The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Customer Reviews:

Hip, Hip, Hooray.......2007-09-13

Years ago I read 84 Charing Cross Road,as a Reader's Digest condensed book found in a flea market cheap...Later, loved the film with Anne Bancroft..then fairly recently saw there was a sequal... Hooray she got to England.. I enjoyed the adventure as much as she did..Lovely little book ~

wonderful sequel.......2007-05-21

for anyone who's read 84 charing cross road, this book is a delightful follow up to the original. you will come away loving helene hanff, and wishing you could have her as a friend.

The charming sequel to "84".......2005-12-01

For those readers panting to find out what happens to Helene after the publication of her wildly popular "84 Charing Cross Road", this book will satisfy you. HH's romp through London is rewarding, for those of us who are loyal fans know how desperatly she wanted to go there.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street Lives On Today..Serendipity.......2004-04-11

A fabulous ending to over 20 years of letter writing. Penpals of sorts. A must read for anyone, but writers it can tear down any writers block you could possibly have. She is so articulate and real. I highly suggest this book!

A delightful journey.......2002-02-23

A nice sequel to "84, Charring Cross Road", this book details Hanff's travels, in diary form, when she makes her long-awaited trip to England.

It was lovely to read of travel in a kinder, gentler, more innocent time when one did not need to fear flying nor the strangers one might meet. And meet them she did! Hanff went to England knowing no one, with a few introductions, and spent time with so many people that it made my head spin. What a gal!

Book Description

From the 1920s through the 1950s, two individuals, Joseph Urban and Norman Bel Geddes, did more, by far, to create the image of “America” and make it synonymous with modernity than any of their contemporaries. Urban and Bel Geddes were leading Broadway stage designers and directors who turned their prodigious talents to other projects, becoming mavericks first in industrial design and then in commercial design, fashion, architecture, and more. The two men gave shape to the most quintessential symbols of the modern American lifestyle, including movies, cars, department stores, and nightclubs, along with private homes, kitchens, stoves, fridges, magazines, and numerous household furnishings.

Illustrated with more than 130 photographs of their influential designs, this book tells the engrossing story of Urban and Bel Geddes. Christopher Innes shows how these two men with a background in theater lent dramatic flair to everything they designed and how this theatricality gave the distinctive modernity they created such wide appeal. If the American lifestyle has been much imitated across the globe over the past fifty years, says Innes, it is due in large measure to the designs of Urban and Bel Geddes. Together they were responsible for creating what has been called the “Golden Age” of American culture.

Customer Reviews:

The Creators of American Modernism.......2007-04-17

Modernism was the artistic world's response to the widescale destruction and carnage of the Great War. Although the United States came out of the War as the world's strongest economic power, it was late to join in the Modernist movement. As late as 1925, the United States was unable to find qualified craftsman or manufactures working in the modern spirit to attend the Paris Exposition. This Exposition was to serve as the high point of the Art Deco movement.

Into this creative void, entered two American theater designers, Joseph Urban and Norman Bel Geddes. Sensing a need and market for new ideas, they left the Broadway theater and branched out into a truly astonding array of artistic ventures. Working seperately, they designed clothes, jewlery and fabric. In the world of architecture, they designed theaters, office buildings, houses and night clubs. They ventured into areas such as automobile, train and ship design. The two men became America's first and most influential industrial designers. Urban and Bel Geddes' creations dominated American material culture from the late 1920's to the mid 1950's.

There are some very attractive coffe table books about American Design during this period. From such books as "American Modern", "Machine Age", and "American Streamlined Design", I knew they were important designers but I had no idea of the sheer scale of their creations. "Designing Modern America" does not have the beautiful pictures of the earlier mentioned books but for detailed information on the age and history of its two design giants, it is a superior book. Highly recommended.

Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood LIfe of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons

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Helluva Guy
Jay Gould: Yet Another Giant of the Gilded Age
Insightful biography treats robber baron evenly
Interesting biography about a controversial american
A Quality Look At Baron Battles

Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood LIfe of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons
Edward J., Jr. Renehan
Manufacturer: Perseus Books Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0465068863

Book Description

"[A] revisionist biography of the man whom a London newspaper eulogized as a 'wrecker of industries and an impoverisher of men'.... Mr. Renehan describes [Gould's business deals] with zest." (New York Times)

Though reviled for more than a century as Wall Street's greatest villain, Jay Gould was in fact its most original creative genius. Gould was the robber baron's robber baron, the most astute financial and business strategist of his time and also the most widely hated. In Dark Genius of Wall Street, acclaimed biographer Edward J. Renehan, Jr., combines lively anecdotes with the rich social tapestry of the Gilded Age to paint the portrait of the most talented financial buccaneer of his generation-- and one of the inventors of modern business.

"An informative and entertaining account of no-holds-barred finance in the late 19th century." (Forbes)

"It's the shenanigans that make this book worth reading." (New York Times Book Review)

"A primer for our own dark age of business leaders.... [A] dead-on biography." (Bloomberg News)

"Lively revisionist biography." (Washington Post Book World)

"A fresh, evocative take on the Gilded Age and its brutal brand of business." (Barron's)

Customer Reviews:

Helluva Guy.......2007-08-20

This entertaining volume reminds me of a book my mother bought decades ago by a descendant of Count Dracula that sought to rehabilitate his ancestor's reputation while cashing in on his notoriety. Thus in this work, Gould who was denounced in his day by even spokesmen of the conservative business community, to say nothing of labor activists, as an unscrupulous rogue, cutthroat, "financial vampire" and "pirate" is depicted as a misunderstood entreprenuer who did nothing that his rivals would not stoop to. While there may be more than a kernel of truth to that assertion, Gould's historical reputation as one of the most infamous incarnations of his day is backed by more than substantial evidence.

Gould was a highly skilled financial operator who rose from humble roots in upstate New York, where after starting out as a surveyor's apprentice, he began his business career in the thuggish intrigues of the tanning industry. Thereafter, at the outset of the Civil War, he moved to the City where he quickly rose to take on some of the titans of business like Commodore Vanderbilt, who detested him. Unlike Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller and even Morgan, however, Gould dealt almost exclusively in stock and financial manipulations to build his fortunes with little regard for building up industry and the means of production. Thus he would acquire properties, like the Erie Railroad, and run them into the ground and dump them after they had been milked dry as cash cows. Needless to say, the interests of the rank and file workers of these enterprises meant little to him, commenting once during a labor dispute he was embroiled in with them, that he could hire half the working class to kill off the other half.

In his financial and stock dealings he was known as the most skilled and unscrupulous operator of his day, the top dog of Wall Street, that even those who considered themselves his closest colleagues needed to watch their backs around. In that regard he would have made the Transylvanian noble blush; and no, he was not, as widely believed, Jewish, although he made a point of not gainsaying his "Hebraic" roots as he felt this added to the aura of mystery and fear around him that he found useful to his purposes. Most notable of his escapades was his attempt to corner the gold market in 1869 which almost collapsed the entire U.S. economy.

Jay Gould was a predatory speculative capitalist who rightly makes latter day embodiments of this type like Boesky, Millken and Skilling seem like bumbling amateurs. Like them, he did from time to time face legal troubles, but unlike these financial pirates of today, he was usually able to, sometimes quite brazenly, in a way that is fortunately no longer tolerated, bribe judges and politicians to escape any significant consequence, although on one occasion he was forced to temoporarily decamp to New Jersey with much of his wealth in carpet bags after Vanderbilt and his rivals had outmaneuvered him in this game of graft in the New York courts.

Jay Gould: Yet Another Giant of the Gilded Age.......2007-01-22

I leave this book with a feeling that Jay Gould is viewed as an evil villain who was a wrecker of companies. He is perceived a lot worse than some other robber barons of his day like Rockefeller. Maybe it was the difference in their generosities, or maybe it had to do with Jay playing the stock market so secretively where you know there is just so much illegal "goings-on" at the time. There are plenty of reasons to keep you guessing...

Jay was excellent at spotting opportunities - this was his specialty, and once he had his sights on something, he didn't quit until he acquired whatever he set out to obtain. He was a man who moved in secrecy at every level to achieve his goal. In any event - besides Jay starting his huge career in railroads, he was a mammoth manipulator of the market using any tactic possible to make a buck in the street; Wall Street that is. This included bribing judges, and whoever else stood in the way. He was definitely a man of his times and a product of his environment where: you either take what you can get or you get eliminated! Jay exercised many illegal devices to build his enormous empire. This is yet another classic example of a man using his abilities which were so far advanced that the government had to insert new laws to curb what activities were permissible in future business practice.

There are a few lessons that one can learn from this book regarding life, and business savvy. One of those being the following: Jay was another man who built such a vast empire in his time that I realized "one can build his own prison" meaning that even with all the money in the world, a man in his position has so many responsibilities that it can weigh you down to the point of getting physical ill. You know that you have to take care of the day-day business problems yourself because you can't depend on anyone else to do it thoroughly. You can get too big, or become too wealthy for your own good... something to ponder over...

In my opinion, this story does have its' slow points. There are lots of details which can take away from a consistent reading flow. I found myself struggling to stay with this book at times; then it would pick up again (maybe I'm just unfamiliar with this author's style of writing). I give the book 3 stars for I thought the book was good, but again very slow at times. I have read other biographies on similar characters that were much more entertaining, and free flowing.

Insightful biography treats robber baron evenly.......2007-01-09

This biography of Wall Street baron Jay Gould is in some ways a primer on how American media and public opinion seem to demonize capitalists who succeed at doing what capitalists are wont to do, namely, making money. Of course, Gould was no ordinary capitalist. His ruthless tactics gave his enemies a big target to dislike. After all, when you single-handedly create an investment bubble that leads to a crash in the price of gold, resulting in congressional hearings aimed at placing blame, you expect to make a few enemies. Veteran biographer Edward J. Renehan paints a fair, nuanced and colorful portrait of Gould, whose manic focus on business success probably was driven by his tragic childhood. We strongly recommend this book, especially to students of business history, in the belief that it offers a more in-depth record about an extraordinary and extraordinarily flawed man who was vilified in his time.

Interesting biography about a controversial american.......2006-12-14

There are a growing number of books on the gilded age in America and many paint the rising industrialists as crooks. In this case they got the image just right. Jay Gould used illegal tactics to build his empire and went as far as to corner the gold market using inside information. It is tactics like his that have inspired laws on wall street today. This is an excellent and well written biography about an interesting figure in our society. It does not lump in other industrialists with Gould and paints Gould in as fair a light as possible. It does extol some of his better virtues including a good business sense and a passion for the railroads. Gould was among the first robber barrons to rise to power and although later eclipsed by others he remains an important figure to read about today. This is essential for any Gilded Age library.

A Quality Look At Baron Battles.......2006-08-29

This is an attempt at a sympathetic biography of Jay Gould. He loved his family; he could also be a ruthless warrior in the world of business. So from one perspective, if one doesn't want to face someone who is attempting to stick his financial sword in your fiscal chest, one should not enter the gladiatorial ring that is Wall Street. Except people who need their jobs to support their families are hurt by the displacements resulting from baronial battle. What, to Jay, was a game of chess where the benefits of baron-class fortunes were to be won, was to the employees a time of incalculable chaos. Jay met his ambition, and his family enjoyed the resources of opulence; his victims suffered chaos and the destruction of families that must have resulted. Of course nothing has changed as the United States experiences deindustrialization; the elite have a heck of a ride.

The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (Cliffs Notes)

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The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (Cliffs Notes)
Mary Patterson Thornburg , and Thomas Thornburg
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076458653X

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

This concise supplement to Cisneros' The House on Mango Street & Woman Hollering Creek & Other Stories helps students delve into both story collections, highlighting the wide, encompassing and vibrant lives of Latinas of all ages, from Mexican villas to the barrios of Chicago, and places in between.

This user-friendly guide makes studying a snap with visual icons flagging key themes, literary devices, and more. You'll come to understand the overall structure of the works, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author. Features that help you study include

A character map, with brief descriptions, and that identifies relationships
Summaries and commentaries
A survey of the author's life that offers insight into her writing style
Descriptive character analyses
Critical essays on themes, form, and language
A review section that tests your knowledge

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure â you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Average customer rating:

A fun and lively story of Wall Street

Very Good Historical Read of Wall Street!!!

history of the beaten heart of the Western countries

The emergence of the Great Power of Wall Street,

Breezy History of New York as a Business Empire

The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power: 1653-2000
John Steele Gordon
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Empire of Wealth : The Epic History of American Economic Power (P.S.)

The Business of America: Tales from the Marketplace - American Enterprise from the Settling of New England to the Breakup of AT&T

Wall Street: A History : From Its Beginnings to the Fall of Enron

A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable

Psychology of Investing (3rd Edition)

ASIN: 0743200438

Book Description

In The Great Game, acclaimed business historian John Steele Gordon chronicles the rise of Wall Street from its humble beginnings as an American trading post to its domination of the world economy, bringing to life the remarkable cast of bankers and brokers, visionaries and crooks who made it happen. From Alexander Hamilton to Michael Milken, the history of Wall Street is a history of risk, courage, avarice, patriotism, power, genius, and, occasionally, remarkable stupidity. In Gordon, Wall Street has finally found a biographer worthy of its extraordinary story.

Customer Reviews:

A fun and lively story of Wall Street.......2006-03-12

I read this book before I went to my MBA program. This was a fun introduction to history of Wall Street. It helped me put the financial world into perspective--and it helped me appreciate the power and influence Wall Street has had on our country.

Very Good Historical Read of Wall Street!!!.......2005-10-25

Very interesting. Financial schemes have plagued Wall St and the markets since their inception and not much has changed with the recent Refco, Enron, Tyco, World Com, LTCM scandals and the list goes on. The risk of playing the great game reaches beyond the instrument in which one invests but includes brokers, brokerage houses, banks & politicians. The history of Wall St finds itself another contributor to the old adage "The more things change, the more they remain the same."

history of the beaten heart of the Western countries.......2005-08-20

It provides a good view of the Wall Street which is the beaten heart of the Western countries. As a Chinese who invested some of my money into our developing finance market, I learned many lessons from it and got more confidence of my own country's baby-market. Good Work!

The emergence of the Great Power of Wall Street,.......2004-10-25

This is a great and interesting book about the rise of Wall Street. Gordon summarizes the great amount of information into an a very readable 250 pages. Gordon also gives some short biographies of some of the very interesting characters of Wall Street such as Alexander Hamilton, Commodore Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, Hetty Green, and Dick Whitney. This history tells the rise of stock trading on Wall Street to the present period. It is interesting to see why initially the Dutch and the geographical position of New York assured Wall Street of becoming a world financial power of the first degree. This book details why the initial advantages plus the innovation of the financial leaders gave Wall Street the premier financial position in the world.
This book is well written with short biographies and historical summaries of the rise of Wall Street. This is a good initial read since it will show the reader why the NYSE and Wall Street become the financial leaders they are today.

Breezy History of New York as a Business Empire.......2004-10-02

The Great Game is a wonderful narrative history of Wall Street and New York as a financial center, the supercharged engine of world capitalism. John Steele Gordon is a gifted writer whose byline appears frequently in the pages of American Heritage. In this work he focuses on the men and events that made Wall Street the center of the financial world. Beginning with Dutch Manhattan, the city of the Knickerbockers, Gordon explains how Wall Street got its name, the vital importance of Dutch mercantilism and their invention of the modern banking system, the stock exchange, business insurance and the corporation - all of which were adopted by the British who transformed New Amsterdam into New York. The book introduces the origins of the securities business in the Buttonwood Agreement, the vital role of Alexander Hamilton, the consummate New Yorker, who set the new American nation on firm financial footing, the role of New York's great harbor, then the construction of the Erie Canal, which opened the west to development and transformed New York into the financial capital of America. Gordon introduces the colorful figures that have been players in the "Great Game" of the financial markets, from Jacob Little and other early promoters, the "Commodore" Vanderbilt, the mid-19th century colossus, to Hetty Green, millionaire and the "meanest woman in the world" to J.P. Morgan whose financial savvy saved Wall Street from crisis more than once. He writes of the important 20th century figures like Charles Merrill, the man who democratized stock investing and brought it to Middle America and finally Michael Miliken, developer of the "junk bond" as a financial instrument during the go-go 1990's. John Steele Gordon's "Great Game" is a lively and compelling account of the most important little street in the world by a writer who knows his material well and clearly enjoys sharing it.

The House on Mango Street (SparkNotes Literature Guide) (SparkNotes Literature Guide)

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Great Writing, But Lackluster Characters
Horrible
a classic young adult novel
Disappointed
I liked it

The House on Mango Street (SparkNotes Literature Guide) (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Sandra Cisneros , and SparkNotes Editors
Manufacturer: SparkNotes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1411402561

Book Description

2 cassettes / Approx. 2 1/2 hours
Unabridged, and read by the Author

"It's not always that a luscious writer can be a luscious reader of her own work.  This must be the voice she hears in her head when she writes her magical prose."
-Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Listen as Sandra Cisneros brings to life The House on Mango Street, her greatly admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago.  Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.

The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and hard beauty.  Esperanza doesn't want to belong - not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her.  Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.

This timeless classic is now available, for the first time, unabridged.  And what makes this a particularly special audio production is the fact that the author, Sandra Cisneros, reads.

Customer Reviews:

Great Writing, But Lackluster Characters.......2007-09-22

The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza, a Mexican-American girl growing up in a "ghetto" area of Chicago.

But instead of being your typical novel, this book is a collection of vignettes, each focusing on one specific character or event, with few of them mentioned in future chapters. And instead of being in a typical prose style, the book is more of a combination of standard writing and poetry together.

With the way the book is written, we are allowed a very intimate contact with Esperanza's mind. Sandra Cisneros blends that with a skillful use of metaphors to create a very detailed and personal world.

But that's pretty much what I like about it.

On the other hand though, I was very disappointed with who was telling the story - Esperanza. Despite the writing, I didn't really care for her that much.

Even worse was the Esperanza got very whiny towards the end of the book. For some reason I can't fathom, she simply decides to hate her house, insisting that it isn't her home. But even before that, Esperanza continually self-pities herself for a variety of things, falling into a boring humdrum of angsty teenage melorama. And then we have the (vaguely described) rape scene.

I didn't find the other characters very rememberable, either. Most of them just them were one shot characters who wouldn't affect the story at all if they were removed.

In conclusion, I think this is a good book to read, but not really that great as everyone else says it is. (It's a good thing that it's short.)

Horrible.......2007-09-07

This book is most overrated. Yes it is a great remark on culture and growing up Latino, but ignorance of simple writing styles and grammar is no excuse. Not to mention that the book is not even remotely interesting. The main character is confusing, rambles on, and Cisneros always tries to draw pity for her. This is the worst book I have ever read.

a classic young adult novel.......2007-09-03

I first encountered this book while scoring tests for an educational testing company... the first chapter was used as a prompt for a reading test. The kids saw the author's Hispanic name and jumped to the obvious conclusions... that the family is desperately poor and oppressed (and also many kids concluded that the family lived in the Southwest or even in Mexico, whereas Mango Street is in fact a real street on the North Side of Chicago.)

This is in fact very much a structured novel, even though it is written in an episodic and impressionistic manner: it is a classic coming of age story. The family is certainly not wealthy, and they go through crises like any other family --- but this is actually a fairly happy and average American family.

Disappointed.......2007-08-23

After reading the positive reviews on this book, I was disappointed. I found the book boring and a waste of my time.

I liked it.......2007-08-22

I had to read this in my English Composition class and I thought it was very good and interesting. The characteres and story are both well-told. Cisneros is a good writer and she doesn't bore the reader to tears like cough cough John Steinbeck cough. This was the first book by Cisneros that I read and I am interested in her other works. Hopefully they will be as good as hers.

Tough Towns: True Tales from the Gritty Streets of the Old West

Average customer rating:

Old West this isn't
True history of the old west

Tough Towns: True Tales from the Gritty Streets of the Old West
Robert Barr Smith
Manufacturer: Two Dot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0762740043

Book Description

The lawless days Old West lasted only a short time, but the stories of its outlaws and the havoc they wreaked are legendary. Tough Towns reveals the small American towns that fought back when criminal gangs invaded their quiet streets, making heroes of ordinary citizens and local lawmen who wouldn’t be pushed around by armed hoodlums.

Customer Reviews:

Old West this isn't.......2007-01-26

Well written and fun, the book is a collection of chapters dealing with bad guys and good guys. However, a large portion of the book is not the Old West. Several of the shootout stories are in the 1930s, with cars, gangsters, and machine guns. That's not the Old West to me. The majority of the stories are from Oklahoma, so I think I would have had higher regard for the book if it were retitled "Gritty Semi-Modern Tales from the Streets of Oklahoma--" in which case I wouldn't have bought it. But the fact is I was interested in "Old West" material, and I feel somewhat disappointed. Even so, I'll put it on my bookshelf and may look at it again someday ....

True history of the old west.......2007-01-10

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (1/07)

I am both a student of history and a retired Chief of Police. I've spent considerable time reading about the Old West, particularly in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries. My interest has been about the courage of the men and women who built this country, who sustained themselves in truly difficult times. I also have an interest in how law enforcement worked. I used part of that history in one of the chapters of my own book, "Leading Beyond Tradition." I read Mr. Smith's book with equal interest. He presents an historic overview of some of the more infamous folks who lived during those times - factual information. It is fascinating.

Mr. Smith puts the reader with the involved people as if you were right there when the events actually happened. The crimes described and the actions/reactions of regular people are well worth your time to read. This was part of America during that time - these are lessons of value for good people to read, how courage can and does prevail. I recommend "Tough Towns" be part of your library.

Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names

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What's In A Name?
Exquisite and informative
Cool Book for New York-Philes
Every Street Name Origin in Manhattan!
THE BEST NYC BOOK OUT THERE!

Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names
Sanna Feirstein
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0814727123
Release Date: 2001-04-01

Book Description

"Even natives to the Big Apple are unlikely to know many of the facts that Feirstein has uncovered in this little gem."
--Publisher's Weekly

New York is the oldest continually occupied city in America, yet its rich history is largely obscured by development. New Yorkers are surrounded by hundreds of place names, from those that survive from Manhattan's earliest days as a Dutch trading post to those that reflect the city's rich colonial, African and immigrant heritage. They provide a veritable encyclopedia of the city's history. Buildings may come and go, but place names are surprisingly durable.

Naming New York is a comprehensive compilation and explanation of the names of Manhattan's streets, alleys, avenues, plazas, parks and corners. It surveys names currently in use and includes the oldest and the newest honorific "add-on" names, from Astor Place to Yitzak Rabin Way.

Whether you're a history or trivia buff, tourist, or just fascinated by place names, learning about the origins of these mostly unexamined sources enriches one's experience of the city, and transforms a simple neighborhood errand into a trip through time.

For example:

Bowery: In the 17th century, Dutch farms known as "bowerij" were laid out in this section of Manhattan along the path of an old Indian trail. Known since that time as the Bowery, the thoroughfare became the first section of the Post Road from New York City to Boston.

Houston Street: For William Houstoun, 1757-1812, of a prominent Georgia family, who married a daughter of Manhattan landowner Nicholas Bayard III. The Georgia provenance of the name accounts for its pronunciation and spelling both of which distinguish it from the Texas city.

Wall Street: Follows the line of the city wall that the Dutch erected in 1653 across the northern perimeter of New Amsterdam to protect against attack from the British in New England.

Customer Reviews:

What's In A Name?.......2005-01-29

Even non-New Yorkers will enjoy the sweeping history that is brought alive when you peek behind street signs. From Broadway to Shinbone Alley, there's something fascinating about how New Yorkers have chosen to name their byways. Each section of town is presented with an introduction which outlines its place in the history of the city. Then each street is listed with an explanation of its name derivation. The mysteries of SoHo, NoHo, NoMad, and NoCa are explained. There are scores of beautiful illustrations. East side, west side, all around the town, Ms. Feirstein puts a human face on every corner of the Big Apple.

Exquisite and informative.......2004-07-07

I'm hoping that by the time you read this review, you will be able to take a look inside (right now, you can't). If you could, you would be able to see the exquisite layout and illustrations of Sanna Feirstein's "Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names". It's a gloriously good-looking book.

But more important, Sanna Feirstein has gotten her facts right. When people think of the place names of Manhattan, they probably think of the grid and its numbered roads. Or that Manhattan is so modern, that all its place names begin with the Rockefeller era. WRONG! The island of Manhattan reaches further back in the history of American cities than any other one: the Wall Street area itself existed while Shakespeare's plays were first being produces. Manhattan, especially the older neighborhoods from Houston Street south to the Battery, are filled with twisting little streets whose names resonate with Manhattan's history. This book is where you'll find out why Houston Street is pronounced "HOW-ston". Where did Maiden Lane get its name from? Who was Barclay? This book will tell all.

This is a very informative book. If only it can tell me why New Yorkers pronounce Avenue of the Americas as "Sixth Avenue".

Cool Book for New York-Philes.......2002-01-24

Ever wondered how Hell's Kitchen got it's name or why Bowling Green is called that? Well, finally there is a book that can answer these and many other place name questions. "Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names" by Sanna Feirstein, and published by the respectable folks at New York University Press is a great, well organized book that discusses how most places in the borough of Manhattan got their names.

Chapters, which are divided by areas on the island such as Upper East Side, Inwood, and Harlem, discusses the origin of many street, park, and neighborhood names. The author, who briefly gives the origin of the place name in a simple sentence or two, apparently has done some deep research at a local library or archive in order to amass such an extensive list of information. With a great cover design and feel, the book captured my attention at a local bookstore. Overall, the book is a must for anyone who loves the City that Never Sleeps. It's a great book for a great price, which today can be a rarity.

Every Street Name Origin in Manhattan!.......2001-12-28

This book explains the origin of every named street in Manhattan, New York. A native of Topeka, Kansas may rightly be inclined to say "So what?" but, to anyone interested in NYC, this book will provide plenty of raised eyebrows of new found insight about "Gotham". The book is broken down into sections on Lower Manhattan, Mid-Lower Manhattan, The Villages, Midtown South, Midtown, East Side, West Side, and Upper Manhattan with additional sectional breakdowns in each group. A page and a half of historical background for each area is given along with a very basic map of the area. The story of the name for each street in the area is then explained in a couple well written lines. Many pictures are included of the persons or places named. The only detracting points are the paucity of effective maps detailing where some of the more obscure places are.

Highly recommended if you are into New York City history.

THE BEST NYC BOOK OUT THERE!.......2001-11-20

This book is great for everyone - from history experts to casual street walkers. I highly recommend it!!!

One-Way Street and Other Writings (The Verso Classics Series)

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One-Way Street and Other Writings (The Verso Classics Series)
Walter Benjamin
Manufacturer: Verso Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 185984197X

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Ironic glimpses of inter-World War Vienna

Yellow Street: A Novel in Five Scenes
Veza Canetti
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0811211606

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Ironic glimpses of inter-World War Vienna.......2005-07-26

A supposed "novel," Yellow Street strings together five short stories by Veza Canetti, the wife of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Elias Canetti (Auto-da-fé, Crowds and Power). They were originally published serially in a Vienna Marxist newspaper, Arbeiter Zeitung in 1932-33 (that is, before Hitler came to power in Germany, let alone Austria). Some of the characters from the first four stories reappear in the fifth (and best) "The Fixer."

All are set on a street of leather merchants in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna. The stories focus on lower-class women who are oppressed by middle-class women and on husbands seizing and squandering the inheritances of dutiful, unpretentious wives. There are wry twists, especially in the oblivious young girl's actions in "The Fixer" and the denouement of "The Canal" and "The Tiger." The hardest-to-take tale of unscrupulous grinding down is "The Ogre." The stories fill 126 pages.

Although set later and in a lower-class milieu, these stories recall the earlier ones of the Viennese master Arthur Schnitzler. All are based on real characters and events. The household division of labor left "invention" to her husband (though most of his books are nonfiction, including his great three-volume memoirs.)

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