We were moving to Westchester and this book became a valuable resource. The author has listed the attractions by town, and includes such offerings as beaches, parks, children's places, fitness centers, public golf courses, historical sites, ice skating places (rinks and ponds/lakes), museums, nature centers, theatres, performing arts centers and art galleries. Once we moved this became our guidebook to the area. Also included is a brief history of each town. In deciding where to move we used this book in conjunction with If You're Thinking of Living In..., by the New York Times, which contains demographic information, anecdotal profiles of the towns, school information and housing costs. When it comes to recreation, culture and entertainment, every county should have a resource book like this!

This book provided an excellent visual history of the little town of Blairstown. It is jam packed with pictures from Churches to Blair Academy to railroads. The only thing that is keeping me from giving this book 5 stars is there needed to be more reading. The pictures are great; however, I would have also enjoyed reading about the town where I grew up.

This is a good book as a souvenir and after having visited Boston six times, I know many of the places photographed and can vividly recall the moments I spent there. There's a detailed introduction looking at all aspects of Bostonian life, including some fabulous old photographs. The rest of the book presents the modern-day town, from the architecture to its people, traditional and contemporary. A lot of the photographs focus on detail, with some good camera angles, but I feel some more general views could have been used to get a better impression of this fantastic town.

The photographic essay which is this book is quite remarkable. Not many communities in the world have seen such complete annilation short of destruction by war or natural disaster. This working class city neighborhood, which somehow did not fit into the masterplan, was completely destroyed. I wish it explained how it happened, how the government was able to kick everyone out of their homes. This photo essay portrays an awesome sense of community and neighborhood which once was, never to be replaced by the highrise apartments which were erected in its place. The replacement community, which has developed over the past 35 years was not a fair trade. Anyone who sees what is there now and compares it to what was clear cut away will agree. The plight of the Westenders is not easy to argue with after seeing the pages. After seeing the photographs you can't help but feel very sad for the people and what happened to them in the old West End. This is a true must read for anyone who now resides in Charles River Park and anyone who is doing research on urban renewal.

UPDATE! this book is now in print

This is a great guide for finding GREAT stuff. It contains some standard information about sample sales, Opera tickets and hair salons. What sets this book apart is the information about finding and furnishing an apartment. The fabric and furniture suggestions are the best I've found in any shopping guide, plus these places do indeed exist AND so do the prices.

The City Smart Guidebook was a great source of information for us as we planned our move to Pittsburgh. It had just enough history to make one knowledgeable without putting you to sleep. It also highlighted the best parts of this wonderful city in a clear, concise manner. The special interest tables were a great help (in particular, the coffee store one!). It comes in a close second to the book Guide to Living in Pittsburgh published by Carnegie Mellon University. That book discusses information more relevant to people moving to Pittsburgh than tourists.

Living in this area of New Jersey, I appreciated the information given by this book greatly. I was especially surprised to find that an entire chapter was dedicated to the small neighborhood that I live in, which was a former Commune. Reading about my town provoked my friends and I to find out as much as we could about our neighborhood. Anyone from Colts Neck should own this book, so they can learn that there really is more to the town than Delicious Orchards.

This book is an excellent introduction to the typical casino games and the pro and cons of playing them. The focus is on enoying your vacation by using complimentary gifts (rooms, drinks,meals etc.) to make up for any losses you might have and gaining the proficency and control to win at the tables. It makes a weekend at Alantic city or Vegas pay for itself. Get's you around town well also.

I bought this for my parents as they had recently moved from California to Conn. They love this book as it has allowed them to find some great bedroom communities nearby.
A true review would be from someone who knows the area, but for outsiders this was a great purchase.