New York Books

This book reminded me much of how people who don't have, are grateful for the little things. What joy to know when one can bring home a small Christmas Tree who can't afford to purchase it. To decorate with what is available and be SO thankful and happy with just the meager existence is a truly thankful heart. I didn't see the envy of what wasn't available. Money and things do not buy peace in the heart.

The tree and the story live on to help us remember to be thankful even in simplicity.

My mom likes this book. Although she hasn't finished reading it yet, she finds what she has read to be really interesting and heart warming. So far it has been good readings for her. She can't wait to finish reading it.

The Tree Nobody Wanted: A Christmas Story is a short novel for young adults that truly embodies the holiday spirit. Set in a poverty-stricken area of Brooklyn the year after the end of World War II, The Tree Nobody Wanted tells of an eleven-year-old boy assigned to pick a Christmas tree from the few leftover trees no one wanted, and bring it back to the apartment where his Nanny has looked after him since he was a baby. Charmingly illustrated with soft, grey-and-white artwork A gentle, heartwarming tale about the true spirit of Christmas and the depth of family bonds.

I used to try to read A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve, and now I have two options for all of the Christmas Eves to come. With The Tree Nobody Wanted: A Christmas Story, Tom McCann has written a wonderful, touching story that truly runs the gamut of emotions. At 39 pages, the story is not a long one, but its message is as big and significant as life itself. This is not a children's story, as I do not think many children will fully understand its underlying meaning. You need to have the perspective that only adulthood can bring, especially a nostalgia for Christmases past, in order to appreciate the breadth of feelings that McCann condenses so effectively in what he refers to as "part fable, part remembrance, part miracle."

Eleven-year-old Thomas and his grandmother have each other and that's about it. Unable to afford a tree, Thomas goes out on Christmas Eve night to search for one among the unsold trees that had been left out on the lots. His choices are quite limited, and he ends up returning home with an ugly and misshapen one -- yet somehow he knows that this particular tree is special. Waking up on Christmas morning, the tree is a beautiful sight to Thomas - despite the fact that he had to rig a stick to the top of it in order to hang the star, the only ornaments are a handful of little personal family mementoes, and there is not a single present to be found underneath it. Poor they may be, but this boy and his grandmother spend a wonderful Christmas day together--but the story doesn't end there. Thomas loves the little tree so much that he can't bear to throw it out, and that sets the stage for the real miracle of the story.

This is really a heart achingly beautiful story. Carrying the tree home, Thomas thinks about how it must have felt to be chopped down so early in life, carried off far away from home, and subjected to repeated rejection by potential customers. That's the kind of beautiful sentiment that runs throughout this precious little book. It's painful to think of this little boy and his grandmother having to live in such poverty, yet it's incredibly touching to realize that this little family has a more joyous and meaningful Christmas in their tiny Brooklyn apartment than the richest of Manhattan families ever will. There aren't many books that can make you cry and smile at the same time, but The Tree Nobody Wanted is definitely one of them.

"Part fable, part remembrance, part miracle" -- that's the way the dust jacket aptly describes this miraculous little book. This perfect gem of a story puts one immediately in mind of "The Greatest Gift" which was adapted into the Christmas movie classic "It's a Wonderful Life." It's a warm and moving story to read to the family -- a wonderful book to wrap for someone you really like -- and just the thing to read quietly by yourself when you need reassurance that good things, miraculously, do happen to good people.

I tried, and failed, using a variety of techniques for 'value' or 'fundamental' investing; then I stumbled upon this book which really opened my eyes to the fact that playing the stock markets really is (for amateurs, at least) gambling or speculating. And yet, it is possible to make money. Not by trying to predict where markets will go; but by reacting quickly to market moves and by practicing effective money management to limit losses.

This book has been a big influence on my trading style, and was one of the key inspirations behind the writing of my own book.

Tony Loton -- author, DON'T LOSE MONEY! (in the Stock Markets)

An excellent book for the beginning trader because it does away with the misleading ideas about the marketplace that most beginning traders fall victim to. I wish I had read this book prior to my first trades because if I had, I probably wouldn't have gone through all the "fundamentals" nonsense and other hype that doesn't mean squat in terms of making money.

A good book to accompany Darvas first book.

This book is no way near as good as the first. It is mostly the same material told in a less engaging way. He uses the metaphor of Wall Street as Roulette Game in a Casino which cheats it's clients. If you like Darvas's first book it is certainly worth reading to gain little insights on his method which youdon't get in the first. There a few new anecdotes and a chapter which explains his method but on the whole the book is not as amusing a read and lacks the freshness of the first, nor do I think it takes his story much farther than where the last ends. I would love to know what happened to Darvas in the late sixties and early seventies but not in this book.

I spent $150 on this book with no regrets. After reading over 70 books on stock trading and studying the greatest stock traders of all timen in my opinion Nicolas Darvas is the greatest stock trader who ever lived. No one that I am aware of ever made so much money in such a short amount of time with such a small starting point. Darvas started with a few $2,000 in stock, his 1st stock quadrupled in a few months. With in a few years of trial and error he had turned $8,000 into $100,000 then finished out his final 18 months turning that into $2.4 million dollars. He then removed his money from the market due to no stocks meeting his criteria and avoided the bear market of the early 60's. On his journey he never lost any of his own money, only losing previous winnings.
I love this book and his previous one because he gives specifics, with dates and amounts of stocks he purchased and when he sold. His books are text books for stock traders. In this book he discusses how brokers and tip services make money off each generation of suckers in Wall Street and how to keep from being ripped off. I agree with his point that if your broker or the tip service were so great they would be following their own advice and making a killing in the market instead of working and selling you services and information for a few dollars. It is very important to be very careful in the Wall Street casino and not getted ripped off.
This book goes into much more detail than his other book and explains exactly how to use his techno-fundamentalist system.

His method of stock investment:
TECHNICAL-
Only buy stocks that have established solid price boxes and have moved through them consistently.

Buy stocks that move into higher boxes on increased volume.

Only buy stocks breaking into all time new highs after coming out of a previous solid price box.

Set on stop buy orders to enable you to buy the stock as it breaks out of the box into the next one. This is where the big moves happen.

FUNDAMENTAL-
Trade stocks based on there capitalation. This will determine proper volume and price movement due to number of outstanding shares.

Buy stocks in strong industry groups.

Buy stocks that have the greatest expectations of future earnings.

Even though this book has not been recommended by Willim O'Neal it is an excellent companion book for followers of the CAN SLIM method of stock trading. Darvas encourages us to bet on the fastest horse with the best record not to worry so much about the kind of hay it eats or spectators opinions. I have made $1,000's of dollars using these methods and you will to. This book is a jewel in the ocean of stock trading books.

This book continues from where How I Made 2,000,000 left off. Nicolas refreshes the reader on his sound methods with his box theory and stop-loss. What i liked alot about this is book is how he actually draws in a great comparison on how Wall Street is much like Las Vegas! (Go figure)... Darvas gives us the realities to investing; its gambling! But dont worry, you can learn to clean the house in no time with the help of this book. Accept the facts, trust your instinct and gamble with confidence baby! But other then the gambling aspect, Nicolas repeats himself frequently throughout the book, which is the only downside. I would definetely recommend this book to anyone interested in what Wall Street really is!

This was a very professionally written account of the lives of 15 very diverse people who also happen to be professional lacrosse players. The book really makes you view these athletes as interested in their sport, valued members of their community, and very different from the multi-million dollar primma donnas who play other professional sports. I definitely recommend this book.

After the Duke Lacrosse scandal, it was refreshing to see an upbeat well-written book about lacrosse. These players truly honor their sport, and make the casual observer want to learn more. The stories were interesting, and it was a good overview of the NLL, and the players who make the league work. I really enjoyed it, and hope to see more books like it.

This book was interesting, insightful, and sometimes even funny when explaining the lives of 15 "ordinary" people who have jobs, wives, kids, and play professional lacrosse on the weekends. It makes you realize how different pro lacrosse is from other pro sports. (And I mean that in a good way.) The writing was clear and engaging, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

It was great to finally read a good book on professional lacrosse. The writing was interesting and insightful, and provided a good mix of lacrosse history combined with people who play the game. I would definitely recommend this book for the lacrosse fanatic, or even the casual observer. I enjoyed it!

This book is filled with stories of professional lacrosse players. The players are atypical from other professional sports players, who are often filled with self-admiration and greed. Yet, they are not exactly everyday people either. The players do have full time jobs and families, but many of them are in noble fields such as teaching, law enforcement, the armed forces, fire fighting... Of course, it takes a noble character to be devoted to such an underpaid and under-appreciated sport. The players sacrifice their bodies, time, and some family commitments for the love of their sport. The writing is clever, and the author gives good insight about the players' individuality, achievements, reminiscences, and dedication.

I had the honor of knowing Suzanne. She's an extraordinary human being, and I'm glad that someone else found her as special as I did. This book is simple, haunting, and beautifully written. Blessings on Suzanne, wherever she may be.

The book came in the maximum amount of time I expected - 2-14 business days from the notice I received from the seller that the item had been shipped. The quality of the item was high, much higher than expected for a used book. It looked brand new and I was very pleased with the item.

This book was a excellent book in the matter that it protrayed another perspective of Jean-Michel Basquiat and let us in on the life of one of his most enduring muses in his short and unfortunate addictive lifestyle and life. The books poetic writings give Jean-Michel and Suzannes life together a hard tragedy instead of a glamorous protrayal (tragedy is the actual matter of fact). Jean-Michel and Suzanne's relationship was truely bizarre and not understanding to the everyday person. People who know or know of Jean-Michel probably never knew the side of him that Suzanne saw, and it is refreshing and wonderful that we were allowed to read such intimate details of their life together. I titled this review "Hearts and Tracks" because the book is full of heart and the heroine abuse of Suzanne and Basquiat (including a discription of his unfortunate death).

This is a surprisingly light read of a heavy topic that gives a unique, inside view of life with the artist, Jean-Michael Basquiat. It is an even better book when read as a success story of a woman who ultimately left an unhealthy relationship. Since it covers her childhood as well as her relationship with Basquiat and her attempts to move away from him you get a little bit of insight as to why she would be attracted to this type of person. When you finish the book you will have learned about the sensationalized artist but you will also learn a story about a very successful woman who wasn't quite as interesting to the public only because she was strong and overcame adversity instead of wallowing in it. She is probably not as famous as her ex-beau because she didn't die of an overdose, but such is our culture.

I have been a fan of Basquiat for a long time. I am an artist as well. I have always been intrested in his life and have a lot of books on him and his art and his life. I found this book to be about a totally different perspective. Not only a womens persepctive but a women who was a muse to him. This book does not paint a glorified Picture of him...or a star struck tragic picture of him. It is about Susan and her plight with life, and him being a big part of it. The book is extremely poetic, very dark, sad, melancholy...but above all MOVING. I read it in less than 24 hours. I applaud Jennifer Clement

The history of the WTC is traced from black and white photos and simple text regarding its design and architecture through the chilling events of 9/11. I have to say that the color photos of 9/11 capture the events totally and will leave you breathless.

I have purchased 6 copies of this book for family and friends and think it is the best WTC book out there.

I proudly keep a copy on my coffee table and leaf through it often and remember the beautiful buildings I once marveled at and loved.

As a native New Yorker who formerly had a beautiful view of the World Trade Center, and now avoids looking at the painfully flat skyline every day, I have this fabulous volume to treasure instead. .............. While disappointed with the flood of tributes to the still unfathomable tragedy of 9/11, this book was a must have the moment I thumbed through for a quick cursory look. I was immediately impressed with all the gorgeous shots of the WTCs depicted in all the ways that I loved them. Shimmering in golden sunrise yellow, blinding in midday platinum steel, glowing in the ominously blue-violet dusk, and sparkling with the thousands of tiny lights that made the New York City skyline, the awesomely spectacular sight that so sadly, won't ever be the same. ................. The most wonderful thing about this book, is not only the terrific pictoral contents, with several posters included, but the informational text that accompanies it as well. If you are interested to know the complete history of the WTCs and New York City, you will see the city before the towers were built, how and by whom they were planned, the way they were built, when and why. Also covered, their effect on New York City, as well as their role in the media and Hollywood movies. Finally, you will get the brutally shocking photos of their horrible demise. Look no further for a truly complete tribute. Every single chapter goes into wonderful detail, and is accompanied by the most breathtaking photographic treasures ever seen, of these iconic masterpieces of lost architecture. Not only is this the absolute BEST book I've seen for anyone who wants to keep their memory of the WTCs alive forever, it's also one of the most reasonably priced. This volume offers a tremendous return for your dollar. It's all printed in sharp color, on thick gauge, glossy paper. There is not one page in here that will waste your time with filler. Author Pete Skinner, British born, but a longtime resident of Greenwich Village, had, like me, watched the birth of the World Trade Center, built and completed in 1973, and like me, watched it die. People all over the world felt the pain of this unprecedented loss, but those of us who were lucky enough to live among the Twin Towers for their retrospectively short lifespan, will treasure this book. ................... If you are looking for a book about the entire gamut of events that took place in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania, you may not find all of what you're looking for here. However, if you are like me, a person who will forever mourn the loss of these twin icons of prestige and success that defined the great soaring spirit of New York City, as well as the tragic loss of many wonderful hard-working New Yorkers who loved to work at the World Trade Center once upon a better time, then you have found the perfect tribute to a symbol of New York that will remain, forever in the American heart.

As a native New Yorker who formerly had a beautiful view of the World Trade Center, and now avoids looking at the painfully flat skyline every day, I have this fabulous volume to treasure instead. .............. While disappointed with the flood of tributes to the still unfathomable tragedy of 9/11, this book was a must have the moment I thumbed through for a quick cursory look. I was immediately impressed with all the gorgeous shots of the WTCs depicted in all the ways that I loved them. Shimmering in golden sunrise yellow, blinding in midday platinum steel, glowing in the ominously blue-violet dusk, and sparkling with the thousands of tiny lights that made the New York City skyline, the awesomely spectacular sight that so sadly, won't ever be the same. ................. The most wonderful thing about this book, is not only the terrific pictoral contents, with several posters included, but the informational text that accompanies it as well. If you are interested to know the complete history of the WTCs and New York City, you will see the city before the towers were built, how and by whom they were planned, the way they were built, when and why. Also covered, their effect on New York City, as well as their role in the media and Hollywood movies. Finally, you will get the brutally shocking photos of their horrible demise. Look no further for a truly complete tribute. Every single chapter goes into wonderful detail, and is accompanied by the most breathtaking photographic treasures ever seen, of these iconic masterpieces of lost architecture. Not only is this the absolute BEST book I've seen for anyone who wants to keep their memory of the WTCs alive forever, it's also one of the most reasonably priced. This volume offers a tremendous return for your dollar. It's all printed in sharp color, on thick gauge, glossy paper. There is not one page in here that will waste your time with filler. Author Pete Skinner, British born, but a longtime resident of Greenwich Village, had, like me, watched the birth of the World Trade Center, built and completed in 1973, and like me, watched it die. People all over the world felt the pain of this unprecedented loss, but those of us who were lucky enough to live among the Twin Towers for their retrospectively short lifespan, will treasure this book. ................... If you are looking for a book about the entire gamut of events that took place in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania, you may not find all of what you're looking for here. However, if you are like me, a person who will forever mourn the loss of these twin icons of prestige and success that defined the great soaring spirit of New York City, as well as the tragic loss of many wonderful hard-working New Yorkers who loved to work at the World Trade Center once upon a better time, then you have found the perfect tribute to a symbol of New York that will remain, forever in the American heart.

This book is the one to get, if you want fantastic photos, interesting prose, and just an overall great pictoral commemoration of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11.

With the War on Terror continuing, sometimes it is good to be reminded of why we are fighting and what it's all for. This book will bring the memories (and the resolve) flooding back.

An excellent tribute at a great price. Five stars!

I live in the Midwest (have never visited NY) but saw a review of this book on a website. I just had to have it so I ordered the book from Amazon.com. I received the book late yesterday afternoon. The pictures and information contained in the book are truly amazing. It is amazing to see what Lower Manhattan looked like before the WTC was built. The pictures of the various models of WTC that were built. There are pictures of the construction of the twin towers. The book has some very nice posters of the WTC and New York skyline. There are many pictures taken on September 11th and in the days following. This book is a must-have for those who are interested in the World Trade Center. It's truly a remarkable book.

This commemorative photo book of the World Trade Center is a must have for all Americans. Remember these spectacular symbols as well as the hope they inspired in New York City and around the world. From the moment they are constructed to how the New York skyline looks today, we view the World Trade Center from every angle. We are not bombarded with images from September 11th, but instead are given the ability to remember these grand buildings at their most beloved state. The photographs in The World Trade Center Remembered are remarkable and no words can describe their passion and splendor. This five-star celebration of the World Trade Center is a must-buy.

This book was reviewed as part of the Lane ESD Book Review Program. To view the rest of our reviews please visit www.lane.k12.or.us/bookreview

Beautifully done. This book has a unique, high-quality collection of photos of the trade center and a well-written introduction about the architecture of the towers and its meaning, as well as the changing public attitudes toward the towers over the years. Recommended.

The pictures contained in this book offer a stunning tribute to the memory of the World Trade Center towers. The photos are taken from many different locations and angles and give the reader a well-rounded viewpoint of the buildings. All of the photos in the book portray the towers as they existed before their destruction, which makes the book particularly poignant. Additionally, there is a remarkable essay by an architechture critic which adds depth to the book. My only complaint with this book is that it is soft-cover. Of course, I knew this when I ordered the book, but oversize books of this quality are generally in hard-cover. Regardless, this is an amazing book.

I feel these books of stories and photos of the people who experienced this tragedy first hand is important for all of us.
The people who lived through it get to see what the rest of the world saw. A look of what they went through which can help them validate the emotions they are feeling.
The folks that witnessed it from a distance get a closer look of what our fellow americans went through.
All of it is a healing process that we need and looking at it through pictures or written stories of our friends will help us understand our human bond living in this beautiful country.

A beatiful book and a a very touching tribute to the World Trade Center. The pictures are stunning,unique and very moving. The dramatic pictures are from every vantage point in and around Manhattan. I know I will turn to this book again and again to remember how beautiful and majestic the World Trade Center was.

Aaron Frankel, who has directed more than 100 plays, loves the stage, especially musicals. He brings his genius to Writing the Broadway Musical by formulating an organized book, which is easy to use both as a reference and as a guide.

He fills the text with pertinent examples -- plenty of them --like chocolate chips in cookies. Frankel's book is full of encouragement for the dreamers, while it outlines the practical aspects of taking a musical play from a dream to a full-fledged production.

This book gives a good foundation for basic elements of a musical script. I bought this wanting to write a musical script but not necessarily the lyrics/musical score and am a complete novice - was a bit lost on the different musicals it quoted. However another book that is quite "meaty" in terms of how to write a compelling gripping story/script for theatre is "The Writers Journey" surname is Vogler. What Frankel says is that the book or story needs to be written first before appropriate lyrics/musical score can be created. So I would have gone straight to this book first. Good as reference but can borrow from library, not a must have.

Frankel's concise, clear volume on writing large-scale musicals is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone who wants to understand how this peculiar theatrical genre works-- when it does. By focusing on two artistically successful, well-known pieces in the canon-- "My Fair Lady" as a well-executed classic musical with linear plot, "Company" (my personal favorite) as a well-executed plotless musical whose songs move character forward--, Frankel can support his intelligent teaching points with concrete yet familiar examples. I'm very happy to see this book back in print.

Many of today's top talents in musicals on and off Broadway have studied with Aaron Frankel. Now anyone can learn the ropes from this honored director and instructor in a step-by-step guide that makes for good reading whether you are a writer, composer, or simply an avid theatergoer. I enjoyed the previous edition and found this revised and updated one an even more interesting read.

In only 192 pages, Frankel presents writing for the musical theatre from the perspective of the book writer, lyricist and composer -- and how each contributes to the whole. Enough specifics for each to gain a better appreciation of the others' unique contributions. The book would be an excellent introductory text for a musical theate workshop. Most examples from My Fair Lady are illustrative and excellent; other examples from Company were less helpful (as that show was less successful). Highly recommended for those working on musical to keep near at hand.

THIS BOOK COVERS 50 YANKEES MANY OF WHOM WERE NOT SO GREAT. AMONG THEM ARE TOM TRESH, MIKE HEGAN, BOBBY MERCER AND HORACE CLARK. IT GIVES EACH PERSON 4 PAGES OF COVERAGE AND HAS A PICTURE OF EACH IN THE PIN STRIPES. MOST PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AT OLD COMISKEY PARK. IT TELLS US A LITTLE ABOUT THEIR CAREER AS A YANKEE AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING NOW. A GREAT TRIP DOWN NOSTALGIA LANE. IF YOU ARE A LONG TIME YANKEE FAN THIS IS A GREAT READ FOR YOU. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Wow, there they are, all of those men whose names have slipped from my memory over the years. From Stan Bahnsen to George Zeber. From Jay Johnstone to Dooley Womack. They are the lesser lights of baseball, the non-legends who played for the Yankees but who are a part of Yankees' history. This is great stuff! Allen picked 50 former players, tells us what they're doing now and then recounts some wonderful stories about their playing days and their sometimes small parts in Yankees' lore. These are the kinds of stories that you won't read in a newspaper or press release, and even though I'm not a Yankees fan, I enjoyed reading them. Allen has a wonderful knack for telling interesting baseball stories and he shows the human side of these journeymen players and how they loved the game. If you like going behind the box scores, you'll love this book.

True Yankees never really leave. This book proves it. Ball players who played for many other teams still consider their time with the Yankees (however brief) the highlight of their careers. Only one bitter player in the bunch (Hal Reniff).
Maury Allen is a walking sports encyclopedia, and this is a great book. An easy read, and chock filled with Yankees information. I loved it. Maury should write "Part 2".

Well done, by a fine writer. I love reading about the lesser lights, and what happened to them after their playing days. This book was great for that.

Now that Jim Murray and Leonard Koppett are gone, Maury Allen may be the greatest literary link to our storied sports past. The man is a treasure. He has more first-hand knowledge of great sporting events of the past 50 years than any single writer, and this latest book is just another example of a terrific scribe at work. Bravo!

STEVEN TRAVERS
Author of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman"
STWRITES@aol.com

I'm not a big fan of NYC.

After reading, and re-reading, this book, I wish I could go there and check out the place as it is in the story. Ms. Harvey makes the world and the city seem magical. She adds a bit of philosophy, a large amount of love, and a kernel of Joy, along with the inevitable violence required in a story containing the Angel of Vengeance, into a wonderful story which can only be considered a Romance in the best sense of the genre. The book contains chocolate, pierogi, coffee, Chinese New Year, children, art, gypsies, fear of Falling, a smidge of suspense, and a smidge of (implied) sex, among other attributes.

It's a fun book, a superb read, and is light enough to be enjoyable both when you're just awakened and when you're ready to do some thinking. Strongly recommended.

Sara M. Harvey has a very unique writing style. Although character dialogues are sometimes hard to understand or follow, this story otherwise flows smoothly and is a sweet tale. This book is one that is meant to be read slowly as the pace is slow itself. Still I was highly anticipating the end of the tale from the frist page... and since I am so impatient, the pace seemed much slower than it really is... but don't misunderstand, this is not a bad thing.

This is a story of the angel of Joy and the angel of Vengence who have both come to Earth to spend a year and a day as humans. This trip is a mission that they are both on, not a vacation, and the meaning of this visitation slowly unfolds and we, the readers, find out little by little along the way. Vengence is every bit the epitomy of his name... angry and vengeful... most of the time. Joy is rather giddy and seems to annoy Vengence for the most part. Along the way, they both realize how much they really need each other and an understanding and love grows between them as they both try to complete their missions with no clues as to how to go about doing it... this they must figure out themselves. We read about their "adventures" which really consist of their daily lives as we would live, only with a little bit of magic in-between.

This story takes place in the heart of New York, and describes the setting and town with cunning detail. The two angels take us to coffe shops, Pagan festivals, churches, museum, Times Square, and minute magic. The magic is finding out what it is like to be human, going from depression, to low self-esteem, to love and jealousy. Their moods actually seem to alter the lives of the world around them, especially in their locality. They soon begin to realize that their mission is about saving themselves by saving the world, through sacrifice of our mortal demons, and acceptance of the many blessings that many of us fail to realize we have.. those of our friendships and family. I couldn't begin to describe in enough detail the wornderful plot of this story as the depth is found by reading the surface of the tale. Not many writes can do this.

I rated this four stars because though I generally hate romance novels with a passion, (unless it is a byproduct of the major part of the storyline...) this novel had sooo much meaning for me and actually changed the way I look at many things in life. NO romance novel can manage to interest me at all, yet here is one that truly brought a little bit of the Angel of Joy into my life after dealing with my Vengeful Angel for so long. Also as I described earlier, this book does have some flaws, but kudos to the author for her imagination.

This story is actually from a series that I have yet to find for myself, and this particular book has been impossible to find anywhere else except for Amazon and the author's website. Enjoy this sweet tale and the ebbing and flowing of the characters' emotions. It really is a beautiful story with a tear-jerker ending.

A Year and a Day - Sara M. Harvey


I finished 'A Year and a Day' and I am in love with the book. Not quite a romance book and not at all a chick lit book, but so much more. The novel is a story of two angels, Joy and Vengeance who are on assignment in New York City. Assignment is the wrong word, they are on more of a vacation from being angels. Each has an assignment, Vengeance is told to protect and guard the easily wounded Joy. Joy also has an assignment, but telling you her assignment would be a spoiler. Vengeance spends most of the book trying to figure out what assignment is so important that he must spend a year in New York City, a place he dislikes, watching over an angel that he finds most annoying.

There is so much I love about this book, how I thought it would be fluff, and how it surprised me by how deep it is. How Joy wants to look plain, so people see the beauty within. Yet, when she changes her mind and gets a makeover to be beautiful, people do not notice the inner beauty. She learns a lesson and returns to her own beautiful self. They make friends, experience life, and Vengeance learns a little bit about the humans he has interacted with, but never touched all his days.

The book takes place in New York City, and in a way, the city becomes a character as well. Things happen here that could happen no where else, and I do not just mean the Chocolate expo! If you live in or love New York City, or even if like me, you consider it a nice place that makes me miss Boston so much, you will love this city. She drops names, not to show she knows the city, but to allow her to tell her story without overwhelming you with description.

I took this book with me yesterday when I went to Mass General Hospital for my weekly treatments. I totally forgot I had a tube in my left arm, I totally forgot where I was, and the stress of the moment. She took me into NYC, and brought me along with her characters.

The book might be a bit hard to find, for her publisher is small, and I think going out of business soon. The writer Sara M. Harvey deserves more attention than she is getting, and I hope to read a second book and a third. Next time, can your angels go to Boston?

I am on my way through this book for the second time, and I love it just as much as the first time! All the descriptions are so rich, I want to go to the places, eat the food, wear the clothes and definitely meet the people.
I love every character for different reasons, and most of them remind me of friends.
It is the mark of a lovely author to capture a person so completely in their world that you want to go live in it!
Sci-fi readers will love this book, fantasy readers will love this book, romance readers will love this book, anyone studying religion, mythology, chocolate, costumes, art or New York will love this book....

This book was fantastic! I read a lot of books (I have over 3,000 in my personal collection) and this one kept me riveted the entire time. In fact, I couldn't go to sleep until I finished it! I was about to reread it again but it's disappeared, which means one of the other readers in my house has whisked it away... probably to read and reread and...

Imagine living in a world where life is governed by intricate rituals; a world "balanced so precariously that its harmony [can] be shattered by a whisper" (Wharton); a world ruled by self-declared experts on form, propriety and family history - read: scandal -; where everything is labeled and yet, people are not; where in order not to disturb society's smooth surface nothing is ever expressed or even thought of directly, and where communication occurs almost exclusively by way of symbols, which are unknown to the outsider and, like any secret code, by their very encryption guarantee his or her permanent exclusion.

Such, in faithful imitation of Victorian England, was the society of late 19th century upper class New York. Into this society returns, after having grown up and lived all her adult life in Europe, American-born Countess Ellen Olenska, after leaving a cruel and uncaring husband. She already causes scandal by the mere manner of her return; but not knowing the secret rituals of the society she has entered, she quickly brings herself further into disrepute by receiving an unmarried man, by being seen in the company of a man only tolerated by virtue of his financial success and his marriage to the daughter of one of this society's most respected families, by arriving late to a dinner in which she has expressly been included to rectify a prior general snub, by leaving a drawing room conversation to instead join a gentleman sitting by himself - and worst of all, by openly contemplating divorce, which will most certainly open up a whole Pandora's box of "oddities" and "unpleasantness:" the strongest terms ever used to express moral disapproval in this particular social context. Soon Ellen, who hasn't seen such façades even in her husband's household, finds herself isolated and, wondering whether noone is ever interested in the truth, complains bitterly that "[t]he real loneliness here is living among all these kind people who only ask you to pretend."

Ellen finds a kindred soul in attorney Newland Archer, her cousin May Welland's fiancé, who secretly toys with a more liberal stance, while outwardly endorsing the value system of the society he lives in. Newland and Ellen fall in love - although not before he has advised her, on his employer's and May and Ellen's family's mandate, not to pursue her plans of divorce. As a result, Ellen becomes unreachable to him, and he flees into accelerating his wedding plans with May, who before he met Ellen in his eyes stood for everything that was good and noble about their society, whereas now he begins to see her as a shell whose interior he is reluctant to explore for fear of finding merely a kind of serene emptiness there; a woman whose seemingly dull, passive innocence grinds down every bit of roughness he wants to maintain about himself and who, as he realizes even before marrying her, will likely bury him alive under his own future. Then his passion for Ellen is rekindled by a meeting a year and a half after his wedding, and an emotional conflict they could hardly bear when he was not yet married escalates even further. And only when it is too late for all three of them he finds out that his wife had far more insight (and almost ruthless cleverness) than he had ever credited her with.

Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize and the first work of fiction written by a woman to be awarded that distinction, "The Age of Innocence" is one of Edith Wharton's most enduringly popular novels; the crown jewel among her subtly satirical descriptions of New York upper class society. By far not as overtly condemning and cynical as the earlier "House of Mirth" (for which Wharton reportedly even saw this later work as a sort of apology), "The Age of Innocence" is a masterpiece of characterization and social study alike: an intricate canvas painted by a master storyteller who knew the society which she described inside out, and who, even though she had moved to France (where she would continue living for the rest of her life) almost a decade earlier, was able to delineate late 19th century New York society's every nuance in pitch-perfect detail, while at the same time - seemingly without any effort at all - also blending together all these minute details into an impeccably composed ensemble that will stay with the reader long after he has turned the last page.

The book begins with wit and irony, as Edith Wharton describes the small élite of New York society in the early 1870s. They lived within a whole series of well-understood conventions and assumptions which included nice and minute distinctions within the social hierarchy, a censorious and gossipy attitude towards any member of the set who strayed from what was expected of them in the manners, appropriate cultural interests, dress and furniture, and relations between the sexes. Those who were felt not to conform, such as the American-born Countess Olenska who had returned from Europe, leaving her husband and intending to divorce him, imperilled the reputation of their entire families. In that society, young unmarried women, in particular, were brought up in ignorance of the ways of the world, into which they were initiated only after their marriage. Until then, theirs was the age of innocence of the title.

That is the state in which May Welland was when she was engaged to Newland Archer. May Welland belonged to the same family as the Countess. They were cousins and the granddaughters of the powerful and wealthy matriarch, Mrs Mingott, a pivotal and superbly drawn character, both as to her personality and to her vast appearance. Newland was in a dilemma: he had really shared all the assumptions of his class; but now, to protect his fiancée, he felt he had both to defend the Countess and to dissuade her from going ahead with the divorce. The Countess is `unconventional' in other ways: she consorts with artists, who never mix with the social élite of New York, and she claims the right as a woman to live her own life. She is also very attractive, and Newland, in taking her side, not only finds himself unaccustomedly critical of the conventions in which he has been brought up, but falls in love with her, as she does with him. Then of course he wants her to divorce her husband so that they can marry, though he is engaged to May. The Countess thinks this impossible - perhaps out of loyalty to her cousin May (though this is not made explicit at the time); and Newland then does in fact feel bound to marry May, though he already feels the dread that he would be sucked into the conventional life which he was beginning to find stifling.

May's interests and attitudes indeed turned out to be much the same as those of the society into which she had been born (though she was no fool, understood more than her innocent air suggested, and knew how to use the coded language which said so much more than its surface would suggest). After a year and a half of marriage, Newland was just getting used again to the world in which he had after all also spent most of his earlier life, when the Countess Olenska reappeared in his life. Their love for each other has never died down, but they are no nearer to being able to make a life with each other: his code forbids divorce, and hers forbids the role of a mistress and the betrayal of other members of her family. And of the two, the enigmatic Countess is always the stronger and the saner one.

The strength of the tribe is irresistible, and it is brought out especially in the superlative description, both sardonic and touching, of the farewell dinner given, at May's insistence, in honour of the Countess' return to Europe.

A quarter of a century elapses between then and the last chapter of the book. This, too, is quite outstanding, describing not only how Newland`s family and public life had developed respectably in that time, but also what changes had come over New York society in the interval. Newland's son Dallas is so much less inhibited than his father had been; the stuffy mores of his father's generation have long passed away. In the brief portrayal of Dallas and of the relationship between him and his father Edith Wharton again shows herself as both a brilliant social historian as well as a sophisticated novelist.

This literary drama is a far cry from Noh Drama's long haired monster dwelling in a cave in a mountain top. Yet the mangitude of restrained subtlety of expressions veiling wide gamut of human passion from each drama is the same. Set in Jim Crow and Chinese Exclusion Act days, Edith Wharton offers unique insight of the subject matter and extraordinary foresight in what she knows best, her own social milieu. The uneasy relationship that Wharton describes so honestly and tenderly is provocative simply because Archer considers Ellen his "team" notwithstanding.

For general readers Wharton has constructed a book that is everything the other reviewers here claim for it regarding their enjoyment of it.

For a writer, as in my case, I needed more than entertainment.

I read Age of Innocence as a source of information on the era Wharton knew so well - Old New York and Newport in the Gilded Age. For that purpose I found it outstanding indeed. But Wharton's selection of characters and the plot suggested a lot more reading would be valuable. I started with her latest biography by Herminone Lee, a striking work in itself. (Knopf, 2007.) I recommend it to anyone interested in Wharton. This aroused curiosity as to the extent Wharton's life may have contributed to her selection of material and her dark brown treatment of it. She always seems to be trying to get even with someone, as Louis Auchincloss has observed as well. He is must reading on Wharton. Curious on that point, I ended up reading at least two dozen books that I would not normally read, such as Henry James, parts of Balzac, another reading of Madame Bovary, even Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which I thought was more soundly written than Age of Innocence. It certainly was a lot happier book.

I was disturbed by Age of Innocence, especially it's conclusion. Other professional writers have told me of a similar reaction. One, a lady friend of my wife's, who is a highly successful writer of mysteries, said, "When I got to the end I simply screamed!" Figuratively, so did I.

Tastes in books are obviously subjective. I tend to history and biography. Neither I, nor anyone else, is qualified to criticize Wharton simply based on individual taste. But there is a fair basis of more objectively considering her work: her own book about how to write novels and short stories. After reading Age, I was surprised to find that, as a writer, I agree with almost everything Wharton wrote about the subject. She doesn't follow her own views in any of her writing that I have read and I have read a lot of it recently.

Wharton and I agree on the first principle of all good writing: "Write only about what you know about." Next in importance, and of equal weight are: (1) know your characters thoroughly (2) keep characters in character (3) after that turn them loose and let them write the plot in interaction with each other and don't meddle. This was Mailer's approach, but there are striking contrasts in approach that produced sterling writing, such as Steinbeck (his Winter of Our Discontent is a masterpiece of plotting). (4) avoid contrived situations which always involve unsound motivation (an annoying offense that almost every reader will catch, since people are basically logical). There are many more good rules to follow, such as avoiding Acts of God (the Deus ex Machina of Greek drama.) Instead let the characters get into their own scrapes due to their own limitations and out by their own ingenuity. If she had not ignored her own rules and allowed her two main characters to step out of character, Age would have demanded a different ending.

Therefore, judged by herself, I think Age of Innocence and many other of her works flunk the course.

Although I had read this earlier, and seen the sumptious Martin Scorsese film, knowing beforehand what happens so well, let me linger over the many exquisite passages. Such a beautifully written novel. And, I hope, the saddest one I shall ever read. Choices made, society's demands adhered to. Newland Archer, what a tragic figure. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about good literature. And a great history of early New York upper crust society.