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Customer Reviews (4)

Bring it Back
Perennial Gardening (American Garden Guides) isone of my favorite garden books. It is concise, accurate, extremely well illustrated,and does not confuse the reader with excessive information. I am a horticulturalist andthe Head Grower for a 60 acre wholesale container nursery. I have beenresponsible for growing perennials for over 20years. Often I am ask tospeak to retail customers or the general public. This is my most highlyrecommended book for people first starting to develop a perennial Garden.

Well organized and easy identification of plants.
I am on my 6th week with this book from my local library. I can't get enough. I have read many books and magazines and this book is well organized and has great clearity and easy access for plant descriptions. Ihighly recommend getting a copy from your library and checking it out foryourself. I hope these reviews will help bring this book back around forthe gardeners who want a good book to add to their collection.

Very informative and easy to use.
I have this book and keep it handly for reference year round.It gets a lot of use in the spring & fall, when I need a quick brush up on what to move or divide and when.I have recommended this book to many of my gardening friends.I hope at least some of them got a copy.I know many more who want a copy.

Get this book back in print...
Actually, I have't read this book because book stores don't carry it.It is out of stock and nobody can get it.I know it's a good book, though, because it is part of The American Gardening Guide series.I have the Annual Gardening book in this series and it is very well organized and informative. I would dearly love a copy of Perennial Gardening. I hope a book distributor will read this, and due to the fact that it just so happens they still have a copy in stock, they contact me at my email address below. ... Read more

Product Description
Updated with sixteen new pages of quips, remarks and exchanges from the creators of overheardinnewyork.com.

The streets of New York are full of characters who don't mince words-or care who hears them. This collection presents some of the most outlandish real life conversations overheard on the sidewalk, in the subway, and at the next table. It's the Big Apple peeled, a hysterically unvarnished portrait of the city that never sleeps-and often neglects to think before it speaks in public. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Bits of Overheard Conversation from one of the World's Greatest Cities
I read the Kindle version of this book and it was a great match for the Kindle. Like the other book by this author (Overheard in The Office) there was an occasional line break problem because of the "screenplay" format the book used. For instance you might see:

Panhandler: Hey Lady. Lady: What?

whereas it should appear like:

Panhandler: Hey Lady.
Lady: What.

But this problem was infrequent and didn't take away from the rapid fire humorous text.

Each overheard quote would have an appropriate title that tied the whole quote together. Typically I would read the title, read the overheard conversation and the reread the title and crack up. Many of the quotes were sexual in nature - so if this bothers you than this not be the book for you (try a Kindle Sample or checkout the overheardinnewyork website). But if you like funny quotes and humor and don't mind a bit of sexual innuendo this book is great.

Whereas I found the author's other book "Overheard in the Office" a bit too skimpy this book was just the perfect size although (as is the case with the "Office" book) "Overheard in New York" it appears that all of the quotes are available for free on the associated website where the information originally appeared. The book however does a great job of organizing like topics together so it really flows whereas the quotes on the website are random. ... Read more

Product Description

Whether you're digging into a slice of cherry cheesecake, burning your tongue on a piece of fiery Jamaican jerk chicken, or slurping the broth from a juicy soup dumpling, eating in New York City is a culinary adventure unlike any other in the world.

An irresistible sampling of the city's rich food heritage,Gastropolis explores the personal and historical relationship between New Yorkers and food. Beginning with the origins of cuisine combinations, such as Mt. Olympus bagels and Puerto Rican lasagna, the book describes the nature of food and drink before the arrival of Europeans in 1624 and offers a history of early farming practices. Essays trace the function of place and memory in Asian cuisine, the rise of Jewish food icons, the evolution of food enterprises in Harlem, the relationship between restaurant dining and identity, and the role of peddlers and markets in guiding the ingredients of our meals. They share spice-scented recollections of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, and colorful vignettes of the avant-garde chefs, entrepreneurs, and patrons who continue to influence the way New Yorkers eat.

Touching on everything from religion, nutrition, and agriculture to economics, politics, and psychology,Gastropolis tells a story of immigration, amalgamation, and assimilation. This rich interplay between tradition and change, individual and society, and identity and community could happen only in New York.

Customer Reviews (2)

The NY Food Voice as Finely Pitched Opera
If you have any opinion at all about food...and about cultural life connected to food, then you have a food voice. This well written and creatively constructed collection ofcultural food stories from many of our real-life, die-hard foodies tells the story of NY's food history from the very earliest times and picks-up speed quickly into the 21st century. This retrospective of NY's past foodways is truly enlightening and the stories about NY's multicultural foods and family-run businesses are not to be missed. As I said, the food voice in this book is like finely pitched opera as it starts out slowly with fascinating tones and reaches many highs...enough to have your food voice singing as you read. You'll love it for the stories behind the foods you eat and know well, and you'll be fascinated by all the things you didn't know about them as well.

Food Studies-New York Style
The editors of this volume begin by telling us that "New Yorkers have formed relationships with food that have helped shape the identity of their great city." You might find this statement unexceptionable: isn't it true of every city that its characteristic foods are part of its identity?
You would be right in saying that, but it's the nature and extent of New York's connection that is, as far as I know, unique. In New York, the food traditions of dozens of people wash up on the shore to be tasted by every citizen. Part of the mark of being a 'real' New Yorker is that you know, and have definite and unshakeable opinions about several ethnic cuisines. A real New Yorker can tell you where to find the best soup dumplings and also the best quesadilla. He probably has an allegiance to at least one fresh mozzarella maker and one sushisei. To be a New York foodie, the senza qua niente is that you have to be broad and deep.
This thoughtful collection has a judicious balance of reminiscence and cultural-study, a mix of first-person and footnote. You should read it, you'll sound like a New Yorker.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Long over due history of 39th New York!
Mr. Bacarella has written a great narritive of the 39th NYVI. It is one of the best regimental histories I have read. He gives the day to day happinings of a regiment in battle and in camp. The 39th was one of the most unusual regiments in federal service during the American Civil War,and Mr. Bacarella has done the men & woman of the regiment justice! ... Read more

Product Description
Immigrants come to the United States from all over Latin America in search of better lives. They obtain residency status, find jobs, pay taxes, and they have children who are American citizens by birth; yet decades may go by before they seek citizenship for themselves or become active participants in the American political process. Between Two Nations examines the lack of political participation among Latin American immigrants in the United States to determine why so many remain outside the electoral process.

Michael Jones-Correa studied the political practices of first-generation immigrants in New York City's multiethnic borough of Queens. Through intensive interviews and participant observation, he found that immigrant participation was stymied both by lack of encouragement to participate and by the requirement to renounce former citizenship, which raised the fear of never being able to return to the country of origin. The hesitation to naturalize as American citizens can extend over decades, leaving immigrants adrift in a political limbo.

Between Two Nations is the first qualitative study of how new immigrants assimilate into American political life. Jones-Correa reexamines assumptions about Latino politics and the diversity of Latino populations in the United States, about the role of informal politics in immigrant communities, and about gender differences in approaches to political activity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating and Surprising
Interspersed with immigration tables, maps and personal vignettes, statistics models and modernist poetry, Between Two Nations is more than an exploration of immigration, marginality and political identity in the City; it approaches sociopolitical art.Capturing trial and tribulation, the melee of irrationality, self-interest and calculation in our polity, the faces and the thrum of humanity, one cannot help but wonder: who is Michael Jones-Correa?

A terrific book
Really lets us know how Latino immigrants think about citizenship, and how they act politically.Given the way that immigration is changing America, a must read. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1919, the United States embarked on the country's boldest attempt at moral and social reform: Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol around the country. This "noble experiment," as President Hoover called it, was intended to usher in a healthier, more moral, and more efficient society. Nowhere was such reform needed more, proponents argued, than in New York City--and nowhere did Prohibition fail more spectacularly. Dry Manhattan is the first major work on Prohibition in nearly a quarter century, and the only full history of Prohibition in the era's most vibrant city.

Though New Yorkers were cautiously optimistic at first, Prohibition quickly degenerated into a deeply felt clash of cultures that utterly transformed life in the city. Impossible to enforce, the ban created vibrant new markets for illegal alcohol, spawned corruption and crime, fostered an exhilarating culture of speakeasies and nightclubs, and exposed the nation's deep prejudices. Writ large, the conflict over Prohibition, Michael Lerner demonstrates, was about much more than the freedom to drink. It was a battle between competing visions of the United States, pitting wets against drys, immigrants against old stock Americans, Catholics and Jews against Protestants, and proponents of personal liberty against advocates of societal reform.

In his evocative history, Lerner reveals Prohibition to be the defining issue of the era, the first major "culture war" of the twentieth century, and a harbinger of the social and moral debates that divide America even today.

Customer Reviews (14)

Great reading for New Yorkers
Very interesting book about the prohibition era in New York City and the conflicks it created between the prohibitionists and city and state leaders. Great historical information laced with many amusing anecdotes.

Winning and Losing Prohibition in the Big Apple
The prohibitionists knew what they were up against in denying alcohol to Americans, but they also knew they would have no greater difficulty in enforcing sobriety than when they tried to do so in New York City.New Yorkers, it was said, spent literally one million dollars a day on booze in 1913, more than the nation spent on the salaries of public school teachers.They drank it up at over three times the rate of the national average.So prohibitionists paid special attention to New York City, and actually moved it into the "dry" column for the 18th Amendment to be passed in 1919.After that, New York City was one of the spurs to making prohibition unfashionable, and ridiculous, passé, and then obsolete.The story of prohibition's rise and fall in Gotham is told in _Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City_ (Harvard University Press) by Michael A. Lerner, a New Yorker well acquainted with the realms of the city involved in drinking and the ethnic groups it still harbors, many of whom had a special interest in keeping the city dry or wet.Lerner makes a convincing case that as we consider popular depictions of the "Roaring Twenties," we are likely to find amusing the governmental attempts to keep America from drinking, but there was more to it than just the prohibition of booze.Prohibition defined how much the government might try to reform its citizens, and it defined the politics of the times.There is no understanding, for instance, how New Yorker Franklin D. Roosevelt became president without taking prohibition into account.Lerner's book, a well referenced and compellingly written account of a national mistake, fittingly concentrates on New York, for Prohibition failed there in a spectacular fashion because of the cultural makeup of the city, and its attitude toward being told what to do.

William H. Anderson was the Anti-Saloon League's man in Maryland, and in 1914 he was reassigned to New York City, with much public fanfare, for he was the fellow that aimed to make the city dry.Anderson was able to use prejudice against Jews, Catholics, and Germans to enlist interest in Prohibition, and World War I helped his cause.It worked, in the short term.Anderson was skillful at aggressive lobbying, and wrote that his success was from "outguessing and outgeneraling the foe... hard hitting and merciless fighting."It was an admission that he wasn't taking part in what was supposed to be a national push toward moral reform.Indeed, his anti-Catholic remarks were linked to his other diatribes supporting the Ku Klux Klan, diatribes which brought the Anti-Saloon League into public scorn.It was even worse when he was indicted for doctoring the League's finances, and then imprisoned for forgery.Drinking New Yorkers must have snickered at Anderson's fall; they had been disrespecting his efforts since Prohibition began.Prohibition created an atmosphere of bribery and corruption, and policemen were forced to monitor drinking rather than more serious crimes, so the cost of policing went up, not down as the drys had promised it would.Those who wanted to drink just did so in new ways, and New Yorkers enjoyed the novelty.There was a pleasant game of hide-and-seek as drinkers found new speakeasies, which might be hidden in cellars or atop skyscrapers.Some were bare-bones establishments that passed out liquor until the law closed them up and they moved to the next empty basement; some were glittering nightclubs.Drinking was a cornerstone of the "pleasure ethic" of 1920s New York, and bootleggers were eager to supply to gentlemen and socialites whatever was in fashion.New Yorkers who didn't drink had a new reason to begin.Lerner tells the story of humorist Robert Benchley, a teetotaler before Prohibition, who went to a speakeasy and ordered a cocktail, proclaiming, "Let's find out what all the fuss is about."Where the Women's Christian Temperance Union had insisted that women would spearhead the dry movement, the flappers and the other women of New York took to the new adventure of covert speakeasy drinking, and some establishments specialized in sweet, colorful women's cocktails.Pauline Sabin, a wealthy New Yorker who had supported Prohibition until she saw the horrors of its unintended consequences, founded the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform.Lerner credits her, and former governor Al Smith, as doing the most to bring about Prohibition's end.

The drys had worked hard to get the Prohibition amendment passed, but the work was all power plays and had little to do with a national democratic urge toward reform; this was the chief reason that once the amendment was enacted, the dries could do little but stammer indignantly as New Yorkers ignored it.Their other difficulty was that the dries knew all about the problems connected with alcohol but failed to understand any of the problems connected with its prohibition.Other New Yorkers could see those problems easily, and there was a general dismay that the federal government would try to regulate the private lives of its citizens (I wonder if New Yorkers had a general personality that was more liable to feel this indignation than other Americans did?).Lerner has filled his book with colorful characters and stories, and it is a good reminder of the hazards of governmental attempts to improve individual moral behavior.

Cheers to Dry Manhattan
Cheers to Michael Lerner's brilliant delve into Prohibition in New York City! Dry Manhattan gives a riveting taste of how it was in 1920s Prohibition-`dry' (or not so dry indeed) NYC.

Dry Manhattan takes us along through the beginning of Prohibition to it's repeal, catching us up in the Roaring Twenties along the way, but even more notably bringing out the undercurrents -the lead-up to and the backdrop of the `dry', speakeasy-nightclub-bootlegging-flapper-filled scene. Dry Manhattan offers a candid view of the crux of Prohibition, what was really behind it and what was really at peril.

As Lerner shows, despite the 18th Ammendment and the `dry' instigators/enforcers trying to make the city (or rather the country) dry, NYC remained wet; the cities inhabitants found ways around Prohibition -other subterfuges, ways of acquiring what was `by law' denied them. Reading the descriptions of some of the speakeasies, nightclubs, saloons, cabarets and the clever means (secretive passwords, membership cards, peepholes... ) used to gain entry and ultimately attain a drink makes me want to zoom back to some of the Flapper fave's -Tonys, the Park Avenue, and to the One East Tenth Street saloon the Casino, or to Jack Bleeck's Artists and Writers and watch the foment begin (and play out). I would also love to visit a nightclub or two and sip a cocktail with some of the notable players Mr. Lerner introduced me to -Gov. Alfred E. Smith, Mayor Jimmy Walker, and most especially Texas Guinan and Pauline Sabin (really before this I didn't know who these ladies were -sad shocking omission from prior history courses and recquired reading).

That said, despite being a history buff, I learned a lot from reading Lerner's book; above all I didn't realize that prejudice and class bias played such a large part in Prohibition (though might have, probably should've, guessed it). I also especially appreciated how the author gives due credence and due pages to the women, flapper and otherwise, who were so central to the repeal of the 18th Ammendment. Also, spotlight on the quotes -the quotes are gems! I especially liked "We Prefer Brewers of Beer to Brewers of Bigotry." (p. 124) Sums it up perfectly.

An attempt to squash the freedom of a girl, a guy to drink failed miserably. Dry Manhattan shows how people became active participants and rallied together against these limits on personal liberty to ultimately repeal the doomed and dired 18th Ammendment. Really, what were they (the drys the Prohibitionists) thinking? A must-read thumbs up.

Good read with interesting political insight
This is a well-narrated account of the era that delves deeply into the dynamics of the city, while connecting it to the broader social and political scene of the times. The book often focuses on the failings and discontent with the prohibition movement, giving a much richer perspective of why it failed. This coupled with the political details and stories of corruption made implications on the problems of dictating social choice, leaving the reader with much to think about.

I do not generally read much non-fiction, so at times I found a few spots a little dry, but overall the inclusion of lively anecdotes and keen insights made it an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in the subject.

Timely reflection on Prohibition
Michael Lerner's book is an enjoyable read and very informative too. There are many lessons to be learned from our past as conservatives today look to the government to control our social behaviors once again. Lerner doesn't make the connections here, that is for us to do.

I especially like how he highlights the coalition that worked to repeal Prohibition. It reminds me of the power of a democratic society when various constituencies come together to make the government responsive to people's needs. We can definitely benefit from applying some of the organizing strategies from WONPR (Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform) as we work to bring about change in society today. ... Read more

Product Description
National Geographic Traveler: New York, 3rd Edition showcases the Big Apple in all its varied vibrancy, from the Guggenheim Museum and the splashy new Time-Warner Center uptown to trendy, iron-wrought SoHo downtown, from fashionable Brooklyn Heights to Washington Square Park and the Museum of Modern Art. Every corner of this fascinating metropolis is here, including the East Village, Chelsea, the Upper West Side, revitalized Harlem, the winding paths of Central Park, and the outlying boroughs. ... Read more

Product Description
A Practical guidebook for house hunters, migrating apartment dwellers, and anyone curious abut life in 115 of New York's most livable neighborhoods and suburbs

For many people in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the real estate section of the Sunday New York Times is the first part of the newspaper they read each week. This book is drawn from one of the most popular features in that widely read section, "If You're Thinking of Living In . . . " Every week, the column gives a detailed snapshot of a suburban community in the tri-state area or a metropolitan neighborhood in New York City, enabling readers to clearly understand a new area and decide if it might be the right place for them to live.

Now, these columns have been updated and edited into a valuable guidebook for anyone planning a move into the tri-state area or already living in the region and considering a move to another community, as well as for browsers who just enjoy this popular and informative feature.

• Will acquaint you with 115 metropolitan neighborhoods and suburban communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
  
  
• Consists of illuminating profiles on each locale, including safety, housing, schools, transportation, cultural and recreational facilities, and quality of life
  
  
• Includes at-a-glance reference boxes that list such valuable data as median income of a community; median price of a single-family home, co-op, or condo; midrange rental rates; and commuting times and costs
  
  
• Highlights which communities have the strongest school districts
  
  
• Educates prospective home buyers on assessing the investment opportunities of purchasing real estate
  

Customer Reviews (12)

Extremely Helpful Rescource
This book provides a wonderful overview of New York City and gives honest information regarding living choices.Raising children in a big city can be a difficult task and this resource makes selecting a kid-safe neighborhood easier.

reader beware
2007 is listed as the pub date for this kindle edition, but it's actually an electronic version of a 1998 book. When you read the sample, you discover that prices, etc. are as of 1998, making the book pretty much useless as a guide to moving to New York. Things change so quickly that this would make many of the neighborhood descriptions no longer very useful as well. In general, beware of Kindle publication dates, since they're the date that the book was added to Kindle and may be very different from when the book really came out.

Book is grossly outdated
Book published in 1999, and is in ***serious*** need of updating.NY real estate has transformed immensely in the last 7 years (as have most major cities in the US). For that reason, I found the book to be of very little use to my move.

There are better guides out there
I was surprised to find out that areas I thought should be in this guide were not and that areas I wouldn't consider "around New York" were.To me, a neighborhood "in and around New York" might include some NJ towns, but to give as much time to the towns listed in NJ and CT, I think the book would more accurately be titled "all about popular communities in the tri-state area."

I'm disappointed I bought this guide.

Excellent coverage of NY suburbs
For all New Yorkers anticipating moving to the suburbs and for all out-of-towenrs anticipating moving in the city or in the metropolitan area -- this is an excellent guide to some of the more significant communities in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. It provides short descriptions of towns and communities within the mretropolitan area -- by reading the book one takes a journey, which leaves a much richer impression of New York and the surrounding area than one would have having just visited Manhattan. ... Read more

Product Description

New York just might be the most biologically diverse city in temperate America. The five boroughs sit atop one of the most naturally rich sites in North America, directly under the Atlantic migratory flyway, at the mouth of a 300-mile-long river, and on three islands -- Manhattan, Staten, and Long.

Leslie Day, a New York City naturalist, reveals this amazing world in her Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City. Combining the stunning paintings of Mark A. Klingler with a variety of photographs and maps, this book is a complete guide for the urban naturalist -- with tips on identifying the city's flora and fauna and maps showing the nearest subway stop.

Here is your personal guide to the real wild side of America's largest city. Throw it in your backpack, hop on the subway, and explore.

Customer Reviews (9)

great book
this was sent very quickly, the book was torn a bit but amazon shipped one to me the next day.it was great service.

excellent resource
This book is everything I'd want in a book about the natural history of where I live. Plants, animals, fungi, rocks! I especially love the etymology of all the scientific names and the section that details the traits and histories of all the parks in the area. I aim to visit them all. It's a lot more relaxed than a bird-specific field guide, a more pleasurable read.

Almost complete
This book is a handsome, valuable addition to the library (or backpack) of NYC dwelling natural history lovers.Unfortunately, it is not "complete," as several reviews suggest.Missing, for example, is the red-eared slider(Trachemys scripta elegans), the most commonly seen turtle in Central Park.Migrant and occasional bird species, too, are not to be found.The wild turkey is now reestablished on parts of Manhattan, but does not find a place in Day's guide.There are many such oversights; generally, however, I recommend the book.

NYC's amazing treasure trove of nature!
"What a wonderful resource NYC has in Leslie Day. I purchased her recently released book (hardcover edition) Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, and was so impressed by her knowledge and intense communion with nature. This book is a work of art! Illustrated by Mark A. Klingler and containing many photographs taken by Dr. Day herself, it is a piece to be treasured. It is so complete, comprehensive and beautifully edited. It is also amazingly user friendly. Thank you Leslie Day for your dedication to NYC and the enlightening of nature lovers everywhere."

Mourning Doves have blue eyes

Leslie Day describes her book perfectly in the first chapter:

"Today the city is a complex ecosystem, the result of its tumultuous history. Hundreds of species of birds inhabit its streets, parks and waters. Insects, worms, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds,mammals, trees, wildflowers, and mushrooms are within walking distance of virtually every apartment building, house, and hotel. The city has more than 500 miles of coastline, some fringed with saltwater marshes, such as the islands of Jamaica Bay in Queens. New York's 37,000 acres of parks contain hundreds of species waiting to be discovered, identified, and appreciated by the reader. This guide is designed to make the natural world of New York City accessible by revealing the living and diverse, and ancient geological treasures the city has to offer."

She describes her book with the help of well done drawings by Mark A. Klingler and a number of color photographs. Day is a keen observer: we've fed dozens of mourning doves over the years, but I've never noticed the color of their eyes. As she told a "New York Times" reporter: "If you look closely in their eyes, they are blue. It's startlingly beautiful."

(During the same interview walking around a single block, Day identified several trees and a lichen: Willow Oak, Honey Locust, Sophora Tree (aka "Eve's Necklace"), three Callery Pears, Mulberry (with two types of leaves: some egg-shaped, others lobed), London Plane, several Lindens, and, of course, a Gingko.)

Day maintains an interesting website devoted to the Guide, and posts short, informative, well illustrated updates on new developments in New York City. The last few entries included a Harp Seal at the Boat Basin on 79th Street (where she lives on a house boat), Winter Weeping Willows, and Canvas Back Ducks.

This is a very human view of one of our greenest cities.

Robert C. Ross 2008 ... Read more

Product Description
An award-winning sportswriter takes you inside a year with the nation’s top high school chess team.

With strict admission standards and a progressive curriculum, Brooklyn’s Edward R. Murrow High School has long been one of New York’s public-education success stories, serving a diverse neighborhood of immigrants and minorities and ranking among the nation’s best high schools. At Murrow, there are no sports teams, and the closest thing to jocks are found on the school’s powerhouse chess team, which annually competes for the national championship.

In The Kings of New York sportswriter Michael Weinreb follows the members of the Murrow chess team through an entire season, from cash games in Washington Square Park to city and state tournaments to the SuperNationals in Nashville, where this eclectic bunch competes against private schoolers and suburbanites. Along the way, Weinreb brings to life a number of colorful characters: the Yale-educated calculus teacher (and former semipro hockey player) who guides the savants while struggling to find funding for his team; an aspiring rapper and tournament hustler who plays with cutthroat instinct; the team’s lone girl, a shy Ukrainian immigrant; the Puerto Rican teen from the rough neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant who plays an ingenious opening gambit named the Orangutan; and the Lithuanian immigrant and team star whose chess rating is climbing toward grandmaster status.

In the bestselling tradition of such books as Word Freak and Friday Night Lights, The Kings of New York is a riveting look inside the world of competitive chess and an inspiring profile of young genius. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Following the USA's best High School Chess Team
I really liked this book. I was a chess player in high school, so this book brought back some memories. Sal Bercys is the highest rated player on the Edward Murrow Highs school chess team, but he is not really a team player. He is more into himself. Alex Lenderman is the 2nd highest rated player, and his dad comes along with him to all the tournaments. Oscar is not quite the player that the first two guys are, but he is funny, street smart, and a heck of a poker player.

Shawn is a 1900 rated player who sometimes needs a little kick in the pants to show up on time for tournaments. Actually, he needs some motivation to attend class.

It's fun watching the students grow up, dig deep down inside to win games or salvage draws, and learn how to get along better with each other. It was nice to see Sal start to care more about the other team members toward the end of the book, though you can feel the uneasy tension/rivalry between him and Lenderman.

Chess is the stage on which this story is told, but this really a coming of age tale, where a high school chess team learns about life and the world around them.

One disturbing thing about the chess world is the sexist attitude many of the players have. Not so much the Murrow players, but many others in the chess world. There is also an "I'm better than you are" smugness about some of the higher rated players that some may find annoying.

But this is truly an engaging, real life story about real life students from Brooklyn, New York. Thumbs up.

Great introduction to competitive chess.
This was a really sweet and interesting book about high school competitive chess.I really enjoyed reading this!

This author knows how to write a great book!
Initially I did not have high hopes for this book.I'm a long ways a way from New York City and did not think I'd be interested in an "inner city" school chess team.But the author draws you into his story and does a surprisingly good job of keeping things moving throughout the book.If you have even the slightest interest in competitive scholastic chess, you'll enjoy this one!

Kings of New York
The book was enjoyable to read especially since I am a high school teacher and sponsor of our school's chess club.

Inspirational, but slow paced
The book is a great inspiration and an entertaining read about the Murrow chess team.Weinreb manages to get a good feel for the teens and the unique culture that is scholastic chess.Unfortunately, the story line is relatively slow paced, and is not what I would classify as a page turner. Enjoyable enough for an airplane book, but nobody will mistake this for a Michael Lewis "true story". ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an encyclopedic listing of all coaches and players for the New York Knicks, from 1946 to the present. Packed with statistics and in-depth details such as a player's career highlights, background, and their lives during and after the NBA. ... Read more

Product Description
Rich, evocative and dignified, the King James version of the Bible remains the favorite of millions of readers for both inspirational and poetic qualities. Here are four of the most remarkable books, read with eloquent expressiveness by distinguished performers. 4 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Disappointing
I bought this mostly for Ecclesiastes, and unfortunately, Juliet Mills' interpretation is absolutely wrong. This is one of the most beautiful, realistic and world-weary books in all of literature and she reads it as anangry, old testement prophet, or worse, a hell and brimstone fundamentalistpreacher. Michael York is far too bright and hopeful for the Psalms. Idon't think these people understood the true nature of the writings theywere reading. A very shallow, TV evangelist approach to the Bible. ... Read more

Product Description
The Beat Movement, which first rose to attention in 1955, has often been viewed by critics as an urban phenomenon--the product of a postwar youth culture with roots in the cities of New York and San Francisco. This study examines another side of the Beat Movement: its strong desire for a reconnection with nature. Although each took a different path in attaining this goal, the writers considered here--Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Michael McClure--sought a new and closer connection to the natural world. These four writers, along with many of their counterparts in the Beat era, provided a crucial spark that helped to ignite the environmental movement of the 1970s and provided the foundation for the development of the current "Deep Ecology" worldview. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Greening of the Beats
The author sheds light on a side of the beat culture
which has been ignored by the mass media for far too
long. Many a word has been written about the Beat's
frontal attack upon the sleepy surburban world of
America circa late 1950s, but few have bottered to
examine their spiritual awareness as related to Mother
Earth. They were fresh voices who found spiritual
rebirth through nature and were in the forefront of
those questioning the prevalent doctrine of consummerism.
I would heartily recommend this well written book.

Must read
Wow- what a book.This book sheds new light on a topic I feel has already been covered.Phillips' personal interviews are fantastic.I would love to have Phillips for a professor, wait- I do.Phillips is the man, and so is his book.If you are reading this Dr. Phillips can I have a 4.0?You know who I am!

The Beats Reconsidered--Finally
Finally, a scholar has dug through the pop culture mud of the Beats to bedrock below: They weren't just citified tea-heads as Life magazine in the Fifties (and too many academics since) would have us believe.Thesewriters were deeply tuned into the natural world and drew upon it forinspiration and some of their best writing--even the seemingly most urbanof the lot--Kerouac. Case and point: Kerouac's"greening" in"Dharma Bums."Phillips' discussion of this novel is especiallyastute; and it sent me digging for my old copy.Similarly, Phillips'treatment of the Beats and Buddhism (Snyder in particular) is alsorefreshingly clear and original--not an easy thing to do. Phillips'research, including interviews with McClure, Welch and Snyder, is thoroughand convincing.Moreover, his prose is sharp and unencumbered with trendyjargon. I predict Beat scholars will reconsider certain assumptions uponreading this book--and Beat fans will find this to be a unique andexcellent addition to the ever-growing Beat canon. ... Read more

Product Description
Answers to 300 questions most relevant to mental-health practice in New York State.

Designed to dispel the mystery and alleviate the anxiety that many clinicians associate with the legal system, this volume surveys New York law as it applies to clinical practice and answers questions most often asked by clinicians. An indispensable guide for clinicians and students. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the early 1990s, German photographer Michael Wesely has been inventing and refining techniques for using extremely long camera exposures to take uniquely compelling photographs. Through the use of filters and a very small aperture, yet one that is standard in a professional camera lens, he is able to diminish the amount of light hitting the negative to the point where he can extend the exposure many thousands of times longer than we would ordinarily expect. Some of Wesely's pictures of the rebuilding of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, for example, in a series completed in 1999, were continuously exposed over a period of 26 months. The results of Wesely's explorations are as surprising as they are beautiful. In 2001, as The Museum of Modern Art began to prepare for its ambitious construction and renovation project, a turning point in its history, it recognized in Wesely's work an unequalled opportunity to artistically document that project. In August of that year, then, Wesely set specially designed cameras in long-term installations in and around the museum, choosing his locations for the construction views they provided. Nearly three years later, the images are complete, and their pentimento-like strata of transparencies and overlays render the construction project's evolution in time as a dense and delicate network of forms and colors in space. Open Shutter accompanies an exhibition organized by Sarah Hermanson Meister, Associate Curator of the museum's Department of Photography. Included in the book are several images of the construction of the new Museum of Modern Art.

Essay by Sarah Hermanson Meister.

Hardcover, 13 x 10 in./80 pgs / 14 color and 40 duotones. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great, informative book by a great artist.
This is an art book. The photographs in this book derive their meaning as much from the concept behind them as from their inherent beauty. The concept is clearly explained in the introduction and in an interview with the artist. Both these texts are indispensable if you want to enjoy Wesely's work to the fullest extent. Summarized, it comes down to the idea that Weselyleaves the shutter of his camera open for very long periods of time (months, or years even), thus recording processes rather than isolated events in one and the same photograph. This gives the photo's an eery, layered look. Things that did not move throughout the exposure period appear sharp and contrasty like one would expect, but things that appeared or disappeared in that same time are recorded more or less translucent, depending on the time they spent in front of the lens. Thus, one witnesses the growth of a building over time asif it were a motion picture, but instead of a sequence of images, this is a movie in one photograph.

The photographs in the book focus on two projects, the Open Shutter project which Wesely did for the new Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Potsdamer Platz project, which he did in Berlin in the mid-1990s.

The reproductions of Wesely's art are all in all very good and my only minor problem with the book is that it does not go into the "how" of the art very deeply. For art lovers, this may not be important, but as a photographer, I would really like to know more about how it was done. If you ever get a chance to see his work in a gallery or a museum, go there! ... Read more

Product Description
The well-known actor discusses his student days at Oxford, his years with Olivier's National Theatre, his film debut, and his roles in such films as The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and The Three Musketeers. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Time Life Among the Heathens.
M. Y.'s experience with Shakespearean acting goes back to Bassanio in 'Merchant of Venice' in grammar school.His formal training took place with the Youth Theatre at Oxford.He appeared in 'Twelfth Night' while a student at Oxford Univesity.

He lived as extraordinary characters in an extraordinary world.Acting was in his blood early on as he'd posed in an Indian outfit, and photo of him mugging it with his swim trunks falling off.His amateru acting jobs rounded him into a professional actor who could play many diverse parts.He was a classically trained performer.

Other Shakespeare performances include appearing in the movie, 'The Taming of the Shrew,' with Richard Burton, the 1967 movie, 'Romeo and Juliet,' and 'Hamlet' in 1970.Zach wrote his Master's dissertation on the religious aspects of 'Hamlet' and used the word 'tainted' multiple times.

He appeared in Tennnessee Williams play, 'Out Cry;' he considered that prodigious playwright as a friend, as he did Cary Grant.On Broadway he was in 'Bent' in 1980 and played at the Palace with Jeanne Moreau.In 1981, he was Robinson Crusoe in 'Vendredi.'In Santa Fe, he was Cyrano de Bergerac in 1981.

His movies include 'The Three Musketeers' with Oliver Reed, 'The Four Musketeers' with Raquel Welch, 'The Master of Ballantrae' with Sir John Gielgud, 'The Secret of the Sahara,' with Andie McDowell, and 'The Long Shadow,' with Liv Ullmann."My work is also my collection -- a portraait gallery of characters ... some modeled with truth and detail."

The photo sections speak louder than words.He married photographer Pat McCallum from Jamaica, who snapped a lot of the pictures in this book.He called himself "a traveling player" a la Shakespeare's time.Some big names such as William Holden, Peter O'Toole, Jennifer Jones, Michael Caine, Betty Pinchard, Robert E. Lee, Anthony Hopkins and Betty (Lauren) Bacall to whit your interest in their connections.It was a pleasure.

Funny and Humerous
I found Michael York's book to be funny and very humerous.He injects his English wit into his life story w/is a joy to read.He starts w/his birth and goes on form there.It is a funny documentation of his life,rise in thetheater and everything in between.This book is a must for Michael YorkFans.

GILLAN&GLOVER WORK GREAT TOGETHER.
TO ANY GILLAN OR DEEP PURPLE FANS THAT ENJOY THE FRUITIER SIDE OF ROCK.THIS ALBUMN CREATES SEVERAL DIFFERENT MOODS, AND ALL OF THEM GOOD.THE CD HAS 3 BONUS TRACKS THAT YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS. PURPLE PEOPLE EATER ISWONDERFUL! THE ALBUMN HAS A SOFT BRITISH TOUCH, SUCH AS THE SONGTITLED TELEPHONE BOX. MOST OF THE SONGS ARE ABOVE RECOMMENDATION.MYPERSONAL FAVORITE ON THIS ALBUMN WAS LONELY AVENUE.WHICH I AM TOLD IS ARAY CHARLES COVER. THE ONE THING I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE ALBUMN, WASTHE DRUM MACHINE DOING ALOT OF WORK. LIKE I SAID ABOVE, ANY GILLAN ORPURPLE FREEK SHOULD LOVE IT. ... Read more