This is a great little reference book for those who travel the NJ waterways and/or have an interest in the history of the NJ lights. In addition to the more well known NJ lights such as "Old Barney" at the Barnegat Inlet and Twin Lights in Sandy Hook, Gately's book lists them all, including some which no longer stand.

Although very interesting, many of the listings leave the reader wanting more details. I hope a new edition, at some point, will provide more!

For those who love lighthouses -- traveling to them, photographing them, and reading about them -- Bill Gately's Sentinels of the Shore is a welcome guide and a lovely little tome anyone would be delighted to receive as a gift. It's also an important tribute to numerous historically significant lighthouses, such as Navesink Twin Lights, a unique set of multiple beacons that once served as a testing station for new optics and illuminants; Sandy Hook, the oldest standing, operational lighthouse in the U.S. and an excellent example of Colonial architecture; the Statue of Liberty, herself a lighthouse that still lifts a symbolic beacon over New York Harbor; and stately Barnegat Light, guardian of New Jersey's "Graveyard of Ships" and one of the state's most-visited sentinels. Inside, readers will find up-to-date information and color photos of about 30 other lighthouses. The defunct lightships also are included, along with historical sketches and rare archival material. There's a friendly, full-color foldout map showing the location of the lights and detailed directions for travelers. The author, an active preservationist and member of several lighthouse societies, has done a thorough job researching and presenting the lights of the Garden State, past and present. This one is priced right, pretty, and useful, but also enjoyable. It can go easily from the car glove box to the sitting room coffee table to the bedside bookshelf.

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

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

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

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

Highly recommended!

As anyone who has ever tried to track down books on Syracuse's history can tell you, they are few and far between. Mostly, they look like something your 8th grade history teacher photocopied and stapled together. This is a professional effort; the description above mentions that some of the photos are of "indifferent" quaility. Obviously they had never seen previous efforts. This is a nice little book with lots of cool little remembered facts that have been buried by Syracuse's present state of dispare. If you're interested in Syracuse's history, you could do much worse. I personally like this book a lot.

I seriously think this is a great book. It is the only really Syracuse tour book I know. And it has a lot of history. Buy it now!

It lists difficulty of trails and whether bikes, horses, and pets are welcome. Appears well researched and gives accurate directions and descriptions of the area.

Thank you Rich & Sue! Your book saved us from getting completely lost. My best friend and I took our kids on a hike at Hi Tor - we took the Conklin Gully Trail. If we had not had your book with us, we wouldn't have had a clue where to go, and would probably have had 4 to 6-hour hike, which we would have been totally unprepared for.

Your book is exceptionally well organized and well written. I only have the Take A Hike! Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley Region, but I will be getting others. I also have a lot of friends who love to hike and bike and will be recommending your books to them.

Keep up the good work. With this quality of work I hope your book is selling well. I also hope that you will be able to publish similar books for widespread geographic regions.
Malcolm Gillespie

This book was an enjoyable read. It's perfect to use as a reference book for looking things up while driving by in the car. More importantly, if you are planning your trip in advance you will find yourself reading through it like you would an interesting history book. Having lived in New Jersey for quite some time I was impressed with the accuracy of the information as well as the "cute" little inside comments. The author definitely visited the locations before writing about them. This is a book that will be useful to locals as well as tourists in both NJ and PA. Nicely done!

As a New York City resident who likes to make weekend forays to interesting and beautiful places, I found this book chock full of useful road trip suggestions. Far from being a dry list of 'must see's' this book combined just the right amount of practical information (who, what, why, where, when, and how), historical background, colorful descriptions of some less than mainstream attractions and most appreciated of all, humor. This book is very user feindly and fun to read. I give it five stars.

this book covered alot of streams that i hoped it would but i thought the information was not as detailed for each stream as i would like to have read.this book i feel still is a must for every PA. fly fisherman

If you fish for trout in Pennsylvania, buy this book! The author was born next to a trout stream in PA. He has actually fished in most of the streams he writes about, and provides accurate information about the streams and the hatches to expect. It contains maps and the locations of the special project areas (e.g. artifical lures or fly-fishing only). I have tried a number of streams based soley on his recommendations and have not been disappointed. This is the second edition; it contains a number of streams not included in the first. It is practical and clearly written.

This is the only guide I found that had enough detail and info to get a directionally challenged biker through some of the tricky breaks in the paths up the Hudson and over the George Washington Bridge. Interesting as well as useful for walkers and even bikers in NY. A terrific resource.

I found this book riveting and informative. Cy Adler's unique knowledge of the paths and trails around New York City's waterfront and the Hudson River is wonderfully demonstrated in this helpful guide.

The book wreck valley 2 By Daniel Berg is an excelent guide for sports divers and tech divers alike. Daniel Berg brings out and discribes the history of the ships that once sailed the long island sound and Atlantic . If anyone,. not just divers is interested in north east ship wrecks this is the book for you

I found this book very useful in gathering information about the different ship wrecks I have dove on in New Jersey. I highly recomend this book to all wreck divers and ship wreck enthusiasts alike. This book has lots of good photographs and drawings pertaining to the wrecks. You will not be disappointed in purchasing this book.

I got a chance to read this book pre-pub and found it outrageously entertaining. Anyone who thinks this is strictly about football and harness racing is in for a glorious surprise. Mr. Sullivan's tales of trekking through the wasteland in search of remians of the old Penn Station and Jimmy Hoffa's body are eerie yet fascinating. The tales of boom and bust on Manhattan's marshy neighbor add historical value to a region currently known for only its stench and unsightliness. People all over the country should enjoy the witty and comical writing while perhaps gaining a new respect for their respective nearby dumping grounds. Hooray! The drive along the NJ turnpike will never be the same...

If you've never set foot in New Jersey's Hackensack Meadowlands - New York City's Okie trailer-like front yard - journalist Robert Sullivan's "The Meadowlands" is a suitable and whimsical introduction to that quirky splotch of urbanity-surrounded wilderness. For most readers, this boggy unfamiliar realm is how the author describes it: a nearly uninhabitable patch of land, perhaps only glimpsed through a plane window as you land at Newark Airport from the north, or from your car window as you soar over the grassy flat lands on the elevated N.J. Turnpike. Weaving legend and fact in sprightly and complimentary fashion, Sullivan effortlessly maintains his readers' focus on metropolitan New York's until-now anonymous and peacefully empty swampy morass. Meadowlands natives (including this reviewer) will appreciate the author's odd curiosity for his subject and his never-flagging enthusiasm for this sometimes unpleasant wasteland. His research into the history of these meadows - followed up with cheerfully ambitious field trips - produces absorbing tales of failed water and development projects, ferocious mosquitoes, and an occasionally off-balance bunch of characters who work in, study, and precariously live within this abused but beautiful sanctuary. There is a humorous encounter with a man of uncertain sanity swimming in the unknowable awfulness of Meadowlands water. (I can claim a similar questionable feat during a younger day!) This reviewer especially enjoyed those episodes which brought the author to areas of great familiarity: a closed slaughterhouse, Snake Hill, and various Secaucus haunts and waterways. Sullivan's search for the rubble of Manhattan's Penn Station is a worthy quest indeed; his joy at his discoveries will doubtless inspire more than a few natives (including this one) to follow in his footsteps. On balance, this is a recommended book for anyone remotely curious about the urban vs. environmental debate (although Sullivan treads a bit lightly he! re), or the interaction of massed population with an unpopulated natural habitat. For those who like mystery, among others there is the tragic tale of a detective's reluctant account of a murdered young woman. Her body was found in a remote Meadowlands location beneath the Pulaski Skyway - the mighty arching black steel bridgeway that spans the southern Meadowlands and two rivers in linking New York City and Newark. Improvements to the work might have included additional history and accounts of two of the most successful projects in the Meadowlands: the Giants Stadium sports complex completed in the early '80s, and the enormous Bulk Postal Facility built in the early 1970s. These undertakings demonstrated that big dreams (and big dollars) could overbuild the Meadowlands. In addition, the lone hand-drawn map at the front of the book scarcely provides the perspective, scale, or detail that could only enhance (particularly for the native) the adventures Mr. Sullivan describes so well. Today, further development in the form of a massive rail transfer station and office complex are set for groundbreaking in the Meadowlands; it remains despite its sogginess and uncertain environmental quality a land of promise and change. Looking ahead, Sullivan has set a high standard for anyone who will come along in, say, fifty or seventy-five years, to attempt a similar feat of imaginative writing about the lonely and perhaps vanishing "Meadowlands."

A great read that brings the Meadowlands to life. Sullivan's writing draws you in, inviting you on his explorations--it's never ponderous. I especially appreciate his ability to blend the historical with the human: We learn how politics and people have affected the Meadowlands over the years. Note: Although other reviewers express the wish for a "true" map in the book, I got a kick out of the informal one that appears opposite the title page: It's a perfect match for the book's tone. I'm on the search for more writing by this author, and--even more telling--I'll probably head over to the Meadowlands next time I'm in NYC.

After receiving a few mean-spirited e-mails about my review of this book, I feel I must clarify a few issues.

Again, I've gone through nearly 30 books about 9/11. After you get past the austere black cover, this paperback falls with a thud.

Simply put, this book tries too HARD to be profound. You see images you've seen before, such as the sequence of shots of one of the jets slamming into the south tower of the WTC. Nothing new.

Two things bug me: Layout and content.

In the layout, you get the feeling the editors are trying to SLEGEHAMMER the reader with the obvious. I hate this. For example, in some essays, certain words and phrases are laid out into single lines, as if they are poetry. Then there is the awful decision to use fonts of varying sizes to EMPHASIZE certain passages. This is a pretentious device that, I'm sorry, calls TOO MUCH ATTENTION to itself. It is completely unnecessary and smacks of a patronizing tone intended to magnify the depth and gravity of what occurred on 9/11. We all know about that dark day. We DON'T need it pushed into our faces under the umbrella of "literary art."

Meanwhile, about the Chomsky essay: It's short but it's awful. It's laid out, again, in a way that feels like "padding." His message reads like an "I told you so" lesson. Here's what he does: He points to America's "sins" of the past and then turns them around in a way that makes you want to believe that it's NOW THE UNITED STATES' TURN TO SUFFER. This is horrible. His opinions are the stuff of fiery pamphlets handed out on street corners. (BECAUSE WHO WOULD PAY FOR THIS?)

OK, what's good about this book? Well, some of the transcripts of phone calls and a handful essays from victims and witnesses are well done. Why? Because they ARE NOT pretentious. But when others try to be "inspirational," they end up stating the obvious. I can't help but feel most writers were given an outlet to "vent" their own emotions, which have more relevance to the writer than to the reader.

If you want more for less, pick up the December 2001 issue of American Heritage Magazine. There you get five-star opinions about 9/11 from individuals of world repute. It has a "permanence" this book lacks and it doesn't feel rushed together.

In sum, it's fine to read what people like Joan Rivers, Deepak Chopra, Richard Dreyfuss and others "feel" about 9/11. But is it worth PAYING for? You can't judge quality by "good intentions." This is a rush-to-market volume featuring opinions from most who have (or who will have) little if any impact on our lives. Why not opinions from Giuliani, Bush, Blair, Sharon and Arafat, even those recorded by the news media in the AFTERMATH of 9/11? Why not more views from individuals who can effect CHANGE? This book could have been GREAT.

Trust me, this is NOT the definitive book of "think pieces" about 9/11/01.

If you disagree, fine. It's your money. But my advice is to borrow before you buy. There are other books worth buying. This one isn't.

Features a collection of moving photos and thoughtful essays, which capture much of what the world saw and felt September 11, 2001. Notable contributors include Deepak Chopra, author; Gary Fabiano, photojournalist who was trapped under the rubble; Robert Kennedy, Jr., politician; Liam Neeson, actor; Shashi Tharoor, Senior UN Official and author; and more. . All proceeds from this book will go to support the International Red Cross Federation.

This book is not easy to find. I finally ordered it from Amazon.com and I was amazed by it. I read all the critiques to this book. I usually like or do not like a book. I love this book, it is very factual, accurate and explores the feeling of about 30 people that had somenting to say about 9-11. It does not matter to me who they are and what they do, what matters is that the essays touch on fears that I had and still have. I do not pretend this book to change the world but to give me feeling and images to hang on to. On each essay I can find someting I can relate to and this makes the book special, it makes it personal. Highly recommended.