New York Books

I think Tony the Tiger put it best "It's Great! "

This book is truly a delight - it opens the eyes to the magic that Coney Island possesses, and forces you to see it in a completely new light. Told from the viewpoint of a man with strong Coney ancestry, this is really the "inside story" - from the Island's tawdry beginnings, through its turn-of-the-century glory days, the zany "nickel empire" of the 1920's, all the way into the 1950's. I wish it could go on further, but no need for complaint - that's practically where Charles Denson picks up with his marvelous book on Coney - but that's another review altogether.

Here, Edo McCullough talks honestly about Coney's glories, as well as its seamy underbelly - nothing is left out, and it isn't necessarily a "sentimental journey", after all. But all the better - the seamy side is half the fun, after all. From shifty politics, prostitution, crime and carnies, to the glories of Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase - the reader is in for a truly fascinating experience.

But be warned - once you pick the book up, you'll have a hard time putting it down. Despite it's being packed with solid history, it's a very quick read - which, I think, is a very good sign. Enjoyable education - who could ask for more?

For too many people--Brooklynites included--Coney Island is nothing but the ruins of an amusement park that only exists in choppy silent movie clips. Edo McCullough's "Good Old Coney Island: A Sentimental Journey into the Past: The Most Rambunctious, Scandalous, Rapscallion, Splendiferous, Pugnacious, Spectacular, Illustrious, Prodigious" debunks that view in an educating and enjoyable style.

What McCullough makes more than clear is that this five-mile strip of beachfront is as rich in its history as Cape Cod, perhaps moreso. From the early Indian villages to the Dutch settlers to the developers who saw in it a gold mine (once mass transit made the place accessible), Coney Island is a place of a million and one stories and histories. It was a place, as McCullough describes, wherein everything went: recreation, vice, entertainment (high and low), graft and sports. It was The Five Points and Fifth Avenue on a beach. In this sense, it could have only grown in New York because it was so much like it. However, it did offer one thing; fresh seaside air. Funny as it may seem, when the place first became popular, most New Yorkers didn't know how to swim--where could they swim, after all? In the polluted East or Hudson Rivers? By the time the rides and attractions, Dreamland and Luna Park arrived, Coney Island already earned its superelative, surreal reputation for escapism.

What I find interesting is McCullough's choice of the phrase "A Sentimental Journey" in the book's subtitle. Considering the book describes Coney Island warts and all, the sentimentality is often underplayed. And, finally, there is a nice sprinkling of illustrations throughout that helps to bring the now-faded playground of the masses back to life. Everyone will enjoy this book.

Rocco Dormarunno
author of The Five Points

This book was given to me as a gift by a dear friend who knew I had a deep interest in the communities of Gravesend and Coney Island being that I was born in Gravesend. The book is a paperback time machine. It starts at the humble beginnigs of the farming village of Gravesend in the 1600's and its founder Lady Moody and goes on to tell of the history of Coney Island, its land owners and people. This is not boring history lesson but an amazing recount of the highs and lows of the era. What's described within its pages can't fully be expressed within the small confines of this space. Its is a part of Americana as much as the Battle of Bunker Hill is. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who is curious how evil and how spirit lifting one place could be.

The FICTION GALLERY comprises twenty-five short stories by past masters such as Anton Chekov, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver as well as by outstanding contemporary writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri, T.C. Boyle, and Hannah Tinti.

The book also includes interviews with the above three contemporary writers, adding another dimension to the readers' understanding of the fiction-writing craft. How? First, a summary of Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, and then an excerpt from her interiew.

Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent" is a first-person story of an Indian immigrant who looks back at his first few weeks in America, thirty years ago. In the late 1960s, at age thirty-six, he arrives to work as a librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after having studied for four years in London (his second continent). Just before coming to America, he takes a trip to Calcutta to "attend" his arranged marriage, staying there only a week, barely getting acquainted with his bride. She has to await her visa for six weeks before she can join him in America. On arrival in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the narrator checks into the local YMCA and later rents a room in the home of a 103-year-old widow, Mrs. Croft, who lives by herself. She is a stay-at-home eccentric mother of a 68-year-old daughter, who thinks it improper that her visiting daughter wears a dress high above her ankle. "For your information, Mother, it's 1969. What would you do if you actually left the house one day and saw a girl in a miniskirt?" Mrs. Croft sniffs: "I'd have her arrested."

When the narrator's wife, Mala, arrives from Calcutta, Mrs. Croft scrutinizes her "from top to toe with what seemed to be placid disdain. I wondered if Mrs. Croft had ever seen a woman in a sari, with a dot painted on her forehead and bracelets stacked on her wrists. I wondered what she would object to. I wondered if she could see the red dye still vivid on Mala's feet, all but obscured by the bottom edge of her sari. At last Mrs. Croft declared, with equal measure of disbelief and delight I know well:'She is a perfect lady!'"

It is this scrutiny that first evokes the narrator's empathy with his bride for it reminds him of his own experiences as a bewildered stranger in London. Looking back, "I like to think of that moment in Mrs. Croft's parlor as the moment when the distance between Mala and me began to lessen."

The interviewer's question: "You have an uncanny ability to get inside a deiverse collection of characters, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or personality. How do you zero in on your characters? Do you make detailed dossiers of look for some specific physical or emotional key or do you simply intuit these people as you write? In particular, how did Mrs. Croft come about?

Lahiri's reply: "My characters are generally always composites of people I know, people I've heard of, people I imagine, and a little drop of myself. Mainly it's a matter of intuition, of putting yourself in the body and mind of another person. It's almost like acting, only instead of performing, you portray the person in language. Mrs. Croft was based on an actual perosn. When my father first came to America, he lived for a few months in the home of a 103-year old woman. He told me a few things about her -- she insisted that my father sit with her for a while every evening, and she talked endlessly about the man on the moon. He also mentioned that she was a piano teacher. I worked these details into Mrs. Croft's character and imagined the rest."

I wish the anthology had a dozen author interviews -- presenting the story behind the story.

--C. J. Singh

Yes, the short story is alive and well. It is no longer a medium of popular entertainment but it lives on in numerous small literary magazines and anthologies, in devoted readers, and in a rising generation of great new short story writers.

This collection includes a wide range of styles and voices, but all are brilliantly done, accessible and engaging. Many of the newer short story voices are included as well as a few of the old masters, such as Hawthorne and Chekhov. Some of the writers are not afraid to break the rules--there are stories with omniscient point of view and stories that span several decades--but these authors know what they are doing and the stories work--brilliantly. The short stories are grouped into sections based on the life cycle, with short and helpful introductory comments.

The book includes delightful short interviews with three of the authors, which will be especially appealing to the authors among us. The Fiction Gallery is one of the finest collections of short stories I have ever read. I recommend it most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Gotham Writers' Workshop's _Fiction Gallery: Exceptional Short Stories_ is a complete toolbox of writing techniques. Masters of the art of fiction--from Hawthorne to Chopin to Carver to Borges to ZZ Packer--illustrate craft in this well-chosen sampling of fictional works. Interviews with authors about their processes add another dimension. _Fiction Gallery_ is an affordable, accessible, and comprehensive collection.

Dr. Denise Low, professor of creative writing

I have taken a class at the Gotham Writers' Workshop, and I highly recommend it. My former teacher, Thom Didato, is one of the editors of this collection. The purpose of this book is to give the reader (writer) an overview of the short story. Sure, there are countless other anthologies of short stories out there, but those either reprint the same ones over and over, or they cater to specialized markets. As it says in the introduction, "We've taken great pains to select stories that the general public will find gripping and entertaining." In other words, these stories qualify as literary fiction, but they are not pretentious or boring. There are a couple of classic stories here, by such authors as Carver, Chekov, and Hawthorne; but it is mostly comprised of contemporary stories that are only a few years old.

This book is a valuable guide to the state of the modern short story.

When having first read this book as a divorced dad to my 8 year old, I was struck by how such a story of real life could be conveyed so simply and beautifully. "Grandmother Mary" handles some of life's difficult transitions in ways that children can understand and appreciate. My daughter and I really like the fun illustrations and images of the holidays, seasons...even the weather! For us, the book was and continues to be real treat. It truly celebrates the important connections we have and make with others throughout our lifetime. As a dad who loves to read to his child, I highly recommend this book. Kudos to the author!

Certainly there are societal pressures and daily challenges facing kids today. But Uhlig's story of "Grandmother Mary" shows that these problems are not really new as she introduces us to a lady who weathered emotionally turbulent times and still finds joy in her life. Mary faces significant losses while young; and yet through an indomitable inner strength, she manages to find a wonderful and fulfilling path in life. A lovely tale for kids who are in the 8-11ish age range.

How delightful to read of the not-so-usual "fairy tale " story of a Grand mother and her history...Life is often a disappointment when one reads all the "fluff" stories of grandma's cookies and sleepy evenings in the country..Mary was a true and courageous child whose life is an inspiration for the REAL world ..My grandchildren loved the beauty of Mary and the illustrations of this book....and let the author know that this reader had a wondrous experience reading it to my 87 year old mother..who enjoyed the life of Mary and the places that she could recall and relate to..such an added dessert for this family..Greatgrandmother ,Grandmother and Granchildren..I am so delighted to see the photo of Mary at her door..Long Live Grandmother Mary...and I look forward eagerly to Ms. Uhligs next adventure ..

This is a wonderful book in content and illustration. Each page is beautifully illustrated with hand drawn images. The story of Grandmother Mary is not a fairytale story. Instead, it is a recount of a woman and her family over time. It is a book that will not only be enjoyed by a young person now but is sure to be a favorite for years to come. I look forward to more books by Ms. Uhlig.

Brings you the history and images of the Great Camps that help make the Adirondacks the Adirondacks. Well illustrated and well written, relating more history than a coffee table book and so more likely to hold your interest and provide insight. The history is social as well as architectural/formal, and puts the region and its unbelievable heyday in perspective. A good gift, or would be fun as a guide or trip planning tool for a visit to the region to get the most out of what there still is to see.

The discovery of this book made me set aside all the others on rustic architecture. The author does a marvelous job in explaining the beginnings of rustic architecture and why it has a permanent place in our culture. The mix of social background and the history of the early Adirondack camps with superb photographs provides a designers guidebook. The arguments for historic preservation are skillfully written and should be read by anyone in the field.

From the 'opening' of the Adirondacks in the 18th Century to the present, Harvey Kaiser delivers a premier photographic history of the Great Camps of the Adirondacks. Exploring the architectural history from an owner's whinsey to the details of a porch railing, Kaiser guides the reader through a history of gorgeous excess and an age of bountiful richness that few knew. Camp Uncas (owner J.P. Morgan), Topridge (Marjorie Merriweather Post) and Nehasane (Dr. William Seward Webb) are just a few of the detailed highlights showcased in this volume. Many of the larger hotels and lesser known camps (and castles) are photographed and discussed here at length. This book is not just for the architect, builder or historian. It is a display of architectural beauty build into a unique and mysterious landscape. It is a history never to be repeated and never to be forgotten.

I'm giving this the best review - but, I admit, I am the son of one of the owners of a house mentioned in the book! The house is Kildare Club. However, I'm unbiast! (SORT OF)
Anyway, I think it is an interesting book that is certainly worth reading and it revealed alot to me that I hadn't discovered about the Great Camps of the Adirondacks. (NOTE HOW I CLEVERLY INSERTED THE TITLE IN ORDER TO DELIVER A SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE. HEHE!

Kathrens' book is simply superb and is the only one I know of that pretty much thoroughlly documents the now almost lost domestic architecture of the Gilded Age. Not only are the descriptions of the houses outstanding, but the history of families that built them and under which circumstances is also given, and to completely understand a work of architecture, be it a commercial building or house, this is necessary, though not always included but it is in this book! It's a pity that these great houses of New York are now, for the most part, gone, but at least one can get a wonderful, visual documentation from his wonderful, rare, archival photos of the houses, not just exterior, but interior as well. I reccommend this book to anyone interested in great houses or in New York. It's a book that one must have and will enjoy reading and looking through forever. Lee Govatos

A fascinating book, covering the now mostly demolished great homes of New York, during the extraordinary flowering of wealth and enterprise in the late C19th.
All the famous families appear together with Edith Wharton style stories of scandal and excess...
The book boasts beautiful photographs, attractively reproduced, and fascinating floor plans.
Great Houses is exceptionally well written and a joy to the eye. One for architecture enthusiasts everywhere!

I have been waiting for a book like this for some time, and this one does not disappoint. It is well researched with wonderful historic black and white photos. The book is of the finest quality and the text is well put together. This is such an interesting subject and the authors are very thorough in their research, the book really feels complete. I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in wonderful Gilded Age residental architecture or just an interest in the rich history of this great city. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in this book and I commend the authors on doing such a fine job on a most worthy subject. Thank you.

A must read for design, architecture and house enthusiasts. Well written and althought all pictures are in black and white they are fabulous. An easy read full of great backgound and rich in history.

Beautifully photographed, well written. Will be appreciated by those who have visited these houses as well as those who enjoy fine architecture and interesting history.

This book is fantasic! I highly recommend it. It has loads of spectacular color photographs, and the mansions are breath taking. Being someone who has never visisted the area, this book really makes me consider a trip to New York, if only to see these mansions.

If you love historical architecture, and the histories of old homes, then you shouldn't miss this book. The photographs alone make this a book worth owning, but the author has also included well written, indepth, and informative stories about these incrediable homes, their builders, owners and subsiquent owners. Reading this book has encouraged me to plan a trip to visit to the Hudson River Valley to see these beautiful places for myself.

This is a nice overview of the best of the estates along the Hudson. The book give a nice short history on the houses presented and the photos are nice, though the pictures could be more crisp. Having said that, I did enjoy the book and was just amazed at the variety in the styles of the houses from period to period; really a very informative book. If you are interested in this sort of thing, then you will certainly be pleased with this book, though the $50.00 price tag is a bit daunting.

I was a little apprehensive buying this book because I don't know too much about the NY sports scene. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the debate-style format between the 2 authors, who are both veteran sports writers. The book is a fantastic insight into New Yorkers and sports media psychology in general. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the phenomenon and relevance of sport in society.

What a tremendous read! When I was pouring over it, I felt I was sitting in a newsroom listening to two reporters go at it, New York City style!

I really recommend it!

Forget Fodor's Dining Guide, The Great NY Sports Debate is the must have book for anyone who moves to New York. Where else can you become well versed in the most talked about issues that have shaped NY culture in the last 35 years? Wife-swapping in the '70's - it's in there, Drug scandals of the '80's - it's in there, the celebrity athlete of the '90's and globalization of the '00's - check and check.

This book should be handed out in the orientation packet right next to maps of the city and subway passes for any student entering NYU, Columbia, or other institutions in the city. It is a fascinating read that serves as the most entertaining text book anyone could hope to pick up.

This was a great book to read! Lennon and Rubin are both knowledgable about NYC sports from their many years covering the NY sports scene as sportswriters from their respective newspapers. Their different writing styles and opinions make for an interesting, fun read. I highly recommend this book for any sports fan... not just the NY ones.

I bought this book because my Great Uncle "Ian Orlando Macbeth" was mentioned and a picture of him was inside. He was a Greenwich Village Artist who painted murals throughout the Village's restaurants and was in private art exhibits. He also painted many of the blacklight posters we all knew and loved in the 1960's and 70's.

The book shows lots of photos and stories of the characters who strolled the streets and made Greenwich Village what we all know and love of the place. Good read.

This is a terrific book, informative and there is a fantastic section which includes Robert Heide's personal memories from his days in the Village and with Andy Warhol. I live in the Village and after reading it my own vista has been enlarged. I strongly recommend it to everyone!

I went to greenwich village last month and I spent a week in the village. I picked up this book to guide my adventures and I was so glad that I did.

Some really great excepts of this book can be found at www.Greenwich-Village.Co

"Gypsy Magic" is one of the very best anthologies of its type to come along in a long while. Rebecca York, Ann Voss Peterson and Patricia Rosemoor tell three stories so seamlessly it's like reading one story in three parts.

Ten years earlier, a Gypsy was railroaded into a murder conviction. As revenge, his mother cursed the sons of the three men responsible. The three younger men have all felt the effects of the curse. Now, with the Gypsy scheduled to be executed, can they prove his innocence before it's too late?

The main couple in Rebecca York's "Alessandra," Wyatt Boudreaux and Alessandra King, were once in love. Then she learned his police chief father helped send her cousin to death row. They are reunited years later. They're still on opposite sides of the case, and now Wyatt is blind because of her aunt's curse. Garner Rousseau, the son of the DA who convicted the Gypsy youth, has also experienced the pain of the curse. In Ann Voss Peterson story, he joins together with another of the man's cousins, "Sabina" King. He knows his father wasn't always ethical. He doesn't know if he can open his heart to the beautiful Sabina. Patricia Rosemoor finishes the set in "Andrei." Can the title hero and the murdered woman's daughter find the killer before they become the next victims?

"Gypsy Magic" is the best of the Harlequin anthologies like this I've read. Others like "Night and Day" and "Final Approach to Forever" have had problems keeping the same voice for the characters with the authors? different writing styles. In "Gypsy Magic," the three authors do an excellent job matching their styles and voices to make the stories flow together. "Gypsy Magic" is so much better constructed than the earlier Intrigue anthology "Bayou Blood Brothers" I wish I could go back and lower my rating for that one. The stories are all equally strong and do a good job advancing the overall storyline while telling each couple's story. The authors don't miss a step dropping clues that will come in useful in another story. It takes skill for one author to pull a story like this off and keep everything straight, not to mention three.

"Gypsy Magic" is one of the best Intrigues this year.

Valonia has cursed the sons of the men who railroaded her son, Carlo Mustov into prison for the murder of his lover, Theresa Granville.

Andrei Sobatka, one of their own, received the curse of "The law is impotent". [poor guy]
He is the cousin of Alessandra and Sabina King, and the product of marriage of a gypsy and an outsider. He has returned to the carnival to work for Milo Vasilli, he runs the Tilt-a-twirl [where he almost gets killed].
He has decided to help his cousins save Carlo and meets up, once again, with Elizabeth Granville, who had given herself to him ten years before.

Now he is hiding out with the carnival to hide his shame, figuring he could gain "Lizzie's" help, as he suspected her father of murdering his own wife.

Now they are in danger and another cousin, Tony has disappeared -- would the attempted murders never stop?

Running lose throughout the carnival is Milo's daughter, Florica, who confuses everyone with her childlike mentality.

Andrei and Elizabeth finally find the murder weapon with ten year old blood still on it. Elizabeth soon learns of Andrei's hidden powers and her own love for him is strengthened as the danger persists.

The cover is neat and representative of the men and the epilogue is great. [I always look forward to these]

Definitely recommended --M -- story moves great, especially through three authors. Just too much pm.s.[grin]

Valonia, a gypsy, cursed the sons of the men who sent her son, Carlo Mustov to prison for killing his lover, Theresa Granville.

The curse for Garner Rousseax was "Love is death".

Sabina King, sister to Alessandra, has the gift of healing. After Wyatt ends up in the hospital, Sabina is determined to seek out Claude Rousseax, to enlist his help to clear Carlo, only to find that he has died. So she approaches his son, Garner.

Now they have become the target of a killer. It becomes more confusing as they eliminate the suspects. Leon Thibault, the district attorney, warned them that they should leave well enough alone - they had no new evidence.

Fascinating as we follow them through their troubles...

This book is definitely recommended -- follow these three couples as they try to save Carlo and definitely end up falling in love with a little hanky panky thrown in.

GYPSY MAGIC carries us through 3 couples stories following a Romny curse. "Justice is Blind" - the curse of Wyatt Boudreaux -- "Love is Death" - the curse of Garner Rousseau -- "The law is impotent" - the curse of Andrei Sobatka, one of their own.

Some of the gypsies had certain powers -- Valonia, the mother of Carlo cursed the sons of the men responsible for sending Carlo to prison for killing a gadje, Theresa Granville, the wife of the Mayer of Les Baux. Louisiana.

Carlo has spent 10 years on death row. Now his time is coming to an end.

Milo Vasilli, the owner of the carnival, has brought the troop back to Les Baux. Allessandra, adopted neice of Valonia, hopes to uncover new evidence to clear Carlo and end Valonia's despair. Her gift is she "sees" things.
She must approach Louis Boudreaux, only to find out that he has just died - she meets up with Wyatt, Louis's son and her one time lover only to find that he has been blinded five years before.
There are several attempts on hers and Wyatt's life as they make it known that they are trying to save Carlo. Someone wants to stop them and wants them dead.

Most Excellent mystery to follow - well written and coheasive -- follow this group.

This is one of those books that I read at one of those moments in life where I just starting to understand myself. And this booked helped. I hold it very close to my heart, and I hope that you will too. Even though I agree with some of the other reviews (about underdeveloped characters) I find that a minor flaw in such an awesome first novel for Ms. J. M.

J.M. McDonell does a wonderful job in exploring what it means to be a friend and to love someone. David is constantly struggling with the choices that Miranda makes in her relationships with others. I wouldn't say that he is jealous of Miranda's lovers in a sexual sense, but he is so awestruck by her charisma and beauty that he doesn't want to see her get hurt. He has to come to terms with his feelings for her - Is she the one who is going to change everything about his way of life? Does he love her? It seems as though J.M. McDonell did a marvelous job in developing David, Miranda, and few other characters, but there were other characters that didn't seem to be important to the plot (like the veterarian, and Ben). I think that she could have made each of the characters more developed and meaningful to the story. She could have made a stronger connection between some of the characters. I felt as though there were many wasted pages in her novel on which she would introduce these meaningless characters, never intending to incorporate them into the plot. Despite the underdeveloped characters, I enjoyed reading Half Crazy. I think that McDonell could have made the book more captivating by not taking up space with names and descriptions that weren't integral to the plot.

Though interesting and enjoyable (read on a plane-trip), at times I felt as though the ghosts of Holly Golightly and Dunne's Grenville women were lurking in the mist. Miranda did exhibit a vunerable fragility that made her character believable; David was a 2 dimensional Truman Capote wanna-be? Or so it seemed to me. All in all, an entertaining romp, though more like late-night snack at Van Cleef's rather than Breakfast at Tiffany's!

I don't know why I pulled "Half Crazy" from the shelf that day several years ago, but once I'd read the first few sentences, I knew I had to check it out and devour it en toto. I've read it five or six times, all told, and I never get tired of reading about Miranda, delving into her story.