New York Books

This book is great for anyone looking for entertainment in NYC. Not only does it break down all of the bars/clubs/restaurants/lounges for any kind of mood...it gives you great ideas for any kind of entertainment you are looking for. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone living or planning to visit NYC.

This book rocks! I'm a guy and I have to say that this is truly not just a "Girls Guide". My buddies and I picked it up one night at a local bookstore, just to see what all the hoop-la was about. To our surprise, we finally learned and figured out where to meet chicks! THANK YOU DANIELLA! Now, we can get out of our Apts. and stop playing PS2. This is a great book for guys as well. When is "Girls Guide 2" coming out? Looking forward to it!

Well, I've never been to your town but if like me, you come from a little town in the darkest recesses of wild and wooly wales (uk) then, theres nothing like getting your feet up and reading daniellas book. It was a laugh from the first page to the last and I'll make sure I make a bee-line to your shores toot sweet.Please give us some more and give my love to your mother who I'm sure is a lovely lady. Don't worry I'm a nice person really .....all the best E.

This book was the most hilarious, quick-witted thing I've read in a long, long time. I am EAGERLY awaiting the author's novel. I am her hugest fan now! The book is great (not to mention the chic art), includes many many places to hit in NYC and the stories are absolutely hysterical. She cuts nightlife down with a double-edged sword and makes choosing where to go out SO enjoyable, especially for a fellow soon-to-be-former commuter LI'er like me. God bless you Daniella, and your magical pen!

Good stuff! I'm a dude and all I have to say is, Thank you Daniella! I have been living in NYC for several years now and I can finally say that I have found my Nightlife guide. This is not just a "Girls Guide". Any smart guy should pick up this book and read it cover to cover. Fellas, she TELLS us where ALL the ladies are. How much easier can it get? I read it, used it and meet many females. You may have to go to the Beauty Bar, but who cares...you'll be glad you did later. She has it all in there. Be it the local hole(Reservior)to the high-roller(Bungalow 8) joints. She knows her spots and you will too!

I had Mr. Eder as a Professor for two Philosophy classes, so I knew a bit of the background behind his daughter's murder but I never completely grasped the tragedy of it. I cried like a baby in a few places...Mr. Eders' memoir is the heart-wrenching story of a father living his worst nightmare; the dissappearance and murder of his only daughter. I couldn't put it down until I had finished the book. My favorite quote from the book is so classically Eder: simply put yet powerful..."I teach the great Philosophers, study the great ideas, and search for God." Thank you for introducing me to this book, Professor.

As a former student of Mr. Eder's (and the former-Mrs. Adrienne Eder), I felt an instant connection to this book & the author. As a student, I knew that something bad had happened to their daughter, but I was not aware of the extent. This book is provacative, poignant and I must commend Mr. Eder for having the courage to write it.
As a teacher, myself, I know that it is hard to put your heartfelt personal life out there for students (let alone others in the general public) to see...this crime was so horrific, that I can't imagine how this man managed to inspire students the way that he did everyday. He has been through Hell and it is inspiring to see how he and his family have carried on with such dignity and courage.

James Eder has written a thoughtful and provocative memoir. His tone is candid and at times brutal in his frank inner pain. To read him is to discover our own worst fears; to walk with him is to realize the immeasurable power of the human spirit. The book aches in the very pages, but there is much beauty and craftsmanship in Eder's stirring journey. Ultimately, Eder's story is necessary reading for all of us.

Recommended to anyone who loves a good book; excellent for libraries.

Vicki was a fellow classmate of mine at Northport High School (Class of 1981), we were also in the Environment Team together(those who went to Northport know what that was). I remember vividly the day when they found Vicki's body, I cried like a baby. I suppose that was odd considering we were not good friends, but just aquaintances. Yet I cried like a baby none the less, the hurt and sorrow were real. After reading this book, the sadness all came back.
My heart goes out to Mr. Eder, and I thank him for sharing his terrible ordeal with us.

This book is amazing! I couldn't put it down! Eder is beautifully spoken and writes with pure honesty, emotion, and detail. Of course I'll never know what it's like to be in his shoes but this book comes close. He makes the intense thoughts of a father, husband, teacher, and human being during a time of crisis so real to the reader. There are things in this book that we can all relate to like the loss of a loved one, questioning of your worthiness as a parent, and questioning your relationship with God. Eder raises the questions we have all considered at one point in our lives - How can an all loving God allow such horrible things to happen? and Are our troubles in life punishments from God? I highly reccomend this book to anyone and everyone. The content is universal wether you believe in a God or not, wether you believe the world is an evil place or a good place, we all have something to gain from understanding the experiences of others.

Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin's "High on Rebellion" is a wonderful recreation of Max's era (1965 thru 1981). Filled with hundreds of photographs (by Leee Black Childers, Anton Perich, Billy Name and others) and hundreds of interview quotes, reading it is like a multimedia experience - as exciting as a night in Max's infamous backroom! For those of us lucky enough to have been there, it is a trip back to the center of the maelstrom... Max's was New York's high energy intersection of the art and music world, where up and coming young ones could brush elbows with Warhol, Patti Smith, Bowie, the NY Dolls, et al. Beautifully designed, this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the artists, musicians and popular culture of the late sixties and the 1970's. It really is shocking to realize how many young talents succumbed to the excesses of that time, still the book created in me a longing to go back there again! Thanks for a wonderful tribute, Yvonne!

I first read "Please Kill Me" and developed a fascination for this era of American social history. This book describes, through stories and pictures, the various stages of Max's and all the celebrity goings on. Very entertaining, also a high quality edition, of a period of decadence.

I often walk past the site where Max's once stood. Even though I only came to New York about three years ago, I already knew the look of that building from photos. Patti Smith said that when she saw the deli that has taken over there, she cried. I found it sad myself and never even went to Max's. Thanks to this fascinating, touching, and sometimes terrifying book, I feel that I got a small taste of what it must have been like. I do realize, however, that "you really had to be there". Of course, if I had been, I might not be here now. Max's was probably way too fast for a guy like me to handle. I might look back fondly like some of the people in this book or I might have jumped off a building like Andrea Feldman. Pick this book up for a heartfelt examination of what was truly a crossroads for pop culture--a place where the only poeple who felt like freaks were the ones who weren't.

Anyone interested in the NYC rock'n'roll scene of the 1960's-'70's should get this book. Warhol's Superstars, the Velvets, Nico, Patti Smith, and so many more all have their place in here! Mickey Ruskin, the owner of Max's, pretty much kept alive 99% of the cities "starving artists" during those times! A lot of popular musicians got their start at Max's, from Bruce Springsteen to Debbie Harry (a former Max's waitress!). If you want to learn more about the "back room" at Max's and all the characters who hung out there, get this book! Lots of entertaining anecdotes from so many different scenesters! Most of these people lived on the edge! Other books I would recommend are "Man Enough To Be a Woman" by Jayne County and "Rebel Heart" by Bebe Buell (they were regulars at Max's as well)!!!

This book was great, excellent pictures and a great tell all of the time. Nothing was held back from this oral history, very detailed and fun. Yvonne Ruskin did a great job, I felt like I knew these people and since I have never been to Max's and now that it is gone it was alot of fun to see what it was like and sad at the same time because I wish I could of been there.

Must read for anyone in the Ironworker family!! You will learn a lot about what it means to live the life plus you'll learn the roots and sufferings of the early sky-walkers.

Not many books have made me stay up until the early morning hours reading,this one did,the alternating chapters of present day steel workers and early 1900s history was a stroke of genius,all you office people who sit in your little air conditioned rat holes all year need to read this and understand what the construction industry has had to put up with for many years just so you little prima donnas can be comfortable.This is the story of real men working hard for a living.

"High Steel" has the reader marveling that this dramatic story has remained untold until now. As in "Seabiscuit," the author's narrative skills work with an exotic profession, and a dramatic period in history, to produce a truly gripping read. Rasenberger illuminates the history of ironwork in this country, and beautifully evokes both its danger and its draw to those who join the trade. It is a thrilling, perilous, foreign world up there where the ironworkers spend their days; we are privileged to gain entrance to this world through "High Steel."

Jim Rasenberger unblinkingly depicts the demanding nature of the work done by these unique men. The reader cannot help but be impressed with their bravery and accomplishment.

It's also clear that this is one of the last few places where men only need apply. In almost every other phase of American working life, qualified women are accepted as working peers. It's really ironic that one of the thickest "glass ceilings" is where they haven't even built the ceiling yet...

But Rasenberger's job is not to change this world, but just write about it. And write he does - you share in the working days of these men, of what happens when they fall (as they do), their families, their heritage, and, in an especially moving chapter, their heroic work right after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Gender equality is the right thing. I get impatient when I encounter a workplace where women are so clearly unwelcome. What these men do, though, is very special and very much worth our attention and praise. As we might ask them to confront their stereptypes about women, we're challenged to confront our own stereotypes about the "lazy, ignorant construction worker." Rasenberger teaches us that nothing could be more unfair.

These are intelligent, skilled, disciplined and, above all, brave men who can do what we need done. The book will open your eyes.

An outstanding account of the brotherhood that built the New York City skyline. Rasenberger does two things particularly well in this book. First, he provides a fine history of the DANGEROUS iron working trade, as it developed with the advent of the syscraper, the redoubtable Flatiron building. "The danger was reflected in the carnage...of 1,000 members of Chicago Local 1 that same year, 103 were injured, 15 permanently disabled and 18 died." Second, he paints lovely portraits of the individuals (the stoic daredevils) who did the work, Sam Parks, "Frenchy" and Jack Doyle, to name a few. I highly recommend that a prospective reader use Amazon's "look inside" feature to sample Rasenber's non-nonsene prose, so well-suited to his subject matter.

The Hopes of Snakes is a great collection of, well, tales from the urban landscape. As so many of us rush from appointment to appointment, spending most of our time in in cars or in front of computer screens, it is so refreshing to read these essays that remind us that nature and beauty are all around us. Living in the city, it is easy to overlook it. But Lisa Couturier's sharp eye and beautiful prose encourage us to take a closer look. I especially enjoyed the essay "Rediscovering the Potomac." Read it aloud -- it sounds like poetry!

Bill Diskin
Charlotte, NC

Lisa Couturier writes with great power and sensitivity, pulling the reader in, teaching and thrilling and spinning a yarn like no other nature writer. Along the way, the words tumble together in new ways, and the charm and delight flows in a torrent. In the end, we are moved, we have learned, and we want more. I hope you will share my delight with this book, and share it with friends. I've bought about 30 copies that I've given away to people I knew would enjoy it.

This book is just so great that ZipcodeZoo.com named Lisa Couturier Nature Writer of the Year.

I live near an eight-lane freeway, and every time I hit the onramp, I look for the red-tailed hawk that can be seen most days scanning for his prey from his perch on a light pole. He would no doubt prefer better hunting grounds than this ice plant thatch that shelters suburban rodents, but after we humans filled in the nearby wetlands and covered the hills with house tracts, this is about all we've left for him. My daily glimpse of him is a vitamin to me, and a reminder that I don't have to travel to a national park to have an encounter with wildlife.

For readers who routinely seek soul-restoring encounters with all that is wild, Lisa Couturier's The Hopes of Snakes will be a tonic. To refer to this book as a collection of essays would create a far too stuffy impression of it. Part of the subtitle, Tales from the Urban Landscape, pegs it precisely: this is a collection of personal reminiscences, musings, meditations and analyses that make for darn good storytelling. The common thread that stitches together all of these tales with a seamless cohesiveness is Couturier's abiding respect for wild animals, many species of which are scorned and hated when they edge themselves back into habitats that were stolen from them by humans.

True to its title, there are uplifting tales here, not just of snakes, but of coyotes, turkey vultures, pigeon ladies, and many others. Nevertheless, this is not an anthology of sticky-sweet, cute animal stories. The overriding tone is one of reverence, not sentimentality. Even so, Couturier's poignance is often moving, and when you read "Take the Long Way Home," a posthumous letter of thanks to Mr. Boyd, Couturier's neighbor and mentor of her high school years, you just might find yourself shedding a tear or two.

Even in the deepest heart of a city, the animal world is all around us, as my freeway redtail reminds me every day. The Hopes of Snakes will help you rediscover, in case you ever forgot it, that despite all our collective efforts to turn wilderness into "civilization," humankind does not exist in isolation from our animal kindred.

Students of urban natural history and casual readers alike receive a celebration of Northeast urban wildlife in The Hopes Of Snakes & Other Tales From The Urban Landscape. Her thirteen essays observe urban animals from Manhattan skyscraper-dwelling falcons to mice who live on the subway tracks of New York. Wildlife has adapted to human habitations in surprising ways: hers is a celebration of the underlying world of animals which live alongside people.

Lisa writes about her experiences with wildlife that occupy cities and suburbia and how they interact with humans. As Lisa writes, some animals fare very well while others do not.

Lisa's ability to capture small details about the cirtters with whom she interacts make her essays all the more endearing and important. Although accused of anthropomorphising about the surivivors of the Human onslaught, her descriptions present an important understanding of urban wildlife and enable many otherwise unknowing citydwellers the opportunity to engage with nature's cast outs.

As Julie Warner said in Doc Hollywood: "Most people are merely on the Earth, not a part of it." Lisa Couturier gives us the opportunity to experience first hand those rare species that share their world with the Human invaders.

this is one of the best biographies ever. The story of 8 members of the James family, plus vignettes of friends and of the national life of the country during their lives. This should win one of the major prizes for biography.

Dr. James Fisher is a professor of American Literature at Wellesley College in Boston. He is an expert on the family of Henry James Sr. His new volume of over 600 densely written pages is a detailed exploration into the lives of this important nineteenth century family of authors, oddballs, soldiers and scientists.
Henry James Sr was a Princeton Seminary dropout who was wealthy due to a huge inheritance from his father. The James came from Albany, New York where HJ Sr. was born. He lost a leg during a horrible childhood accident in which he was attempting to assist in the extinguishing of a fire. James was a scholar of Swedenborg and his philosophy. He wed the plain but rich Mary and they embarked on a long marriage filled with traumas enought to keep psychiatrists busy for aeons!
James Sr. was an alcoholic but gave up John Barleycorn in his later years. He was in the transcendentalist circle of Concord intellectuals counting the eminent Ralph Waldo Emerson as among his friends. James traveled widely in Europe where he got to know such luminaries as the crusty Scots philosopher Thomas Carlyle and the novelist William Makepeace Thackery, author of "Vanity Fair." Mary was a longsuffering wife as she put up with his dalliances with other women (none of which was probably consumatted) and his minor fame on the periphery of literary and lecturing fame.
What a house of wits was produced by these two midcentury New Yorkers!
The five children were:
William James-the eminent Harvard doctor who was the leading proponent of the pragmatism philosophy. He was the author of "The Variety of Religious Experiences". James married late and was neurotic always being worried about his health (as were all the James!). William had an intense rivalry with his younger brother Henry though the two loved each other.
Henry James-Born in 1843 he was the author of over 20 novels, essays, short stories and travel pieces which have won him literary immortality. Among his novels are "The Wings of the Dove"; "The American"; "The Ambassadors" "The Golden Bowl"; "What Maisie Knew" and "The Portrait of a Lady." Henry was a homosexual who had many close relationships with men. His closest female friends were two authors: Constance Fenimore Wolston and Edith Wharton. Henry lived in England for over twenty years becoming a British subject in 1915. He was angry with the USA for its refusal to enter the war. James won the Order of Merit. He was secretive, quiet and kind. He became disillusioned with his failure as a playwright and the loss of his parents and sibilings who all preceded him in death. It is impossible to understand him without examining his family. Fisher has done this!
Wilkie and Bob were the two James brothers who saw combat in the Civil War. They were failures in marriage and in life. Bob died as an alcoholic and Wilkie never made a success of himself living in Wisconsin in a number of boring job.
Alice died at 38. She was a woman who had major health problems though she has won a measure of fame for her diary. She never wed. Alice was known for her intelligence and wit. She was a lesbian who lived with a woman. Alice was brilliant but was restricted by the second class citizenship meted out to women in the Victorian era.
The James family was dysfunctional but produced geniuses in William and Henry. The Fisher work allows us to get a better understanding of them and their time. Boston, New York, Paris, London, Venice and other locals of the James travels are well described. The James were constant travelers as they sought to flee their restricted lives of study and literary labor. It is often hard to make the lives of intellectuals interesting but Fisher has succeeded in an outstanding book of biographical inquiry and insight. This book will become essential in the study of any of the James.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fisher presents detailed, compassionate portraits of seven (plus) dauntingly complex individuals, as well as providing a highly textured sense of time and place. This biography goes far beyond recounting pedigrees and achievements to convey a real sense of the individual human being (in this case, each individual in the James family). I particularly enjoyed Fisher's careful attention to the less prominent family members. The "intimate" point of view (rendering events from the perspectives of family members) is compelling and effective in recreating this fascinating family. The author's opinions are presented respectfully and provide much food for thought without reducing the complexity and ambiguity of real people and events. This book--its rendering of a generation, its stories, its wonderful photographs--is a gift.

I love this biography. I grew up in the Albany-Saratoga area, lived in New York for many years and now live in Boston. Paul Fisher brings these places alive through his beautiful writing of this complex, troubled yet lovable family. It's a great book.

I've been reading books by and about the various Jameses for years and this is one of the absolute best for its range, wit, compassion, and modernity. The author isn't afraid to look openly at the dark side of this remarkable family, but he also doesn't overdraw conclusions. What I like best is that Fisher gives you a profound sense of the fault lines in the James clan, the allegiances, the jealousies, the ways in which they depended on one another and undermined each other. And the family exists in each historic period it passes through, so that the impact of technological and cultural shifts is always present. His grasp of the material is flawless, his insight sharp, and his writing is so good I read some passages aloud. This book marks a new era in James studies, but you don't have to know anything about the clan to be riveted by this complex story of wealth, ambition, despair, defeat, genius.

This is a nice, little book: short, clear, and very well written. I confess, though, that I'm not sure who its best audience really is. If you know some math, and have thought and read AT ALL about the philosophy of math, you will not find much new in this book; still, since it will be quick and easy to read, you will probably find it worthwhile, for the occasional new insight or alternative way of looking at things. I found the section on series particularly worth reading, because series were not well covered in my own math education. I also found the comments on the measurement of time to be subtle and thought-provoking.

If you know little or no math, you MIGHT find this a good introduction (as the title implies), but don't expect any detailed exposition on the actual PRACTICE of math. This book is really an introduction to the philosophy of math. It is concerned with WHY we do math, and why math takes the form that it does. Whitehead's goal is to introduce some key concepts, common to all math, such as variables and abstraction. Any actual proofs or expositions in the book are included only as examples of how these concepts play out in seemingly different areas of study.

Perhaps the reader best served by this book would be one who is comfortable with the practice of math at least through the basic high school level (geometry, algebra, trigonometry), and possibly more, but is just starting to think about the underlying philosophy: the "why" of math as opposed to the "how" of it.

For those who don't know, Whitehead was, of course, one of the premier philosophers of math of the early 20th century, co-author with Bertrand Russell of the 3-volume magnum opus "Principia Mathematica". The present book was written around 1911, and is definitely dated in spots - for instance he talks about electro-magnetic vibrations in the "ether" - but that doesn't detract from either its usefulness or readability.

This is one of those rare works by a true master. The following quote from page 161 definitely applies to the book itself:

"If we understand the preceding ideas, we understand the foundations of modern mathematics".

This is what this book is about. If you're looking precisely for this, as I was, you'll be truly enlightened by its reading.

I assume that it was very unusual, in the early 20th century, for scholars of Whitehead's stature to write for an educated lay readership, and that IM is one of only a handful of 'popular mathematics' books of its day. As such, IM and Whitehead are to be commended. Aside from an occasional reference to the 'ether', as others have noted, IM is current and compelling in every respect. It is a fine read (though rather curiously organized: it's final two chapters seem to belong much earlier in the book). I give it 4 stars only because others, standing on Whitehead's shoulders, have done a much better job of covering similar ground. I have in mind, especially, Tobias Dantzig's first-rate "Number: The Language of Science" (recently reissued).

A word to the wise: avoid the Barnes and Noble edition of IM. It is rife with typos, not to mention a missing diagram. I don't know whether the errors are B&N's own, or owe to the fact(?) -- it seems -- that this edition corresponds to (though does not photo-reproduce) the original 1911 edition, which (judging from the latest offerings on Amazon), was superseded by a corrected edition in 1948. Whatever the source of these errors, they are many and greatly distracting.

Whitehead's "Introduction to Mathematics" is an illustrative, lucid, and concise discourse on the "three great mathematical ideas of the variable, of algebraic form, and of generalization." As other reviewers have indicated, the author presupposes that the reader have at least *some* experience with elementary algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. The book's greatest strength, however, lie in its ability to supplement the rigor of an undergraduate math education (or something akin) with the "why" of said education. In sum, both math- and non-math oriented folk will benefit from reading this book --- the non-mathematicians may be turned on to the elegance of the discipline whereas the mathematicians may be reminded (gasp!) of its beauty and relevance.

"The study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment."

"One of the causes of the apparent triviality of much of elementary algebra is the preoccupation of the textbooks with the solutions of equations."

In discussing Descartes' coordinate geometry, Whitehead states, "Philosophers, when they have possessed a thorough knowledge of mathematics, have been among those who have enriched the science with some of its best ideas. On the other hand, it must be said that, with hardly an exception, all remarks on mathematics made by those philosophers who have possessed but a slight or hasty and late-acquired knowledge of it, are entirely worthless, being either trivial or wrong."

"Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are like cavalry charges in a battle - they are strictly limited in number, they require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments."

"The really profound changes in human life have all had their ultimate origin in knowledge pursued for its own sake."

Alfred North Whitehead, a remarkable British mathematician and philosopher, enlivens his look at the fundamental ideas underlying mathematics with provocative observations. Nonetheless, Whitehead does not avoid mathematics while trying to explain mathematics. While this book is clearly for the layman, it may occasionally require some effort. An Introduction to Mathematics is delightful, insightful, and intellectually stimulating.

Whitehead argues that mathematics is an abstract science that is primarily concerned with generality, not specificity. In trying to master the techniques and mechanics of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, many students fail to recognize the fundamental ideas. They become lost in a murky fog of details.

I found myself surprised by Whitehead's insightful explanations of familiar topics like variables, constants, and simple algebraic equations. I know math. But I now recognize that I had not really given sufficient thought to some very basic concepts. Just a few pages into this little book I was actually looking at some familiar concepts from a very different perspective.

Later discussions on mathematical symbolism, imaginary numbers, conic sections, trigonometry, and infinite series move more slowly and may require rereading. But the insights gained will more than offset any additional effort.

Whitehead occasionally digresses to discuss the act of mathematical creation. He agrees with the poet Shelley who compared the discovery of "some great truth" to the slow snowflake by snowflake accumulation that leads to an avalanche. While not discounting the role of genius, Whitehead sees breakthroughs in mathematical thought, often as unexpected as an avalanche, the natural result of the accumulation of knowledge through the centuries.

Whitehead's small book could serve as the basis for a short class or tutorial for high school students (or perhaps even for humanities majors with less than fond feelings for mathematics.) An Introduction to Mathematics is an effective counterbalance to standard textbooks that focus too much on technique, manipulation, and mechanics. Five stars.

I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this book... I liked the premise, I enjoy memoirs (especially of the mother/daughter variety) and the author seemed interesting.

I devoured it in about two sittings and highly recommend this book! Ms. Burns writes with such honesty, and her descriptions of emotions many times had me going back and re-reading certain lines thinking "Yes! That's exactly it!"

I'd love to read more from this gifted author... perhaps a follow-up to hear how her mother and daughter are doing these days...?

Catherine Lloyd Burns is not only a phenomenal actress, but one of the best authors that I have ever read. This book was insightful, poignant, and honest. It makes you laugh, and then on the next page, you're bawling your eyes out. Her bluntly descriptive writing style sets a highly unusual but very interestingly unique tone to the book, which I, personally, love. She has since become one of my favorite artists in both of her fields, and anyone who has read and liked this should watch Everything Put Together with CLB and Megan Mullally who I also adore and who is friends with CLB via an episode of Ned & Stacey. It Hit Me...Bricks is outlined by Megan on her website supremestoryprogram.com which is phenomenal! <3

I was gonna wait and think about this book for a while I after read it... but RM's sister's review annoyed me. (Although, the sister did give Catherine 1 Star instead of the lowest possible 0 stars.)

I'm not the most objective reader of this book, since Cathy Burns (to use the name I knew her best by) was my friend during a period which was for me the great adventure (as of mid-2006) of my life and for her a dark period so depressing that she mentions it only fragmentarily in this otherwise lively and detailed memoir. I was in her orbit especially while we were both students at Columbia, during the years chronicled (with many fictional inventions) in my epic novel "The Forgotten Liars.") She also turned up frequently in my life in the late 1980s (which is covered in the book.) And I haven't seen much of her since her life really began after her acting and writing career took off in the 1990s (though I think she did introduce me to her wonderful second husband back when the two of them were just acquaintances.) Even during the 1980s there was (understandably) a lot of stuff I forgot or didn't know in the first place: even the first marriage was news to me.

(DIGRESSION: She actually went to Barnard College, which technically is an autonomous institution in its own right. However, for all practical purposes it operates as one of Columbia's many Schools and Colleges. It's kind of a moot point, anyway, since she eventually transferred to NYU.)


I'm not really in the book at all. There is a passing reference to an incident I was involved in, when we had a pyramid-scheme party at her mother's apartment on Washington Square. And there is also a passsing reference to the great love of my life (once again as of June 2006), who was the girl who introduced Cathy to Tavern on the Green and who started her on her career as a well-dressed bulimic and who gassed herself in her apartment. (The story I heard was that our friend ODed on her prescription meds, but that's the story I remember hearing. Other people remember hearing other stories, and what the hell, it was a long time ago and we're still here and she's not. And moreover, even if I had actually been present when our friend killed herself--- which I was very much wasn't--- I would have remembered something different from what the other observers remembered.)

I suppose there are things I remember differently than she did, but the only factual error I spotted was that she said she was a "drug-using, bulimic, failed Barnard student" with dirty hair and dity clothes. She was not a failure. Her hair and her clothes were always tres stylish. And the bulimia and drug use were just endemic to the time: she may have been a little nuts but everyone was nuts back then. She was actually less insane than the vast majority of those around her. I don't if this just goes to show that I was even more messed up than I thought I was, or whether I didn't know how badly off this particular friend was, or whether she remembers things as being worse than they seemed at the time. Probably a little of all three.

It's just as well I'm not in the book: she's way more interesting than I am. She's kind of young to be writing her memoirs, but the book does cover almost the entire life cycle. This is the story of three generations of Burns women--- Red (originally Goldie), Catherine and Olive--- all three of whom are infuriating at time but (almost) always delightful.

The story begins when Catherine is in grade school and her mother in her 40s and ends when Catherine is in her 40s and her daughter is just about to head off to school. Cathy's childhood sounds like it was rather lonely, especially after her father died when she was about 9 years old and her mother started pursuing her own life. Her mother is, by this account at least, one of those people who cares about other people a lot but finds them difficult to get along with. And after her husband died, she may have forgotten at times that her daughter Cathy (who had three siblings who were much older than her) was just a little girl. So there's a lot of sad moments in the early part of the book. But as the book progresses, things get better, and Cathy finally becomes much closer to her mother after her mother also becomes her daughter Olive's grandmother.

The book is worth reading just for the author's vivid descriptions and off-beat observations, by the way... She perfectly captures the looks and smells of everything from big stuff like giving birth to little stuff like waiting in line at the supermarket.

This is the author's first book and it is truly an amazing biography. In fact after reading it I purchased a copy for each of my (grown) daughters! It's an important book in that it depicts the tug and pull between mothers and daughters as they grow in their relationships with each other. It's real; it shows the pain and the worry and the acceptance of their quirks. I especially love their honesty of feelings even when things aren't "pretty".

It's a beautiful story; I hope the author continues to write. Her sensitivity and depth are striking.

I gave this book to my mom for mother's day, and it was even better than expected. Burns is a WONDERFUL writer, with great images and a strong eye for detail, and the autobiography is powerful, heartwrenching and moving. Both Mom and I loved it -- and then we shared it with all 3 of Mom's sisters, who are also mothers, who then shared it with their children (also mothers). Not a bad review in the bunch. One of the best books I've read in a long time -- I've even considered writing directly to the author (like some crazed fan) to tell her to PLEASE write more books!

Not only is this book a must-have for all of the lovers of short stories, it's a discovery of some of the finest works out there in the World of Literature.

The artful styles and imaginative imagery are only the beginning of this collection, of which I have recommended to everyone inquiring on my favorite reads.

I recently read a review of the KGB Bar Anthology in the Hungry Mind Review by Gary Amdahl, and as a consequence I went out and bought the book to read the stories he spoke highly of, Christine Schutt's "Sickish" and Lydia Davis's "Old Grouch," and he was right: they are the best of the lot and teach us the difference "between working a trick and the trick working you." The anthology is worth buying for these stories alone. Then go out and find other books by the same authors. I plan to do just that.

Thank you Ken Foster! A must for any serious reader's collection

Though individual pieces may seem forbidding, this collection coheres - with story after story giving you the momentum to read on. By the end, you reach short pieces that actually teach you how to live - something stories and memoirs rarely achieve, even for those of us who consider ourselves serious and openhearted readers. Here is an anthology for the long haul.

I bought this after reading a great review in The New Yorker, and found the writing much more exciting than what I've found lately in the annual 'Best of' anthologies that come out every fall. Jacqueline Woodson's opening story "Fire" is stunning, and each piece that follows took me into another writer's world. This is what my friends will be getting this Christmas.

This book is a wonderful help if you are planning on traveling to NYC. It breaks the city up into sections and has large detailed fold out maps of each section. It also has a subway map that can be a help; although it is not up to date I still found myslf using it to find subway stations and general information. Although if you are in NYC you should grab a subway/bus map right away and just use this as a backup.
The maps are on thick paper and easy to write on as well.

Best travel guide bar none. Fits your pocket or small purse.. Visually great looking. There are actual pictures .... All high recommended hotels different prices..Great maps.. hard to get lost . Great recommends for food I am a shopper.. Absolutely great & unusual shops ..None of the bad tourist gear only the styling gear.. .I am familiar w/ New York but I still use this guide. This is the one I get around with...I do not go anywhere without this guide if there is one available for the destination Im will be traveling to....

This is the most ergonomically designed useful city guide I've seen.
100 percent portable, no batteries, internet connection and user friendly.

I went to New York for the first time for two weeks. This map is great. It's small, easy to carry, and easy to read. You won't feel so obvious if you have to pull it out on the street corner or on the subway. It was so much better than the full size map that I got from the hotel. Beware, it only covers Manhattan. So if you have to travel to the outer boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens) you'll need a different map. However, since all the siteseeing, shopping, and eating I wanted to do was located in Manhattan, it was the only map I needed.

The first time I went to New York, my mom bought this for our trip. It's been a life saver since. The maps are very detailed but small enough to carry with you without looking obnoxious. The subway map is detailed as well and when you use them with your sectioned maps, it completes the whole picture. This is a must have especially for first time visitors as the maps are very easy to read. I'm going on my third trip in two months and had to pick up another copy of this, as I can't seem to find my older one. I couldn't imagine a trip to NYC without it!