, make The Warhol Economy an engaging cross between the academic and the gossipy-like an intellectualized Page Six of The New York Post." ... Read more

Product Description

This fascinating study is the first to examine the transformation of residential architecture in New York City in the early 20th century.

In the decades just before and after World War I, a group of architects, homeowners, and developers pioneered innovative and affordable housing alternatives. They converted the deteriorated and bleak row houses of old New York neighborhoods into modern and stylish dwellings. Stoops were removed and drab facades were enlivened with light-colored stucco, multi-colored tilework, flower boxes, shutters, and Spanish tile parapets. Designers transformed utilitarian backyards into gardens inspired by the Italian Renaissance and rearranged interior plans so that major rooms focused on the new landscapes. This movement -- an early example of what has become known as "gentrification" -- dramatically changed the physical character of these neighborhoods. It also profoundly altered their social makeup as change priced poor and largely immigrant households out of the area.

Dolkart traces this aesthetic movement from its inception in 1908 with architect Frederick Sterner's complete redesign of his home near Gramercy Park to a wave of projects for the wealthy on the East Side to the faux artist's studios for young professionals in Greenwich Village. Dolkart began his study because the work of these architects was being demolished. His extensive research in city records and contemporary sources, such as newspapers and trade and popular magazines, unearths a wealth of information detailing the transformation of New York's residential neighborhoods.

This significant development in the history of housing and neighborhoods in New York has never before been investigated. The Row House Reborn will interest architectural and urban historians, as well as general readers curious about New York City architecture and neighborhood development.

Amazon.com Review

Product Description

The insider's food guide to New York City-from trusted New York food expert and TV/radio host Michael Colameco

New York is the food capital of the United States, with an incredibly rich and diverse dining scene that boasts everything from four-star French restaurants, casual neighborhood bistros, and ethnic restaurants from every corner of the world to corner bakeries, pastry shops, and much more.

Now Mike Colameco, the host of PBS's popular Colameco's Food Show and WOR-Radio's "Food Talk", helps you make sense of this dizzying array of choices. He draws on his experience as a chef and New York resident to offer in-depth reviews of his favorite eating options, from high-end restaurants to cheap takeout counters and beyond. His work has given him unprecedented access to the city's chefs and kitchens, allowing him to tell you things others can't. He offers inside information about different establishments, giving a detailed and sometimes irreverent sense of the food and the people behind them.

• Goes beyond ratings-centered guides to offer detailed, opinionated reviews by an experienced chef and longtime New Yorker
• Recommends restaurants, bakers, butchers, chocolatiers, cheese stores, fishmongers, pastry shops, wine merchants, and more
• Entries include basic facts, contact information, and a thoughtful, personal review
• Includes choices in every price range and neighborhood, from Tribeca to Harlem

Whether you're visiting for a weekend or have lived in New York for years, this guide is your #1 go-to source for the best food the city has to offer.

Mike Colameco's Best Cheap Eats Under $25 in NYC

Customer Reviews (19)

Dining in NYC with Mike Colameco
We really enjoy reading this book.We often read it out loud to each other.The descriptions are straightforward with humor.I wish it were cross referenced by neighborhood and ethnicity.Can't wait for the Iphone app.

Perfect!
I received my book in a couple of days and it was a brand new book!Great price too!

Food Guide
Thisbook has the restaurants organized by name instead of where they are located which made it not so easy to use.

Mikes C'c food lovers guide to NYC
I liked the reviews of the resturants, but I wish it wasn't set up alphabetically.I wish it was mapped out of the city.Being a visitor I would like to know the great places to eat around where I am staying or going.
It is not easy just looking at the address.
I also wish it had more categories, Fish, Steak, Chinese, ect...It is not an easy book.

Mike Colameco's NY
I love Mike's views on New York and the different places to eat and shop!I have bought copies of his book for all my friends and guests who come to visit me in the City!This is a wonderful book!! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Cool Read!
I am big fan of Fran's work, whether on stage (as a performer) or in print (as an author), and this book doesn't disappoint. I don't know how Fran uncovers all these cool stories....she's a super sleuth....prolific writer....great humorist. And, this book would make a terrific gift.

Robin, author, How to Marry a Mensch (decent, responsible person)

Excellent Book By Captivating Writer
I originally picked-up a copy of "It Happened In New York City" because I've really enjoyed other works by the author Fran Capo. She has a great way of captivating the reader with an imaginative and clever style.

I'm from New York but I have to say I was totally surprised by some of the events I read about. That made it a great read and very hard to put down. This book gave me the educational and entertaining feel of the History Channel, only better...much better.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in traveling to New York or learning about this great city's past. Kudos to Miss Capo once again!

"It Happened In New York City"by Fran Capo and Art & Susan Zuckerman
I have to say .. This is a well "crafted" book !!The short stories in here are quite Intriguing they just hook you in.As you read them,reading story after story is like .. like having a tray of these"Tasty little hors d'oeuvres/ orduerves that you just Don't want to stop eating ! " whetting your appetite leaving you wanting to read ..MORE !!

What I Really like best about this Book ! .. is in the True spirit of Great writing is in what these insightful stories Deliver .. makes you feel like you're ~in the Loop and Connected*,like you're part of and have grown up in .. The City !!

I'll be giving a Good couple of these as gifts!Great book!! FIVE Stars *****

D.V. KILIAN "Inspirationist"/ aspiring Actor , Adventurer.

"IT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY"WOW! WHO KNEW?
"IT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY" By Fran Capo and Art and Susan Zuckerman , Is an absolute delight!
Notone of your run of the mill history books, this book is filled with Pirates, gangsters, a romantic triangle that became the crime of the century,from a secret subway to Tammany Hall, this book has it all!Giving a backdrop to the flavor, people and places of one of the most iconic cities in the world.
Written in a wonderful smooth narrative fashion, I felt at any given moment the characters might leap off the page and become part of a Martin Scorsese Film.So informative and entertaining I had to finish the book in one sitting.I highly recommend this book to thosewho dare go behind the scenes of what really did "Happened In New York City".

Nancy LombardoHost:COMEDY CONCEPTS BLOG TALK RADIO ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Great Little Book!
This book is an invaluable tool for anyone desiring to bike for pleasure or recreation in the New York Metro Area.

I did many of the rides listed and, with a few rare exceptions, the instructions given were up to date, clear and informative.

As a resident of New York City for 15 years (moved out last year) I can honestly say I would never have discovered much of the beauty of the City without this book.Some of my fondest memories of the most scenic and beautiful parts of the City I discovered either mapping out these routes or while riding on them.

Particularly noteworthy: Ride #7 - Queens Greenway. Queens is basically a cyclist's nightmare: extremely busy streets, a zillion highways and mostly poorly maintained roads and bikeways.But this book enables you to see some beautiful sites while avoiding most of the dangers. My favorite part of the ride: eating lunch under the Whitestone Bridge in Francis Lewis Park.

On a side note: I agree with the previous reviewer who warned against non-New York residents attempting these rides.However, if extreme caution is exercised, and the cyclist has some inner-city cycling experience, I believe all of the routes are navigable.

Great
This is my fourth book in the "Short Bike Rides" series. This one, especially, was well worth the purchase time, several times over. There were several things that I learned from the book that I did not see online or in other books. At least, without many hours of additional searching. Very worthwhile.

Nice Guide--Better For Areas Outside of Manhattan
This book serves as a decent guide for cycling beyond theconfines of New York City.It is definitely geared towards the tourist or out-of-towner who is looking to tour certain areas of New York via a bicycle.However, as a longtime resident and cyclist of this fine city, I would hightly recommend AGAINST such an endeavor. As anyone who's at least visited New York City can tell you, traffic and other cyclists wait for no one, and pedestrians are even more of a hazard than anything on wheels.Pedaling slowly and taking the time to stop and view the sites is extremely dangerous.

All that aside, the detailed descriptions and historical explanations of what you encounter on these trails is very interesting.Listing the facilities that are available to the rider is a plus.After downing liters of water it's always good to know where that public restroom is!The maps are easy to read and the authors give you clear instructions of where and how to get to the trails, either by car or public transportation.I found that this guide serves better for the sections dealing with the counties and boroughs outside of Manhattan. Since there was so much great detail into the sights and surrounds along these rides, I wish that there had been just a bit more about biking the routes, not just the basic explanation of "hilly", etc.Overall this is a nice book to have for easy weekend rides.

Just as a little footnote.The authors say to ride on the right side with traffic.In New York City this is only partially usefull advice.While biking in NYC, yes, always ride with the traffic.If it's a two-way street, stay on the right.However, if it's a one-way, (which most of the streets and avenues are), stay on the left.The drivers see you better and you have less of a chance of getting "doored." Also, the bike lanes are always on the left... They have a link from their website that will lead you to some city-issued throughly detailed maps of New York City, complete with all the bike paths, all color coded so that you know which are bikes only, which are shared roadways, and which are shared but pecarious, etc.Plus the maps are free!

Very thorough ride guide to the Big Apple and beyond
I've been a cyclist for more than 20 years and there are few ride guide for the New York Ciitythat presents detailed routes as well as this book does.The authors are obviously seasoned veterans who have spent more thantheir fair time pedaling the NY-NJ-CT tri-state region.Maps are clear andthe step-by-step "Directions at a Glance" make following theroutes almost foolproof.This is a far better way of bringing the readeralong for the ride than many other books on the subject.

Highlyrecommended! ... Read more

Product Description
Five boroughs, two major league baseball teams, 12,000 yellow taxis, and more must-see attractions than you can count-New York City has it all. And The Everything Family Guide to New York City, 3rd Edition has all you need to enjoy your visit!

This one-stop resource is packed full of insider tips and maps, including:

• Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and other landmarks
• Greenwich Village, Soho, Chinatown, and additional unique neighborhoods
• Central Park, Times Square, and Broadway
• Coney Island, the Bronx Zoo, sports stadiums, sunny beaches, world-class museums-and more!

Product Description
East Side, West Side - New York City is full of ghosts! From Lower Manhattan to Harlem Heights, the spirits of those who have gone before are tangled in the Big Apple's roots and are the core of the city's abundant afterlife.Gotham's spectral wealth of actors and artists, pirates and poets, patriots and politicians, and just plain folks, summon forth a spooky legacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not that interesting
I enjoy reading haunted books about places I am going to visit.I decided to purchase this book because it had gotten decent reviews on this website.However, I was very disappointed.I personally like a little more story and a little more on what happens during the hauntings.This book gives you one or two page descriptions on the place and who haunts it.I could find this information out by talking to someone who works there.If you are interested in a good book that is filled with good stories that might send chills up your spine, forget this book.If you are looking for a 2 second read about a place that might be haunted this is the book for you.

interesting stories
I love Ghost stories and such in general. I found the book very interesting on places who knew they were ever haunted. The layout i like by neighborhood. I gave it four stars because I put the book down wanting more... ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

New York: Portrait of a City
There have been plenty of monographs about New York, and coffee table books full of visual cliches, but this impressive volume (8 lbs and 560 pages) is in a class by itself. Author Reuel Golden doesn't just round up the predictable photographs here. There are many well-known images, of course, but he has also combed the archives for lesser known and even unknown gems. The result is a rich and varied visual history of the city from about 1850 to the present, told through its people, landscapes, and architecture. Golden divides the book by eras, roughly coinciding with the influx of immigrants after 1850; the period of booms and busts between the two world wars; the post-war prosperity; the city's dark days from the mid 60s to the late 80s; and its relatively triumphant period since then. What shines through is the optimism and aspiration and relentless energy that defines the city, and constantly renews it. For anyone in your life who loves New York, this is the perfect book, at not much more than the cost of a cab ride from La Guardia.

photographs retouched with wrong color profile and saturation
the photographs have been saturated and over contrasted...they have applied too much correction and even the well-know Meyerowitz images have colors completly awakard compared to the original prints. Nothing has bene respected. it's a shame.

Not the best in the series
I bought this book because I had already acquired the ones on Berlin and L.A., which are both excellent.But this one falls short -the text I'm just beginning to read and it's quite alright, but the pictures for the most are either so iconic, that you've already seen them a million other books, or so drab and quotidian, that they end up being uninspiring.This book is okey -but not worthy of the others in the Taschen series.

New York, N-E-W Y-O-R-K!
This lovely book follows the same format as Taschen's Los Angeles, Portrait of a City: a history based on named photographers though there are many fine images taken by anonymous snappers.The LA book had thirty-nine photographers but as this is New York it takes 124 of them and over 500 photos to expose the city.

All the regulars are here, photographers who have created that special look over the years.Abbott, Bubley, Eisenstadt, Feininger, Klein, Orkin, Riis and a good showing from Weegee but what I found fascinating was the number photos from anonymous sources.Right up to the late Forties unknowns had taken some quite remarkable shots revealing a particular aspect of city.Some of these run over spreads throughout the book and they look stunning.Pages 108-109 have that famous shot of the sunlight streaming through windows at Grand Central Terminus, anonymous from 1929.

The book's five chapters look backwards over 160 years starting in 1850 and though maybe one could fault it by only using historical photos rather than a wider range of graphic images I think it succeeds because of this.The city has a long pedigree of photographic interpretation and some of the best works are in these pages.I thought it a plus that so many well-known images are mixed in with the dozens and dozens of not so well known shots and all collected in this big, chunky book.Another plus, least from my point-of-view, is that there are very few photos of popular culture celebrities.The celebrity is the city with nearly all the images exteriors showing the changing landscape, people (mostly just New Yorkers) or just out on the street.

Mixed in with the photos there are largish thumbnails of cultural graphic items: book jackets and posters for plays and movies.The back pages have an interesting listing of suggested cultural reading, listening and viewing and all the named photographers get a hundred or so word biography.

Like Taschen's LA book this is a lovely designed and printed title that takes a different and fresh look at New York.The large page size and huge photos celebrate one of the world's great cities.

***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
... Read more

Product Description
Photographs, line drawings, and narratives record the development of the New York City subway system's rolling stock.

A collaborative labor of love by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York Transit Museum, Gene Sansone's Evolution of New York City Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars, 1867-1997—now available from the Johns Hopkins University Press with a new foreword by Clifton Hood—offers an extensive array of photographs, line drawings, and stories about the city's most treasured railcars. Subway buffs, railfans, students of New York City history, and specialists in the history of technology will appreciate this authoritative account. MTA New York City Transit and Sansone provide a record of the rolling stock that helped make New York City one of the great cities of the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Public Transit History
A comprehensive report on the various subway cars operated by New York's Transit Authority over the years.Alot of text yet detailed with pictures or drawings of several different types of underground rolling stock.

NYC Subway Fan's Delight!!!
I'm a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, so the NYC subway system means a great deal to me. I'm also a railfan, so my interests in the inner workings of the IND, BMT, and IRT run very deep as well. That's why I can say that Evolution of New York City Subways truly is a subway fan's delight. Gene Sansone has written an incredibly fact-filled, engaging chronicle of the rolling stock of the MTA and its predecessors, as only an insider can. The comprehensive text is accompanied by excellent interior and exterior photos, plus detailed diagrams and specifications. I predict that this book will soon become the reference standard on this subject. I sincerely urge all subway fans to get a copy immediately: they won't be able to put it down! ... Read more