As a native New Yorker, I heard of many islands that occupied the waters that surrounded the five boroughs of the city. As I flew back into LaGuardia and JFK airports I even began to notice them from above. Obtaining information about these islands was very difficult, even from local libraries, and therefore when I found this book at a local bookstore, I was delighted that someone came up with the idea of publishing such a book.

From Roosevelt Island to Cuban Ledge, the authors give a very thorough and well researched book on the many islands inhabiting the New York archipelago. Many islands which were once islands, but have long since been connected to the boroughs by artificial landfills are also covered here (e.g. Coney Island-Brooklyn, Hunter Island-Bronx, Battery Park area-Manhattan, etc..) are also covered here.

If you live in the city or plan on visiting, please make sure to pick up a copy of this guide, and make sure to visit the many hidden treasures found in this city.It makes an excellent companion book while aboard a plane or even in the subway.

New York City is an archipelago of islands - this is a reality that has been paved under by centuries of development in this great city, but has been brought to light in this fun, excellent little book.

Besides Manhattan Island, Roosevelt Island, Staten Island, etc., there are a host of tiny lesser-known islands all around the waterways of the city, and this book describes them all. Each and every one of them has a unique history - most were settled at one time or another, most are abandoned now - as well as a unique ecosystem. The book does a great job exploring all these aspects, in prose that has just the right level of detail to inform and excite. The histories it relates are miniature, fractured reflections, serving to both highlight and contrast with the mainstream narrative of NYC history.

Here are a few islands you may never have heard of before - North Brother Island, Swinburne Island, Shooters' Island, and - my personal favorite - U Thant Island, named for a late U.N. diplomat. Yes, there really is a place within New York City limits called "U Thant Island!" Reading this stuff makes you want to go to these places. Most of them are illegal to visit, and unfortunately the authors are responsible, law-abiding individuals who won't tell you how to get to them. Too bad :)

For urban historians, this book is like a collection of lost pottery shards of NYC life. For ecologists, it is a testament to the resilience of wildlife in some of the busiest waterways in the world. And for aspiring urban explorers, it is a temptation to buy a raft, flashlight, and wire cutters....

Anyone can write a "turn left at the oak tree and see the pretty view" kind of guidebook, and there's plenty of that here. Every interesting trail, path and viewpoint from the Battery to Albany is here...but there's so much more in this wonderful book.

I've never just started a guidebook at page one and read it straight through, but that's what I did with this one.

I can't imagine anyone more knowledgeable about the Hudson valley than the author, nor anyone able to share that information in a more entertaining way. Aside from telling you where to go, this book is full of fascinating information on the geology, landscape, wildlife and the cultural and political history of the area; plus practical tips on backpacking and biking, what to wear and bring, kids and pets...everything.

If you're going to spend any time in the Hudson valley, this book is all you'll need.

Paths along the Hudson by Jeffrey Perls is an exhaustively researched guide for both residents and visitors to the Hudson Valley. The book includes detailed maps and descriptions of Hudson River access points as diverse as the teeming streets of Manhattan, the redoubts of West Point, and the rolling fields of Dutchess County. It highlights not only the well-known attractions in the region, but also draws the hiker or bicyclist into the numerous, little known pockets of nature that dot the shores of the river. Dense with information, Paths offers a how-to section for beginners and incorporates the modern economy and ecology in the context of the region's natural and social history.

Dennis Aprill is the male equivalent to Barbara McMartin in his narrative style. Like Ms. McMartin, he goes into practical detail in hiking equipment and studiously describes each hike, mentioning things most hikers might miss. It won't be long before he comes out with another edition. An excellent guide.

Very valuable for anyone who wants tp hike the low peaks in the Adirondacks with children or elderly or anybody. Great anecdotes, tips, etc.

Edward Colimore's The Philadelphia Inquirer's Guide To Historic Philadelphia takes the reader on twelve walking tours through city neighborhoods that have preserve history and culture through the generations. Walkers can visit buildings, streets, gardens, and parks that date back to the colonial period and the Victorian era. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Guide To Historic Philadelphia is arranged in a logical, easy-to-follow format, and includes maps, touring and public transportation information, parking tips, recommendations for nearby restaurants, and more. Enthusiastically recommended for armchair travelers or walking tourists - for anyone who either vicariously or personally wants to follow the footsteps of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin!

This book is divided into 12 chapters, each proposing a different walking tour of Philadelphia. The tours included are "The Nation's Most Historic Square Mile," "North of Market," "Society Hill," "Penn's Landing," "Southwark: A Stroll Through Time," "Washington Square West," "Around City Hall," "Rittenhouse Square: The Good Life," "University City and West Philadelphia," "The Ben Franklin Parkway," "Philadelphia's Backyard: Fairmount Park," and "Germantown and Chestnut Hill." The book may be of interest to tourists, but it is particularly valuable to Philadelphia residents desiring to learn more about their neighborhood. While the tours will get you to the major tourist sights like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Betsy Ross's House, the true value of the reference is that it uncovers some of the city's treasures that may have escaped the resident's notice. I was surprised to learn that General George Meade, commander of the Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg, had a house in Philadelphia that still stands. I was even more surprised to learn that I had been passing by it on a regular basis for years without realizing what it was. If you are a civil war buff and you want to see Meade's House, this book will lead you there. Check the index, and it will direct to you his field uniform or his gravesite if you like. Philadelphia is rich in history, much of it hidden, and this reference can help you ferret out some of the city's treasures. While it is not totally comprehensive (some of my favorite historical sites are not in any of the tours and a walking tour of Broad Street is noticeably missing), its division into easily manageable tours lends itself to pleasant Sunday afternoon strolls for the motivated. The author even includes some of the prominent restaurants around each of the walks.

If you are looking to read about Philadelphia history, this clearly is not the book for you. Many better and more comprehensive books are available. However, if you are looking to get out and see some of the history of the city for yourself, I recommend this reference without reservations.

Janet Hays is the Studs Terkel of the aging New Yorker. Her book is thoroughly enjoyable and her picture of the lively folks there makes New York City seem like the fountain of youth. I don't know whether moving to New York would be real for most of us, but the denizens of the city that appear in her book all sound worth knowing.
Retire in New York City lists so many good cheap places to go and things to do, I found myself wishing I lived close enough to try them out.

Eugenia Kaledin

Lexington, Massachusetts

I live in Washington D.C. and within a week of reading this book I enrolled in a Drawing Class, arranged for a guided tour of a private museum I have wanted to visit for 10 years, talked to the woman in New York who co-founded "Womanshare", a group of over 50 women who trade skills and share resources with the idea of starting a group here, and am considering some interesting lifestyle adjustments.

Wherever you live do read this book if you are thinking about retiring, if you recently retired, or if you feel stuck in your retirement. Retire in New York City ---Even If You're Not Rich will motivate and guide you to finding what is available in your community to enrich your life. Fascinating interviews with retirees spark interest in exploring alternative approaches to retirement, finding ways to supplement income, meet interesting people and creatively share skills and cut expenses.

This book may be just the "kick in the pants" needed to get your creative juices flowing into action.

Skudera's Ultimate Guide To New Jersey by travel expert Michael Skudera is a superbly combined travel reference and multimedia traveler's guide to the state of New Jersey. The invaluably useful site and route descriptions are packed with information about the locations and their hours, and are enhanced with black-and-white photos, and offer up-to-date information about the great places to visit throughout the state. An accompanying CD-ROM (which requires Windows 95/98/XP) showcases the print text with over 3,500 color photographs, illustrating 1,000 points of interest, and provides printable maps, and ways to visit places with the click of a mouse before actually investing one's travel time. Skudera's Ultimate Guide To New Jersey is confidently recommended as being a truly first-rate guide for on-site tourists and armchair travelers alike.

As a lifelong resident of the Garden State I thought I knew pretty much everything important about New Jersey. After I took a look at this book I saw I didn't know anything. Every section in "Skudera's Ultimate Guide to NJ" is greatly detailed with each destination's history and any info needed(i.e. address, hours of operation, and ticket price) for visitor's of the attraction. The CD that accompanies the book is even better! It contais an easy database to use where you can look up just about all the information that is in the book, I believe it might even contain more than the book. Plus the picures contained on the CD are great. There are so many destinations to read about in both the book and the CD, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to get through them all. I recomend this book for every New Jersey resident, and with the gift giving season coming up I think it would be a great item for someone who has moved away and misses the Garden State!

NYC has about 13 retreats, 471 Baptist, 403 Catholic, 437 Jewish, 391 Pentecostal, 163 Episcopalian, 60 Islamic and 1 Bahai religious centers (to name but a few). The book's author, Edward F. Bergman is chairman of geographic studies at CUNY's Lehman College. The book is the must read for astute New Yorkers and tourists. It is eminently enlightening about the city's history, its architecture and its religious progression. As Bergman writes, from the early 17th Century, the chief religion of the non-Native Americans of the New Netherlands was the (Dutch) Reformed Church of Protestants, which spawned the Collegiate system of churches (read it and you will discover why they are called Collegiate Churches). As new settlers arrived, and New Amsterdam became British, new churches were established, persecuted, tolerated, and then in most cases, accepted. In the first chapter, Bergman includes brief histories for the major NYC religions, including Quaker, Adventist, and Sikh. In the second chapter, he discusses the architectural elements found in houses of worship and their origins. The styles explained include that of the basilica, cruciform with transepts, Gothic nave, Greek cross, and narthexporch, as well as those of Wren-Gibbs, Georgian, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, High Victorian Gothic, Gothic, Romanesque Revival, and Renaissance Revival. He explains why some Protestant churches did away with their stained glass windows. The reader will also learn about the mihrab of a mosque, the Sikh gurdwara, and the Hindu rajagopuram, and along the way learn about religious history and the lives of saints and other clerics. In Chapters 3 through 9, Bergman describes the houses of worship by neighborhood. In Chapter 3, for example, the buildings of Downtown Manhattan are discussed. For each worship location, the address and architect are listed. For Trinity Church there are four pages of history; the African Burial Ground is discussed in three, as is the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Did you know that you can find the largest Buddha in the area at Mahayara, that the Sung Tak Buddhist Temple was formerly a Kalwarie shul, The Middle Reformed Coll. Church has its own Liberty Bell dating to 1729, or that the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol (1885) was the seat of NYC's short-lived Chief Rabbi in 1899? The book answers why the German Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer is built so high, and why J.P Morgan supported St George's Episcopal Church to the extent he did. Every few pages there is a shaded section that explains a topic, such as "the Greek Temple style in NYC"; "The Influence of the Reverend George Whitefield in the early 18th Century"; "the Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin and his noospere"; "The Draft Riot of 1863"; "Fulton Sheen and his ratings war with Milton Berle"; and "Churches and Multipurpose Buildings." Bergman also includes an "Around the Corner" paragraph after several listings to point out other attractions, like the harrowing offshore Merchant Marine Sculpture in Battery Park. Jewish readers will especially be fascinated by the histories, designs, and evolutions of the Manhattan synagogues. The book closes with a glossary, bibliography, large index, and list of websites.

"The Spiritual Traveler New York City" is more than just a guide to a few churches in NYC. It includes wonderful historical and architectural information on all the great houses of worship in the 5 boroughs of NYC as well as hidden jewels and oases of peace and calm that have been the prized secrets of many New Yorkers for years. While there is detailed information about churches of all denominations, synagogues, mosques and Hindu and Buddhist temples, it is all presented in a way that people who are not familiar with a lot of technical terms can understand and explanations are always provided. It's also compact enough that it easily fits into a backpack or pocketbook. I think "The Spiritual Traveler New York City" is not only perfect for tourists that want to know a little bit more about the spiritual history of NYC and about some of it's well-known places of worship, but is also perfect for the person (even New Yorkers like me)who wants the inside scoop on where to find peace and tranquility in the sea of madness that is NYC!! For those of you who like this book and are planning a trip to England, "The Spiritual Traveler England Scotland and Wales" is also available and is another great travel guide.

This delightfully written book is the perfect Christmas gift for anyone visiting or living in Pennsylvania. More than just a restaurant guide, the book gives the history behind each restaurant as well as selected recipes from each establishment. The book is a must for anyone who enjoys elegant dining.

This guide to historic Pennsylvania eateries blends a cookbook with a travel guide, exploring the range of cuisines available to Pennsylvanians in over sixty countries in the state. Nearly 900 restaurants were researched and over two hundred sampled before selecting the hundred-plus featured here: chapters are strong on the recipes, sans photos.

Another great travel book from the British Time Out people, in the tried and true Time Out format: Not alot on history or architecture, like you get with the Eyewitness or Knopf guides, but a straight to the point attitude in a easy to research portable book up-to-date and very helpful. The Time Out viewpoint is that partaking of the life of the city is as important as looking at the sights, so there is always great information on what to do after the museum closes, how to enjoy the city. There are 75 pages on sightseeing, a 114 pages on Arts & Entertainment, plus sections on bars, restaurants, and shopping. Each section is broken down by location, so the restaurants in Soho are listed togther, as are the bars in Midtown, which is the right way to do it.
Great for research before the trip to get an idea of what you plan to do &when, with websites for the individual places listed along with phone numbers and hours of operation. The maps are good; there are some pictures (nothing like Eyewitness). This is a good book to get before you go to help plan your trip to get the most enjoyment out of it, especially for nightlife.

The Time Out Guide to New York is, in my opinion, the best general guidebook you can buy to the city. It's updated annually, so the material is fresh, but best of all it brings the Time Out attitude and style to the guide book series. It's filled with full color photos (similar to the Knopf guides) and the listings contain not only the usual sights, stores and attractions, but also some of the more funky, out of the way places.

Plusses:

-Comprehensive coverage of most areas (see restaurant note below) -Lots of photos -Web site addresses for most listings -Content is also on their web site (www.timeout.com and www.timeoutny.com ) and updated regularly. -Not just the usual "everything is great" attitude that you get with Frommers or Fodors. -Contains ads for shows, hotels, restaurants (I like this as it gives more of a picture of the item. NOTE: There's big disclaimer in the front stating that even though they accept ads, their reviewers are independent)

-Small enough to fit in purse or (larger) back pocket. -Good cross referencing between sections

Minuses:

-Restaurant section not comprehensive. It's still very good, but selective. This may be due to the fact that they also publish a very comprehensive restaurant guide to NY. -Portions of the museum section are a bit skimpy. For example, the Knopf guides have 3 or 4 pages on the Metropolitan Museum, including floor plans and highlights of each collection, whereas this guide has about two column-inches of text on the Met. -No web site listings for restaurants.

As I said, this is the best guide to New York I've found (and I have them all). Highly recommended.

I'm a single woman and I went to New York with a lot of trepidation. A friend gave me The Top 10 Guide as a going away present. I read it on the plane and I was so excited about the city by the time I got there. It's filled with inside hints and highlights of special places and things to do. The author shares his enthusiasm for the city and tells you the most important things to do to make your trip fun. I was there alone for a week and I used this Guide exclusively. The author's got everything organized. I just went down the lists checking off everything as I did them. I had a terrific time. And it was the Top 10 Guide made the difference. I strongly recommend it.

This is the best guide on New York I've ever read. It's fast, pithy and filled with inside information. I go to New York a lot on business and I've tried a lot of guides but this is the best. It highlights the top restaurants in a city filled with outstanding restaurants, the top sights to see in a city filled with interesting places and the top things to do in a city loaded with things to do; it's just a terrific guide! The best!