Book Description
The Landmarks of New York is a definitive resource book on the architectural history of the city, documenting and illustrating more than 1100 buildings that have been accorded landmark status over the past forty years. The chronological organization gives the reader a sequential overview of the city's architectural richness and diversity. The book presents a broad range of styles and building types-simple colonial farmhouses, churches, schools, libraries, Gilded Age mansions, and the great twentieth-century skyscrapers that are recognized throughout the world.
That so many of these structures have endured is due, in large measure, to the efforts of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, established in 1965. Since then, New York city has become the leader of the preservation movement in the United States, with more buildings and districts designated and protected than in any other city. Within this constantly changing metropolis, old buildings are often adapted to new uses, offering further proof of the quality of their design and construction.
Customer Reviews:
Landmarked but Flawed.......2006-12-18
Pound for pound this was the most disappointing of a series of books on New York City architecture that I have read over the past several years. This does not make it a bad book; its 600+ pages are filled with more information on New York City's 1100 designated landmarks than any other single volume, and each is accompanied by a fine black and white photo. Its format, with the buildings ordered by the year they were build allows the reader to thumb through the 1860's for example and see a succession of French Second Empire buildings with their iconic mansard roofs.
Still there are several flaws I have found with this book that weighs nearly seven pounds and has a sticker price of $65.00.
First and most egregious is the apparently careless editing.
One entry, that of the Van Cortlandt Mansion in the Bronx, seems to be lifted word-for-word, without attribution from Goldstone and Dalrymple's wonderfully literate book, "History Preserved". It is possible that Ms. Diamondstein-Spielvogel had permission to do this, perhaps the authors were friends from their days together on the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Maybe "The Landmarks of New York," is a successor to the older book. As there is no bibliography or explanation we will never know.
A second entry, that of Staten Island's Gardiner-Tyler House, the author writes in part, "Mrs. Tyler rarely visited the house before 1868, when as a widow she returned to Staten Island with Tyler's seven children from a previous marriage."
The author is of course referring to President Tyler's second wife Julia, whom he married in 1844, when she was 24 and he 54. By 1868, Tyler's youngest child from his first wife Letitia, Tazewell Tyler was 38, a physician, and living in California; his oldest surviving child Robert Tyler was 52; and only four of his children from Letitia were still alive. It is hardly likely that any of them followed Julia to Staten Island. What the author meant to say was that Julia moved there with her seven children from Tyler.
Another example, more one of carelessness than error is found in her entry on 359 Broadway, a fine Italianette style building found on the corner of Broadway and Leonard Street and best known for housing the studios of the great Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady, for a few years in the 1850's.
The last paragraph stated, "At the end of the century, the Ladies Mile neighborhood changed from a fashionable shopping district to a textile and wholesaling zone."
My first, surprised reaction upon reading this, was how the author could place this building, situated at the edge of today's Tribeca, in the Ladies Mile, which as anyone interested in New York history knows was located further uptown, along Broadway and 6th Avenue from about West 8th Street to West 23rd Street. As it turns out, this area was once called a ladies-mile, about a half-century before its better-known successor. But the entry doesn't explain this subtlety and there lies the confusion.
What this book is really lacking are neighborhood or area maps that locate each of the Landmarks. While a map isn't necessary to conceptualize the location of a building with a typical Manhattan grid address, the Alwyn Court Apartments at 182 West 58th St. for example, it would be nice to be able to quickly see the location of a farmhouse in Brooklyn or an old church in Staten Island, especially when that farmhouse or church is positioned on a page with a townhouse on the Upper East Side, a building it has nothing in common with aside from the year in which it was built. Perhaps in a future edition a map section could be added to the end of the book and an easy key can be developed to clearly cross-reference an entry to its map number or page.
In a book devoted specifically to "designated" New York City landmarks, how does one handle those buildings that are good enough to be landmarks on their own, but have never been designated individually because their inclusion in one of the several dozen Historic Districts before being considered for individual designation obviated the need for such designation? New York's two greatest Historic Districts, Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Height contain many of these worthy buildings. In its" Guide to New York City Landmarks", the Landmarks Committee deftly handled this issue by separately listing and discussing the dozen or so most important buildings in each of those two districts. Ms. Diamondstein-Spielvogel, however, chose to ignore them completely. So there is no mention of the famous Washington Memorial Arch, no mention of the unique teak wood detailing of the façade of the Lockwood deForest House, no mention of the great Jefferson Market Library, that whimsical Victorian Gothic building that has become a symbol of the village and was one of the first and finest examples of use conversion envisioned by the Landmarks Preservation Committee as a way to save old buildings. There is also no discussion of Brooklyn Heights' best buildings including Plymouth Congregational Church, where the fiery abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher preached, or Minard Lafever's Gothic Revival masterpiece First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn.
The book does however have a section that describes each of the Historic Districts so that a reader can get an overall feel for these districts, and ironically, given their nonexistence elsewhere in the book, has fine maps attached to each entry, showing the boundaries of each of these districts.
Any single book with this much information about its subject certainly deserves a recommendation, but for this book to reach its pretensions of being the standard reference of New York City Landmarks there is much that can be improved.
Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06
If it's one weighty, definitive library reference you need to New York City's landmarks, make it Landmarks Of New York: An Illustrated Record Of The City's Historic Buildings: its scope and format can't be beat. Art and architectural libraries as well as New York City specialty collections will welcome documentation of over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years. A chronological arrangement guides readers through a wealth of building styles and types, from farmhouses and churches to mansions, with black and white photos of each accompanying descriptions, comments on style and design, listings of architects involved in the building's construction and redesign over the decades, and style descriptions. A 'must' for any serious architectural or New York history collection.
Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06
If it's one weighty, definitive library reference you need to New York City's landmarks, make it Landmarks Of New York: An Illustrated Record Of The City's Historic Buildings: its scope and format can't be beat. Art and architectural libraries as well as New York City specialty collections will welcome documentation of over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years. A chronological arrangement guides readers through a wealth of building styles and types, from farmhouses and churches to mansions, with black and white photos of each accompanying descriptions, comments on style and design, listings of architects involved in the building's construction and redesign over the decades, and style descriptions. A 'must' for any serious architectural or New York history collection.
Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06
If it's one weighty, definitive library reference you need to New York City's landmarks, make it Landmarks Of New York: An Illustrated Record Of The City's Historic Buildings: its scope and format can't be beat. Art and architectural libraries as well as New York City specialty collections will welcome documentation of over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years. A chronological arrangement guides readers through a wealth of building styles and types, from farmhouses and churches to mansions, with black and white photos of each accompanying descriptions, comments on style and design, listings of architects involved in the building's construction and redesign over the decades, and style descriptions. A 'must' for any serious architectural or New York history collection.
Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06
If it's one weighty, definitive library reference you need to New York City's landmarks, make it Landmarks Of New York: An Illustrated Record Of The City's Historic Buildings: its scope and format can't be beat. Art and architectural libraries as well as New York City specialty collections will welcome documentation of over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years. A chronological arrangement guides readers through a wealth of building styles and types, from farmhouses and churches to mansions, with black and white photos of each accompanying descriptions, comments on style and design, listings of architects involved in the building's construction and redesign over the decades, and style descriptions. A 'must' for any serious architectural or New York history collection.
Book Description
A fresh look at the greatest builder in the history of New York City and one of its most controversial figures.
In various roles in city and state government from 1930 to 1965, Robert Moses reshaped the fabric of the city. From Lincoln Center to the Triborough Bridge, the West Side Highway to the Cross Bronx Expressway, his public projects, reassessed in this book by notable urbanists, continue to exert a strong influence in the lives of New Yorkers. 250 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
A top pick not just for New York libraries.......2007-07-07
ROBERT MOSES AND THE MODERN CITY: THE TRANSFORMATION OF NEW YORK, which offers a new look at legendary architect Robert Moses, who reshaped the skyline of New York City. Readers familiar with New York will readily recognize some of his major contributions from the Lincoln Center to the Cross Bronx Expressway - so it's surprising to note this is the first major publication since the 1974 biography THE POWER BROKER appeared - and ROBERT MOSES AND THE MODERN CITY: THE TRANSFORMATION OF NEW YORK comes packed with photos that his biography doesn't provide. Far from hastening the demise of New York, this book shows how his works strengthened the central city and brought it into modern times, altering road systems and creating an urban design plan to foster changes. Plenty of detailed history surround the photos and descriptions of each project's special challenges, making this a top pick not just for New York libraries, but for any college-level art or urban planning collection.
ITS A WONDER HE DID NOT TRY TO PART THE EAST RIVER.......2007-03-22
Now this man had POWER. It is amazing how much control he had over the building of infastructure in NYC, he was the first and last word. He was like a 20th century Baron Hausemann. This book is well written and scholarly and frankly just fascinating. I saw a documentary on Robert Moses one time and was just blown away at his hubris and power. His reign over NYC spanned several powerful mayors and to this day no person has ever had so much power of the cities infrastructure. Great book, highly recommended.
A modern take on the metropolis that Moses crafted.......2007-03-19
The Power Broker (another prominent work on Moses) is a product of the 1970s pessimism concerning the death of the city, saying that Moses helped bring about the downfall experienced in 1974 when the book was published. In Ballon's book, we have the experience that 30 years of hindsight provides, and the tone is radically different Ballon and other essayists provide a more modern insight to Moses and his achievements. Do not be fooled, this is not a coffee table book, but almost a text book for urban planners on the practices employed by Moses. The book was inspired by the museum exhibits going on currently in New York City concerning Moses and his works, and is an excellent supplement to them. If you are interested in NYC, public works, or Urban History- this is a must buy, and will become more important as time wears on.
I also recommend The Power Broker and Moses' own book Public Works: A Dangerous Trade
Average customer rating:
- Has history been tampered with?
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Chinese
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Irish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Japanese
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Augustine, Saint
| ( A )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Doctors & Medicine
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Lawyers & Criminals
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Love, Sex & Marriage
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Early Civilization
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Historiography
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Asian American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Asian American
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
French
| Erotica
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Victorian
| Erotica
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Epic
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
German
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Russian
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Chinese
| Classics
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Conspiracy Theories
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
War on Drugs
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
English (All)
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Arabic
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Armenian
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Czech
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Greek
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Hungarian
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Japanese
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Korean
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Norwegian
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Persian & Farsi
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Polish
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Portuguese
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Romanian
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Russian
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Swedish
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Turkish
| Foreign Language
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Science
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Online Research
| Genealogy
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Native American
| Earth-Based Religions
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Philosophy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
History of Science
| History & Philosophy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Magic & Wizards
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Sailor Moon
| Popular Characters
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Pilates
| Exercise & Fitness
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
History
| Fashion
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
-
History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
-
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
-
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
-
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!
The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.
Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but
there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.
Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.
You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!
The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!
New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.
The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.
The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.
Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.
We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.
Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.
The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.
When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.
There are no answers to simple questions:
When were these primary sources written?
Where and by whom were these sources found?
It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.
As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,
innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.
The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.
Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.
This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.
Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.
`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as
there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.
Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.
They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.
All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:
Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!
The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!
The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.
All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.
Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.
Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!
This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
Book Description
Urban youth workers don’t have a lot of resources to call their own. Not too many specialized tools. Barely a survival guide in sight.
Which is why this book was created. Help! I’m an Urban Youth Worker! is an information-rich oasis for those who’re reaching kids where the streets are alive. Where the sights, sounds, and stimuli are plentiful. Where the action is.
Inside you’ll get valuable tips on--
* Starting your own urban youth ministry--even if resources are few
* Helping your ministry thrive alongside the influences and dangers of the streets
* Grappling with the greater intensity of challenges city kids face (poverty, violence, pregnancy and STDs, crumbling schools, low self-esteem, lack of male role models, limited futures)
* Seeing beyond colors, nationalities, and behaviors . . . until you see Jesus in every one of your kids--and much, much more!
Help! I’m an Urban Youth Worker! is an invaluable resource for volunteer and paid leaders, Sunday school teachers, seminary students, pastors, recreation directors--all adults who work with kids in urban environments.
Amazon.com
Kate Ascher could not have chosen a much drier topic for a book than water mains, parking meters, railroad classification yards, and the other doodads of city infrastructure. But in Ascher's captivating book, The Works, the innards of New York City come alive. Wonderfully illustrated, the book combines text, maps, and other graphics to tell the story of the systems that keep America's greatest city running smoothly. How are traffic lights coordinated? How do potholes form and which areas have streets with the best "smoothness score"? How is mail processed? What happens when you flush the toilet? Ascher, who has a PhD in government from the London School of Economics and is now executive vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, dissects the colorful workings of all these systems and much more.
The Works contains a section on pretty much every aspect of the Big Apple's infrastructure. You'll learn the mystery of the shiny silver tanks that have become a familiar sight on New York streets. (They prevent moisture from damaging underground phone lines.) Ascher explains how the city's 23 million daily pieces of mail are processed. We also learn about the 27-mile underground pneumatic mail tube that used to carry canisters with 500 letters up to 30 miles per hour around Manhattan. Also interesting: the story of the nine-foot-long, 800-pound robot submarine that city engineers send to probe leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct--which, it might interest you to know, is the world's longest continuous underground tunnel. And you'll find out all about Colonel Waring and his "White Wings." A great coffee table book for New York lovers or anyone with a curiosity bone. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
How much do you really know about the systems that keep a city alive? The Works: Anatomy of a City contains everything you ever wanted to know about what makes New York City run. When you flick on your light switch the light goes on--how? When you put out your garbage, where does it go? When you flush your toilet, what happens to the waste? How does water get from a reservoir in the mountains to your city faucet? How do flowers get to your corner store from Holland, or bananas get there from Ecuador? Who is operating the traffic lights all over the city? And what in the world is that steam coming out from underneath the potholes on the street? Across the city lies a series of extraordinarily complex and interconnected systems. Often invisible, and wholly taken for granted, these are the systems that make urban life possible.
The Works: Anatomy of a City offers a cross section of this hidden infrastructure, using beautiful, innovative graphic images combined with short, clear text explanations to answer all the questions about the way things work in a modern city. It describes the technologies that keep the city functioning, as well as the people who support them-the pilots that bring the ships in over the Narrows sandbar, the sandhogs who are currently digging the third water tunnel under Manhattan, the television engineer who scales the Empire State Building's antenna for routine maintenance, the electrical wizards who maintain the century-old system that delivers power to subways.
Did you know that the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is so long, and its towers are so high, that the builders had to take the curvature of the earth's surface into account when designing it? Did you know that the George Washington Bridge takes in approximately $1 million per day in tolls? Did you know that retired subway cars travel by barge to the mid-Atlantic, where they are dumped overboard to form natural reefs for fish? Or that if the telecom cables under New York were strung end to end, they would reach from the earth to the sun? While the book uses New York as its example, it has relevance well beyond that city's boundaries as the systems that make New York a functioning metropolis are similar to those that keep the bright lights burning in big cities everywhere.
The Works is for anyone who has ever stopped midcrosswalk, looked at the rapidly moving metropolis around them, and wondered, how does this all work?
Customer Reviews:
Well-done and Worth Reading.......2007-09-17
If you want to know about how New York City works, this book is worth reading. It's well-researched and well-written. Kate Ascher is a very smart woman and her book is a real achievement.
The Works and Then Some.......2007-09-11
A comprehensive review of the above ground and underground infrastructure of the City of New York. Great for the general public.
Good infrastructure introduction.......2007-03-02
This book looks, feels, and smells good (smell might not be a factor to most readers, but we hopeless book lovers do also judge a book by its smell). Great attention and care has been paid to presentation. Even the manhole cover on the dust jacket is beautiful. The illustrations and graphics inside are colourful, detailed and helpful. This book, without going into great detail, provides a wonderful introduction to the infrastructure of New York City. It includes many interesting and obscure facts about New York and its history. (e.g. Two Irish families have dominated the tugboat business in New York harbour since the late 1800's. Also, in the early 19th century, rival firefighting companies used to disguise the location of fire hydrants to keep their competition from getting to them first in the event of a fire, and sometimes would hire gangs of toughs, called plug uglies, to keep their rivals away.) So much of New York's infrastructure is underground, some of it for over a century -the subway, the steam system, underground rail and road tunnels, electrical wiring, water aqueducts and pipes, natural gas lines, and, of course, the sewer system. There was even a pneumatic tube mail system that had miles and miles of tubing that operated until 1953. I found this all fascinating.
I would have liked to have seen something about vermin control (Robert Sullivan's book, Rats, is good for this) and at least a nod to the capacities and workings of the police and fire departments. There is a good index in this book, but it is missing a bibliography and, more importantly, a list of further reading suggestions for people who might want to go into further depth in the areas they are most interested in. [...].
Spectacular!.......2006-06-09
As a designer in the New York metropolitan area, I thoroughly appreciate the effort that must have gone into making this book, and in particular its illustrations. They are detailed, accurate (as far as I can tell), and above all informative in a way that infrastructure diagrams from other books are not. It is noted that TW:AOAC's lead designer found inspiration in a chance encounter with famed statistician/graphic artist Edward Tufte - a credible claim, if this book is any indicator. Conveying so much about the city yet basking in white space, these spreads are consistently excellent. Ascher's writing, too, is impeccable, and while a free-market standpoint is appropriately engaged in her commentary, the invaluabity of New York's public bureaus is not given short shrift. Indeed, where politics have clouded issues of development for the city, Ms. Ascher has deftly surmised the issue and given it full and fair treatment. As a major in economics and a professional graphic designer, I am happily forced to recommend this book.
Must read, esp. for New Yorkers .......2006-03-29
This is one of the most fascinating and enlightening books I've read in a while. It explains everything that goes on behind the scenes of modern life that allow us to live the way we do. As expected, we find that there is a complex network of infrastructure and laborers that keep cities running. This book shows how each of these moving parts works and ties them all together with brilliant illustrations.
Book Description
A sequel to the highly successful One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy, this book expands the series to include the most enchanting hamlets of France. Gorgeously illustrated as well as informative, One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns of France is a journey through the French countryside, a place where the pace slows, locals engage strangers in conversation, and every town has a unique story to tell. Travel between the hilltop towns of the Central Massif and the Pyrenees to rockbound coastal fishing villages in Normandy and Brittany. Breathtaking full-color photographs create the perfect atmosphere as you discover these unexplored places, and descriptive sidebars offer invaluable information on local curiosities to indulge, unique artisanal products to buy, and age-old culinary specialties to sample. A detailed appendix is the perfect source on where to shop, sightsee, and dineâavec plaisir! Whether you are an armchair traveler or a Francophile planning another trip, this volume is the guide to the hidden treasures of France that proves once and for all that the heart of this popular travel destination lies in the countryside far from the grandeur and pomp of Paris.
Customer Reviews:
pictures not sharp.......2007-01-18
I was very disappointed in the book. Most of the description is history, very little about current life in the towns. The photos are not very sharp in focus. It would have been very helpful to be able to id the towns on a map. The book does really delveinto some small remote towns that are not often covered in books.
One Hundred & One Beautiful Small towns in France.......2007-01-09
Absolutely a beautiful book. I have been to France several times and found this book to show many of the places I have visited and loved. The photos are fantastic.
Book Description
Heather Whitestone. Her name has become synonymous with incredible determination and unprecedented achievement. In Listening with My Heart, Heather tells her own story and the stories of others who have inspired her, proving that with hard work, perseverance, and faith, each of us can move mountains. Profoundly deaf since she was eighteen months old, Heather strove to live a normal life, and refused to listen to the voices of discouragement that many of us so often hear, no matter what problems confront us. She wouldn't listen to the doctor who said she wouldn't develop beyond third-grade abilities, or to those who said she would never dance ballet, or even speak. She did, however, hear the encouraging spirit of her family and followed the guidance of her own heart's dreams. Struggling through her difficulties, she was sustained by every success--no matter how small--and ultimately became Miss America 1995. Though she is disabled, her incredible gifts have inspired many throughout the world, and in Listening with My Heart she at last shares her life-changing wisdom.
Customer Reviews:
great story.......2006-03-13
really good book. only thing not perfect is the quality of the pictures in the softcover version. Otherwise great.
Refreshing!.......2006-01-11
Struggling to come up with title for this review shouldn't have happened, for "refreshing" describes this enjoyable read.
Heather is an honest, open and Christian person. Her humility to share her fears, exasperations, even private darker moments is refreshing!
And then there is her deafness. She is honest and open here as well, lamenting at times the deaf culture, but also showing sensitivity to their plight.
I'm a page-bender, underliner, note-taker kind of reader who continually marks passages in the great reads that I have, and this book has so many of them. I wanted to communicate them in this review, but will choose to just give some salient phrases from them so that you'll read this marvelous book: "going to bed means getting some sleep"; returned autographs which included Scripture quotes; Miss America wearing a clown on her head; dreaming and God's Word.
Haven't read such a refreshing work in quite some time; treasure as a precious Christmas gift that it was.
Inspirational book.......2004-08-31
This was a really good autobiography about Heather Whitestone, former Miss America. She talks about her struggles as a deaf person and her experience as Miss America, and how God has worked in her life.
I really enjoyed her book. I like how she was so open about her struggles with a deaf person. She didn't feel like she fit into the deaf world or the hearing world. Yet, she continues to persevere, and with God's help, she overcomes her obstacles to become Miss America. And she is open with her struggles as Miss America, too. She talks about the need for privacy and her struggles with criticism from the press.
A great, inspirational book.
An Inspiring Story.......2002-10-22
Because I have a grandbaby who was just diagnosed with profound deafness, I have been reading all the books I can about how deafness affects those who are deaf. Heather Whitestone's story was so inspirational and gave me a great deal of insight of how it feels to be deaf and different from the hearing world, and to understand what obstacles might arise, and to take heart knowing that most can be overcome if you have faith and the fortitude to meet the challenge. Her story also gives insight into the debate between the use of sign language, oral education, and cochlear implants, and the prejudice that still exists among some people in the deaf culture. A truly informative and inspiring book.
Heather's an Inspiration!.......2000-08-04
I am inspired by Heather Whitestone when I read this book...she is an inspiration to many deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals like myself. She taught me in this book that no matter the outcome, anyone with a disability can do just about anything in life...even marrying a good, handsome man named John McCallum and being the first deaf Miss America. This Christian autobiography is one of my favorites because it is very interesting to read and there are good pictures of her and her husband, family, even deaf actress Marlee Matlin. I even noticed by reading this book is that Heather and I have things in common with each other such as we both grew up as oral deaf. I love this book and I know you will too...you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Average customer rating:
- Check these out
- you're kidding me, right?
- underbaked and flat
- Fun, Make-You-Think Reading
- Chick-lit poetry
|
A Working Girl Can't Win : And Other Poems
Deborah Garrison
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| Single Authors
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
United States
| Single Authors
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
20th Century
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Second Child: Poems
-
Collected Poems
-
Late Wife: Poems (Southern Messenger Poets Series)
-
The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems (Southern Messenger Poets)
-
Poet's Market 2008 (Poet's Market)
ASIN: 0375755403
Release Date: 2000-02-22 |
Amazon.com
Every couple of years, some unlucky soul gets designated as the Poet for People Who Hate Poetry, and now it seems to be Deborah Garrison's turn. It's easy to see why: she gets the voice of the late 20th-century New Yorker to perfection, in all its kvetchy, melancholic glory. At times it's like hearing George Costanza channeling Emily Dickinson:
I'm never going to sleep
with Martin Amis
or anyone famous.
Garrison also tends to sidestep metaphysics in favor of more accessible subject matter. That means love (mostly unrequited) and work (mostly unbearable, particularly for a working girl in a testosterone-driven office, wearied by the appearance of yet "another alpha male-- / a man's man, a dealmaker"). No wonder Garrison seems so appealing. And no wonder her publisher has capitalized on this appeal by packaging her book in such a sleek, chic jacket. It would be a mistake, however, to write her off as one more neurotic light versifier. Her metaphoric agility can take you by surprise: note the Atlantic breeze coming "up out of the surf / like a dog gone swimming, / slagging sand and spray every which way / and making the news unreadable." So, too, can the note of resignation that undergirds so many of Garrison's vignettes-in-verse, giving even her most featherweight performances an odd, unchic intensity.
Book Description
Deborah Garrison, whose work as an editor and writer has enlivened the pages of The New Yorker for more than a decade, evokes the characters and events of her everyday life with intense feeling and, more important, conjures up the universal dilemmas and pleasures of a young woman trying to come to terms with love and work.
Customer Reviews:
Check these out.......2007-04-15
This is very good poetry: insightful, articulate, and very witty. Garrison is quite deft with the English language and doesn't litter her writing with clever, irrelevant tricks. She keeps her work focused and to the point. She has the snap and sting of Michael Benedikt.
you're kidding me, right?.......2004-07-29
That this book got any attention still blows me away. What a boring bunch of poems that read like a nightmarish open reading. If this is poetry that can actually get into the popular vein, I'm gonna lock myself in the library and not talk to anyone.
underbaked and flat.......2004-02-24
Great idea for a collection--poems from the point of view of a female office worker. But there's not much empathy, not much risk, not much music, not much wit, not much anything here. These are above all intellectually and linguistically lazy poems which aim for irony but seldom get beyond archness. No perceptions you couldn't find in the pages of a woman's magazine or on a TV-show about working women--and not even as entertaining as any number of chick lit novels.
Fun, Make-You-Think Reading.......2003-12-02
I picked this book off the shelf by chance. My good luck.
Deborah Garrison's little book of poetry is a treasure. It's funky, funny, wonderful reading. This collection will impress any lover of poetry, whether you just started reading yesterday or you've been a fan for years.
Her writing is accessible. Her writing is real; while she wants to be a "modern" woman, all unoppressed and girl power-ish, she is still a human. And she let's you know that up front. One of the best things about it is that you don't have to break out a dictionary to understand it. And it doesn't take days worth of analyzation to get through a few lines either. Buy it!
Chick-lit poetry.......2003-07-15
It's Bridget Jones country, which I don't think is such a terrible thing. And it's easy to read, which I don't think is such a terrible thing. The poems tell of the men in the poetess's life, from her mother's lovers to her boss, the other men at her job, and her husband. It's in the colloquial style of the English Movement, with something of the American Confessional. Sometimes (at least in the Fight Song) it even scans and rhymes.
The five stars are not because it's GREAT poetry, but because it's enjoyable, true-to-life and readable...
Average customer rating:
- Angkor Wat
- Photobook Angkor
- Outstanding Photos and history
- Awesome Angkor
- A Must-Have Book on Angkor Temples
|
Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer
Jon Ortner ,
Ian W. Mabbett ,
James Goodman ,
Ian Mabbett ,
Eleanor Mannikka , and
John Sanday
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Asian
| International
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Religious Buildings
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Periods
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Byzantine
| Schools, Periods & Styles
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Middle Eastern
| Regional
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Architectural
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Asia
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Far East
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Middle East
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Cambodia
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Southeast Asia
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Archaeology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Cambodia
| Asia
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places)
-
Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)
-
The Civilization of Angkor
-
Churning the Sea of Time: A Journey Up the Mekong to Angkor
-
Sacred Angkor: The Carved Reliefs of Angkor Wat
ASIN: 0789207184 |
Book Description
An exquisitely illustrated history and exploration of Angkor, the world's most astonishing architectural treasure.
Built between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries by a succession of twelve Khmer kings, Angkor spreads over 120 square miles in Southeast Asia and includes scores of major architectural sites. In 802, when construction began on Angkor Wat, with wealth from rice and trade, Jayavarman ll took the throne, initiating an unparalleled period of artistic and architectural achievement, exemplified in the fabled ruins of Angkor, center of the ancient empire. Among the amazing pyramid and mandala shaped shrines preserved in the jungles of Cambodia, is Angkor Wat, the world's largest temple, an extraordinarily complex structure filled with iconographic detail and religious symbolism. Perhaps because of the decline of agricultural productivity and the expansion of the Thai Empire, Angkor was abandoned in the fifteenth century and left to the ravages of time. Today, many countries continue efforts to conserve and restore the temples, which have been inaccessible until recently. Now that the civil war has ended, Angkor is being reborn and is an increasingly popular tourist destination.
Undaunted by the difficulties of traveling through Cambodia and eastern Thailand, Jon Ortner, accompanied by his wife Martha, has photographed fifty of the most important and unique monuments of the Khmer Empire. His images include spectacular views from the rooftops of its temples, glorious landscapes, and details of inscriptions and art that few have ever seen.
The text by a team of distinguished experts provides historical, architectural, and religious analyses of Angkor and the Khmer civilization. The Appendix offers a glossary, a chronology of construction, and a chart of the kings and their accomplishments. Black-and-white floor plans and historic watercolors complete this breathtaking tribute.
Other details: 240 illustrations, 225 in full color
Customer Reviews:
Angkor Wat .......2007-09-06
Excellent book! I wish I had known about this book before I went to Angkor Wat.
Photobook Angkor.......2007-06-07
Angkor, Celestial temples of the Khmer Empire is a photobook limited to the Angkor Site and some outlining temples. Although the quality of the photo's is excellent, the book itself with regards to the informative value is disappointing. An exception to this is the chronology of sites. Angkor: Temples et monumentsThe Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide)Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)Ancient Angkor (River Book Guides)Angkor Cities and Temples
Outstanding Photos and history.......2006-03-09
I purchased three books on Angkor Wat after my week visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia and this book was by far the best I have seen. The photos are excellent and the narration in very informative. It is expensive but worth it.
Awesome Angkor.......2005-04-09
Wow, what a spectacular book, truly amazing. I was blown away by the quality of the photography, the reader actually feels like they are in the jungle amid the ruins of Angkor. I have never visited Angkor Wat and probably never will, but after experiencing this book, I feel somehow that I have been there. The quality of the book is superior and the book even comes in a wonderful case. The publisher should be congradulated, it's a luxurious book. Some books are extremely expensive and you wonder why, I can assure you, you will not ask that about this one. If you have any interest in this subject or just like to own beautiful things I urge you to purchase this book, it will be a jewel in your book collection
A Must-Have Book on Angkor Temples.......2004-02-02
Through his magical photographic eye, Jon Ortner has created a wondrous collection of striking images and scholarly prose. His perfectly lit photographs and well-documented historic descriptions allow one to easily understand this complicated ancient subject. Each temple is clearly organized into relevant sections from the central Angkor area to the rare and never-before-seen temples in the outer lying areas. If you have visited Angkor - Ortner's book is the perfect addition to your library. Or, if you have not visited, this book provides the perfect impetus.
Average customer rating:
- Here Is New York by E. B. White
- A Love Letter to New York City
- Style, Truth, Prescience
- Small Treasure
- A swell little essay
|
Here is New York
E.B. White
Manufacturer: Little Bookroom
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Essays
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
White, E.B.
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Mid Atlantic
| Northeast
| Regions
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| New York
| States
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
New York City
| New York
| States
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
North America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Northeast
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Travel
| Journals
| Accessories
| Formats
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Essays of E. B. White (Perennial Classics)
-
One Man's Meat
-
Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976
-
Manhattan '45
-
Letters of E. B. White, Revised Edition
ASIN: 1892145022
Release Date: 2000-01-01 |
Amazon.com
"On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy." So begins E.B. White's classic meditation on that noisiest, most public of American cities. Written during the summer of 1948, well after the author and editor had taken up permanent residence in Maine, Here Is New York is a fond glance back at the city of his youth, when White was one of the "young worshipful beginners" who give New York its passionate character. It's also a tribute to the sheer implausibility of the place--the tangled infrastructure, the teeming humanity, the dearth of air and light. Much has changed since White wrote this essay, yet in a city "both changeless and changing" there are things here that will doubtless ring equally true 100 years from now. To wit, "New Yorkers temperamentally do not crave comfort and convenience--if they did they would live elsewhere."
Anyone who's ever cherished his essays--or even Charlotte's Web--knows that White is the most elegant of all possible stylists. There's not a sentence here that does not make itself felt right down to the reader's very bones. What would the author make of Giuliani's New York? Or of Times Square, Disney-style? It's hard to say for sure. But not even Planet Hollywood could ruin White's abiding sense of wonder: "The city is like poetry: it compresses all life ... into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines." This lovely new edition marks the 100th anniversary of E.B. White's birth--cause for celebration indeed. --Mary Park
Book Description
Perceptive, funny, and nostalgic, E.B. White's stroll around Manhattan remains the quintessential love letter to the city, written by one of America's foremost literary figures. The New York Times has named Here is New York one of the ten best books ever written about the metropolis, and The New Yorker calls it "the wittiest essay, and one of the most perceptive, ever done on the city.
Customer Reviews:
Here Is New York by E. B. White.......2007-02-23
Anything by E. B. White is fine - he must have been quite young when he wrote this but I enjoyed reading it and getting a sense of what New York was like at that time - some of it is still true but much has changed.
A Love Letter to New York City.......2006-04-24
HERE IS NEW YORK is a truly spectacular 1948 essay that originally appeared in Holiday magazine. Written by E.B. White and named one of the ten best books ever written about New York, this is a quick read that will leave you years later savoring White's timeless observations.
Writing in a hotel room during a sweltering heat wave, White takes the reader through the essence of New York City and its eight million inhabitants who he notes roughly fall into three groups: the natives, the commuters and the transplants.
Warning that "no one should come to New York unless he is willing to be lucky," White lovingly explains how the city is more a collection of thousands of small neighborhoods that implausibly operate independently of each other, completely oblivious to what is occurring only a few blocks away.
Though it was written almost 60 years ago, HERE IS NEW YORK is just as accurate today as the moment it was written. Yes, the city has changed but the basic structure of life in New York remains the same.
Overall HERE IS NEW YORK is a very positive book that will leave everyone feeling welcome and needed in America's biggest city. But eerily the book presciently warns that "a single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal passages, cremate the millions."
Though it was tough to read that passage right after 9/11 as I did, I still whole heartedly recommend HERE IS NEW YORK to anyone who lives in New York, commutes to and from there, or has just moved there and is now, as White observed, generating "enough heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company."
- Regina McMenamin
Style, Truth, Prescience.......2005-12-11
Early to a party, I was looking at a friend's bookcase and pulled this slim volume from a shelf. After reading the first sentence, I knew I had to have it.
Originally published in 1949, E.B. White, who no longer lived in New York City, captured the soul and spirit of the place. Nothing has changed. At the time, the United Nations building was under construction, and the bombing of London was fresh in his mind. He ends the book with a vision that perfectly balances hope with danger, in words prescient of September 11 - I re-read those paragraphs on every anniversary, it has become my ritual.
But what originally drew me to the book is not only the truth and insight of White, but his style, his felicity of expression. The author of "The Elements of Style" certainly knew the rules, and knew when to break them, as well. The second paragraph ends with a run-on sentence 198 words long, a thrilling joy ride which itself demonstrates how impossible it is to capture, in prose, the enormity and importance of this city.
I agree with Russell Baker, this is "the finest portrait ever painted of the city."
Small Treasure.......2005-10-19
A tightly written prose essay. An appreciation of the city that was and is. Memories and images of things past and things enduring. The city of E.B. White. If you live her, love her or even dislike her this memoir will evoke strong recollections.
Short, incisive, majestic. A small treasure for those who love the great cities of the world.
A swell little essay.......2005-08-29
I bought a 1949 first edition of this and just loved holding the 4"x6" (or thereabouts) gem in my hands. It has a sepia "Fairchild Aerial Surveys" image of Manhattan on the cover, as well as blurbs calling E.B. White "swell" and "meaty" and "original, all wool and a yard wide." I'm just starting to learn that part of the pleasure of a book, occasionally, is its packaging - and this was a swell example. I barely know what to add to the other comments here about White's writings. If you know him only through his three beautifully crafted childrens' books, this is one place to start with his essays. Here is New York was originally written for Holiday magazine. You can read the essay (and, consequently, this book) in one sitting. The ideas here are admittedly romantic and, from my twenty-first-century perspective, sometimes a tad cloying. That said, White's sentences always deliver spare, direct ideas. He is truly a joy to read. If you love Manhattan as I do, you'll want to have this as part of your library, if only to be reminded every once in awhile that someone voiced your own feelings 60 years ago.
Books:
- The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value
- The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market
- The Politics of Social Risk: Business and Welfare State Development (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
- The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church
- The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
- Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce
- Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods... And How Companies Create Them (Revised and Updated)
- Turkey: Economic Reform and Accession to the European Union (World Bank Trade and Development) (World Bank Trade and Development Series)
- Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look In All Directions
- Close to You
- The Beauty of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and the Arts from the Catacombs to the Ev
- The Impact of Nitrogen Deposition on Natural and Semi-Natural Ecosystems
- Tree of Knowledge
- Ethical Theory and Business, Seventh Edition
- Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
- Ritual House: Drawing on Nature's Rhythms for Architecture and Urban Design
- The Los Angeles House: Decoration And Design In America's 20th Century City
- The yeast;: A taxonomic study,
Building New York: The Rise and Rise of the Greatest City on Earth
New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buidlings and Landmarks
One Thousand New York Buildings
New York, Empire City: 1920-1945
The Mythic City: Photographs of New York by Samuel H. Gottscho
