New York Books

The Birth of Graffiti...I will begin by saying that if you have an inner soul of graff...the curiosity of where it was conceived...of how it was back in the day...the day where you werent even thought of...THIS IS THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO YOU THROUGH VISION.

I have never seen a book where the images speak to you as strong as they do in this book...but that is maybe because I have a love for NY and its Graff.

I have a GREAT amount of respect for Naar, and I thank him for bringing us these images of art(as we see it). He did not have to give us this gift, but he did. And the best way you can thank him is by purchasing this book AND adding it to your personal collection, as I have.

The photography is amazing...the shots are unique...and you can tell that the subject of the book IS the begginings of graff...where it all lived up to the hype that we are know. I was born in '79 and arrived to the USA in '84...so I never lived the days of which NYC was NYC...where the walls spoke in MANY voices and many ages in many languages. I have caught a glimpse here and there, but never what I have now captured with this BEAUTIFUL book of NYC-a city I love and GRAFF-the form of art I love.

If you really desire to know what it was like back in the day-on the real-how NYC really was...not no postcard propoganda stuff...GET THIS BOOK.

GREAT BOOK...take it from a cat who's introduction to graff was back in '92 seeing all the Kez5-Bruz-MsMaggs-FLone-Ench throw-ups all over Queens...

Get the damn book...you won't regret it.

NAAR...thanks man.

It was thrilling to see such a vivid documentation of early seventies New York and the graffiti of the period. The prints in this book mark an important period of graffiti's history where the building blocks of the craft were being developed for the first time on the walls, buses, and subways of New York City. Graffiti, for the first time became means of expression for a generation of urban youth in New York. The Birth Of Graffiti demonstrates the inception of style which was evolving on the walls of every borough of the city. Today the techniques and traditions pioneered during that period have been passed down through generations of graffiti writers to develop into one of the strongest and most innovative art movements of the last century. Before graffiti was on every brand of clothing, on billboard advertisements, and used for marketing schemes across the world, it appeared on, city buses, subway cars and the gritty brick walls of 1970's New York City. The youth of New York who created this work were the first innovators of this powerful craft which has now evolved into a worldwide art movement. Jon Naar's photography captures many important moments in a period of great change and turmoil for the city of New York.

this magnificent book speaks to me like no other book on graff, and i have many. aside from a nice introduction, there are no explanations about the photos, nor interviews with the writers, and none are needed. there is such a profound simplicity to these photographs. they expose the beautiful ugliness of urban blight in a sad and delicate light. you want to go there to relive a moment when things were louder, smellier and uglier but that much more innocent.(or so it seemed.) before digital, micro, macro, and the information super highway there was this; innocence, ignorance and bliss. there were no books, magazines or videos about it, there were no websites and rest of the world to share your passion with. there was just you and somewhere out there others like you. whole youthful identitys condensed into an alter ego embellished onto a steel messenger then sent to announce "you were there". unknown in the flesh but known in word and deed. we all spoke and wrote an esoteric language that only a choosen few really understood. to have been there, to have seen it, to have breathed it, ate it, sleeped it, to have known it as it was, not as it is now will remain to me always, a privlidge. how lucky we are that jon naar choose to preserve these precious moments in time as if it truly might mean something one day. i thank you sir. p.s. great review by j.son.

Birth of Graffiti could easily have been titled Faith of Graffiti 2. It is basically Faith of Graffiti with added photos from Jon Naar's archives. Some of these photos such as a The Man 550 piece and marker tags on long extinct subway vending machines bring me back to the days before a slew of talking heads with erroneous sociological and psychological theories started writing books explaining our culture. Mr. Naar's photos are striking and capture graffiti in the transitional period between tagging (single hits) and piecing. Many of the writers documented quit before piecing became the fashion , but the emphasis they put on handwriting style is more formidable than the signatures most writers throw up today. I watched this movement from birth to death on the NYC subways and was lucky enough to participate in it. Although not as visually dynamic as the work that came later, this period fascinates me more than any other. I grew up seeing the names featured in Naar's photos, wanting to meet them and follow in their footsteps. We all owe Jon Naar a debt of thanks for preserving the roots of an ever-changing culture. The book is a must have for any old-timers who want to re-live their glory days and neophytes who want to learn who the real pioneers of the culture were.

This is a really well done book - the photographs are incredible and the printing is perfect. Unlike many graffiti books, this one is very well laid out and is "arty." A very professional treatment of the rough edges of the first spray can art. If you lived in NYC in the 1970's this book will take you down memory lane. You will pick this book up time and time again.

One of the best books every written about the Broadway Theatre. Lots of little known facts, lots of pictures. A fountain of knowledge and a must have for every Broadway buff.

This is an amazing book that covers from Gilbert and Sullivan to (almost) present day.
It is very much worth it's weight in gold if you love Broadway and Music Theatre.

This book is great for anyone - from the Broadway musical savant to the average curious person to the theatre student.

If you've seen the PBS television series, Broadway: The American Musical, this book acts as a fantastic companion and will look great on your bookshelf or coffee table!

It's virtually exactly the same as the DVD in terms of following the chronology of the development of Broadway but the great thing about it is it seems to come with additional pictures not seen in the series and great quotes. Forget about flicking on your DVD! If you need a quick reference you could turn to any page and find something interesting about Broadway to read about.

If you enjoyed the series and are passionate about Broadway, I would thoroughly recommend this book as it has everything in there that you'd need to know. Enjoy it!

If you're into theatre, this book is a must-have! You won't find any other book that gives you such a detailed and accurate history of Musical Theatre. The pictures are great and the reading is outstanding!

the most enjoyable book i have found to bring back the days of growing up in the wonderful, diverse city of Brooklyn. i keep 5 copies on hand and give them out to people i meet of my generation frim Brooklyn.

BROOKLYN: A STATE OF MIND, edited by Michael Robbins, is a treat for anyone who wonders about the place they always hear about in movies and t.v. or who was born and raised in the greatest borough of the greatest city on Earth (ahem). In spite of the gimmicky subtitle, this collection of essays and stories, photos and cartoons, film scripts and stills, is as informative, inspiring, stunning, human, and a little bit scary as the place itself. Some of my favorite pieces are:

1) David McCullough's "Harry Truman: Live and In Color in Brooklyn". (I'm a sucker for anything by McCullough, anyway.)

2) Glenn Thrush's "The Mistake of '98". In 1898, when Manhattan (which was New York City back then) incorporated the surrounding four boroughs to create Greater New York City, everyone thought it was a fantastic idea--everyone, except for Brooklynites, that is. Brooklyn, which at the time was the third or fourth largest city in the U.S., really didn't want to be associated with the dirty, corrupt and immigrant-filled island on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. (Brooklyn wanted to be its own dirty, corrupt and immigrant filled place.) Thrush's piece is a fascinating look at the events leading up to and years after the consolidation.

3)Jon Gartenberg's "Brooklyn on Film: The Guy from Brooklyn in World War II". I had always remembered watching old WWII movies and, sure enough, there was always the Brooklyn guy. Even in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, the character, Reiben (sp?), is from King's County and wears a Brooklyn bomber jacket. Gartenberg explains why this staple became so common in this movie genre.

Lastly, the photos, some of the best are by Stanley Greenberg and Genevieve Naylor, provided some breathing room around the enormous amount of text. BROOKLYN: A STATE OF MIND is one of the best books about the greatest place on the planet. Got a problem wid dat?

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points

This is a scrapbook of the world's greatest city from the end of WW II to about the beginnings of television. It's necessarily sentimental because almost everyone who contributed to the volume doesn't live there any more. They (we) did our best and went elsewhere and although we may have succeeded because of the place we came from, most of had to leave to be who we are.
So this is a sentimental tribute to the old country. The photographs are wonderful-that is, they tell the truth as I remember it and some of the essays are great.
This is another bedside, bathroom, waiting room book best sampled in small doses and savored.

Lynn Hoffman, Brooklyn Tech '61 and author of New Short Course in Wine,The and the Brooklynesque bang BANG: A Novel

125 stories packed with interest. If Chicago is the city of big shoulders, we learn, Brooklyn is the city of big mouths. Mel Brooks growing up in Williamsburg. Coney Island weirdness. Neighborhoods decline and are reborn. The world's handball champ. Blacks, Jews, Italians. Park Slope, Bed Stuy, bensonhurst, Flatbush, Midwood, Gravesend. A black themed B&B in a Victorian mansion. Comedians, musicians, crooks, athletes , writers all tell their stories. Rivoting.

Great packaging, index, photos.

I grew up in Brooklyn in the 50s/60s. I now live in Los Angeles but I still miss the old neighborhoods. The stories in this book bring me right back. It's a great read for people who want to reminisce or for someone who would like to get a taste of life in a time of innocence in a place of unparalleled sense of community.

Charlie Stella is original, and is easily one of my favorite writers. This is NYC-Realism you won't find anywhere else. The characters speak, and you can smell their breath! You haven't heard characters speak to you until you know Stella. All of his books are great to read and learn from. Google his name and check out his site--his Knucksline and Plays are fun to read, but his novels are really the best.

Charlie Stella writes like he has more insight into
this dark world than a "good man" should.
Fabulous dialogue.
Page to page action.
Full of plot twists and double crosses.
A fitting follow-up to "Charlie Opera"
This is his best book so far.

Hopefully, soon, there will come a point where readers won't have to "discover" Charlie Stella because he'll have the recognition he deserves as one of our best crime novelists at work.CHEAPSKATES is a page-turner in the best sense of the word, both funny and suspenseful, with engaging characters, and a wonderfully orchestrated ending. Check out CHEAPSKATES and then go back (if you haven't already)and read EDDIE's WORLD, JIMMY BENCH-PRESS, and CHARLIE OPERA.

One of the more unlikely writers currently making waves in the crime fiction genre is Charlie Stella, who, at first glance, seems more likely to be a character on "The Sopranos" than a dazzlingly gifted novelist.

With his fourth book, "Cheapskates," Stella has combined his playwright's gift for crackling dialogue with another strong, character-driven story that resonates with authenticity and emotion.

Two friends have just gotten out of prison, determined to live life on the straight and narrow. That proves to be almost impossible, though, when the ex-cons run up against the mob and an offshoot of the Nation of Islam. When one of the men is murdered, the other is left to deal with an indifferent police force and find out why.

Stella writes with intelligence and wit, infusing his stories with the reality of the streets and a sly sense of humor. He might just be the best crime writer you've never read.

You know, life really isn't fair. Talented writers - really talented writers - like Charlie Stella languish in back rooms and low shelves while hacks like James Patterson make everybody's bestseller list.

"Cheapskates" is another crime fiction jewel from the wily Stella, a clever and darkly humorous tale of crooked deeds and undying, if misplaced, loyalty. Reese Waters and Peter Rizzo are roommates - roommates at upstate New York's Fishkill penitentiary. Reese has served his time, and upon his release, he promises Rizzo he'll do what he can to recover $50,000 his ex-wife chiseled from him. If the well-meaning Reese thinks he's getting the runaround from the pathologically greedy ex-wife, Janice Barrett and the low-rent New York gangsters her contractor dad and brother hang out with, he finds that life can get really ugly when buddy Rizzo turns up murdered.

What separates "Cheapskates" - and Stella - from the mob is the cast of offbeat characters that breeze through the pages of his novels. There's Jimmy "Wigs" Valentine, the slime ball Mafioso with lots of disguises but zero class. Then you have Micheal Barrett, the sixty-eight year-old self-made millionaire, who is so cheap that he stocks up on day-old and damaged Entenmann's pastry that he eats for breakfast - and lunch - all week long. Or Arlene Belzinger, the tough-as-nails NYPD detective with a body and attitude to match. But the real star here is Janice Barrett, a bitch in every one of the meanest ways the name conjures. A woman so miserable that Rizzo pines, "Sometime I think that if I ever got cancer, I'll run her over on the way to chemo." Combined with her cheapskate father and slacker brother, Stella creates a whole new dimension to the dysfunction family. Couple this cast with Stella's own brand of slick, hip dialogue and you've got some of the most engaging fiction of vice and corruption this side of Elmore Leonard.

So do yourself a favor - get off the well beaten track and get introduced to Charlie Stella. The Goodfellas and Godfathers have never been so entertaining.

This book is a Christian themed police procedural. The protagonists are patrol officers assigned to the midnight shift of NYPD's Manhattan South Precinct, especially partners Joe Fiore and Jerry Cavalucci. The patrol vignettes are an interesting snapshot of NYPD activity in the commercial center of the city. The authors draw a compelling portrait of Cavalucci's struggle with alhocol and a dysfucntional family, especially the strains placed on his fiance and her son. Cavalucci's attempts to bring order and sense to his professional and private lives lead to the Christian component of the book. Joe Fiore, Cavalucci's partner, and Michele, his fiance, are deeply religious Christians who try to help Tony resolve life issues by example and references to scripture and the power of faith. The characters are engaging and the reader is caught up in Tony's struggle. The best part of the book is the account of 9/11 from our police officer characters' perspectives. It is at once terrifying and inspiring. We all saw the tragedy. The characters lived it. The authors vividly describe it. The last eighty pages alone make the book well worth buying and reading. An outstanding effort.

In CLEAR BLUE SKY, Frank and Pam (F. P.) Lione continue the story of New York Police Detective Tony Cavalucci in a stand-alone novel (their first in hardcover). The talented husband and wife duo have three previous NYPD books under their belt, and the experience shows as they pen their best --- and grittiest --- police novel to date.

If you missed the now (mostly) out-of-print Midtown Blue series that chronicles the time leading up to this novel, you're in for a treat here. Tony is engaged to single mom Michele and looking forward to being a full-time dad to her young son, Stevie. With a wedding in the works, the couple has lots to talk about --- and plenty of tension.

The chief stressor is a bachelor party that Tony's loud and argumentative Italian family is insisting on. Michele lets Tony know that if the bachelor party goes as planned, she's calling it quits. Of course, this isn't the real reason why Tony's family has mostly turned against him. They don't care for his hard-won sobriety (his sister Denise calls him "Mr. Twelve Stepper"), and they're not crazy about the fact that he's marrying Michele, a single mother. They also don't like his new-found commitment to faith. It's not long before the inevitable showdown occurs, and Tony finds that he must choose between his family and his fiancée and her son.

And what a family. Tony's divorced mom is dating a Harley biker. His father's trampy second wife is pregnant, which his father seems to find unusually upsetting --- and we discover why, as the novel unfolds. Add a few Mafia relatives, and the sparks (and punches) are sure to fly at any family gathering.

Underneath the tension is Tony's insecurity about his own worthiness. "The truth is, I felt kind of like a fraud with Michele. Like maybe if she really knew me, she wouldn't be so quick to marry me.... It was like I kept waiting for the hammer to hit me and things to crash and burn around me like they always did."

Joe Fiore is Tony's wise Christian partner, and one of the reasons why Tony has been able to stay sober and deal with his Italian family. He's also the reason why Tony has found a renewed faith. But Tony has stopped going to church and hasn't been able to talk to Michele or Joe about why. His conversations with Joe reflect the reality and messiness of church life.

Tony's life as a cop provides some of the best moments in the book. Speed chase scenes, almost-too-strange-to-be-true incidents (a dog that is electrocuted when it pees on open live wires on a lamp post vandalized by the homeless for their boom boxes), the ins and outs of a grand jury trial, and even a burglary in a geisha house all score high on the "wow, I didn't know stuff like this went on" scale. Insider lingo also enlivens the text --- one man with a bandaged head injury is said to be wearing a "Bronx party hat." As in the other Lione books, there are plentiful descriptions of Italian food that will make your mouth water. It's a wonder Tony doesn't weigh 300 lbs.

For those readers new to Tony's story, F. P. Lione is an Italian-American married couple, Frank and Pam, who are both children of NYPD detectives. (Frank has also served with the NYPD). Their direct experiences with the police force and love of the city lend authenticity to the novel. The narrative isn't without some troubles --- lots of consecutive sentences that begin with "We" and "I", for example. But they pen some killer descriptions, such as this one about Friday bingo night at St. Michael's: "Kind of like offtrack betting, with old Italian women in rolled-down stockings."

The twin towers on the cover and prologue clue in the reader that CLEAR BLUE SKY's story will climax in the events of September 11th. In a post 9/11 world, where it seems as if every emotional drop has been wrung out of the fictional and nonfictional publishable possibilities, I was skeptical that anyone could write a moving scene six years after the fact. But the Liones handled the tragedy well enough to give me goosebumps. It's also a crucial and believable way for them to literally nudge some of their characters into a stronger belief in God.

The Liones just keep getting better in every novel. They adeptly blend Italian life, relationship issues, fascinating stories from the New York City streets and faith into a page-turning read that will hook new readers while continuing to please fans of their previous books. Don't miss it.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

It's several months after the release date of Clear Blue Sky but I don't want to neglect writing it up. I've not read any of the Lione's previous novels so I don't have a feel for their voice overall. However, I will be picking up previous and future books because the story of Tony and Michelle, New York and his life as a cop, a son, a new Christian and a man were intriguing and gritty and real.

I was surprised that the majority of the book didn't deal with September 11th, that this huge and very well written and gut-wrenchingly told event was only a small part of the lives of Tony and Michelle.

The writing is narrative and to-the-point and through the eyes of Tony, an Italian New York cop, who is at a crossroads in life. He is facing changes within his close knit and very dysfunctional family. He has chosen to marry a woman who doesn't please the majority of his family members because she is not willing to put up with the dysfunction, the alcoholic brawls and the mind games. Tony, a reformed bad boy, has a fledgling faith and a strong friend/partner/mentor in Joe. But Tony is pulling away from church because something just isn't looking right and he doesn't know what to do about it. Tony's brother and father are closer than ever and edging Tony out and Grandma, the sweet old lady, is losing control so she's pulling out all the stops and not looking quite as sweet. All of a sudden alcohol is looking really good to Tony and he's wondering what it's going to cost him to have Michelle as a wife.

There is so much to this story. The writing is a little more nuts and bolts than I generally dig into, but the characters and descriptions and details pulled me in and didn't let me go. I want to read more about Tony and Michelle. I want to see the entire family healed. I want to hug Joe because he acts like Jesus. There are situations and words that would offend folks, so be forewarned. But if you aren't easily offended and squeamish, look into this novel.

With the Labor Day weekend and its feasts over, the overworked NYPD police know they can catch a breath after tons of overtime mostly involving crowd control. Police officer Tony Cavalucci did his job, but crowd control is a part of his patrol work he hates as he dreams of getting "out of the bag" and into a plainclothes anti crime unit.

He and most of his peers fear the new mayor will return the streets to the perps as his aids are not impressive; still he does his job of patrolling the streets. Following a graveyard shift on the morning of 11 September 2001 on a warm clear day he stops for coffee and muses unhappily about the demands his family have placed on him. His brother wants him to host a wild last fling bachelor party to remind him what he is giving up by marrying. His extended Italian family especially his mother hates his fiancée Michelle as she is ethically and religiously incorrect and had a child Stevie out of wedlock. They insist he drop her or else. As he ponders whether he will have to give up one of the two families he loves, all that changes when he notices smoke coming from one of the Twin Towers.

CLEAR BLUE SKY continues the insightful look at the life of a New York City cop (see the previous three Midtown Blue novels: not read by me - THE DEUCE and THE CROSSROADS; read by me SKELLS). 9/11 is important to the plot, but comes towards the latter part of the novel as readers follow Tony's personal and professional life in the days just before the tragedy (much of the setting), during the rescue attempts, and immediately after. Fans of police procedurals will appreciate this series that focuses on the cop on the job and off the job as readers obtain a perceptive glimpse of the work pressures and family demands on a police officer.

Harriet Klausner

I've said before that reading an F.P. Lione novel is like watching an un-cut taping of COPS, only you follow the cops home. But in a way that's doing their writing a disservice. A Lione novel is about much more than the domestic disputes, car chases, and gun wielding criminals often found on the tv show. That isn't to say these types of situations don't make it into the pages. They do. But a Lione novel digs deeper than that. By following police officer Tony Cavalucci on and off duty, the Lione's reveal the heart and soul of a cop. Tony's story has already filled three Midtown Blue novels (The Deuce, The Crossroads & Skells), and his saga continues in Clear Blue Sky, the unofficial 4th book.

This time around Tony's closer to marrying his fiance Michelle, and his Italian family continues to voice their objections to the union. Michelle isn't Italian or Catholic, two strikes against her. She had her young son Stevie out of wedlock and there's no sign of the father. Strike three. With the Cavalucci family you're guilty until proven innocent, and even then if you get on their bad side they'll find some way to convict you. Their crazy yet realistic dynamics provide just as much drama as the worst nights on Tony's midnight tour, and it's starting to wear on him. He finds himself torn between loyalty to his blood-family and the family he's come to love as his own. He doesn't want to lose either of them, but sooner or later he's going to have to make a choice.

Not to mention that he and God haven't been on the best of terms lately. Since Tony became a Christian his life has actually gotten harder. Not only does he have to face the temptation to hit the bottle again, but he's facing moral choices right and left. Case in point: he promised to throw his brother Vinny a bachelor party. Vinny wants it wild, like old times. Tony struggles with letting his brother down and standing behind his new-found principles, and Michelle. If it weren't for his Christian partner, Officer Joe Fiore, Tony would probably slip back into his old ways as easily as he slips on his gun belt.

It's an incredibly realistic portrayal of one man's struggle to live out his faith. Being a cop and a Christian are hard enough. Being an Italian cop with a dysfunctional family is harder. How can Tony keep the faith without losing his family?

Like the books before it, Clear Blue Sky is not a novel with a clear plot. But it will keep you riveted. There's something extremely compelling in the Lione's style. Their details are vivid and specific, adding to the authenticity. Like the others in the Midtown Blue series as you read Clear Blue Sky you really do feel like you're tagging along in the back seat of Tony's patrol car as he faces the sad, the serious, and the outrageous on his beat. You'll walk away from the novel with a new appreciation for police officers.

This novel is being marketed as a stand-alone about the 9/11 tragedy, which could be slightly misleading. The actual disaster doesn't occur until well into the story. I had expected to read more about Tony and Joe's experiences on that day. But holding off until the end was a natural and effective way to build tension. You know the Twin Towers are coming down, and you look for it on every page. Brings home the point that September 11th was a normal autumn day like any other.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a cop in one of the world's busiest cities, look no further. Pick up any Lione novel and feast on the experience. Clear Blue Sky is no exception. But in this one you'll come away with new insights on what really happened in New York City that fateful September day in 2001--the day the sky was clear and blue.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk

Tony Cavalucci is a second generation NYPD police officer whose family life may be more hazardous than his job on the streets. As New Year's Eve approaches, the department ramps up for the crowds and the threats the Time's Square celebration always brings.

But the job isn't the only stressor on Tony's life. He has finally found the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and his dysfunctional family can't stand her or her four year old son. Christmas dinner is a disaster as his family, blind to their own hypocrisy, attacks Michele and her four-year old, illegitimate son. But through her eyes, he begins to see his family in a different light and doesn't like what he sees. But he can't totally walk away from his family either. Will they be able to reach a compromise, or will Tony continue to live alone in his small basement apartment?

That isn't the only complication in this hectic holiday week. His mother returns unexpectedly into his world. An alcoholic, she's shows up a changed woman. While at rehab, she made the decision to try to right some of the wrongs she'd committed while drinking. A recovering alcoholic himself, Tony begins to let her re-enter her life, in controlled amounts.

The Crossroads has a unique perspective. F.P. Lione brings the experience and the voice of a NYPD police officer to the writing, giving it a distinct feel and voice.

"The Crossroads" is the mesmerizing sequel to "The Deuce," written by husband and wife team F.P. Lione. It continues the story of NYPD cop Tony Cavalucci, struggling to apply his new found faith in God to his job and his relationships, especially those with his family.

Tony's week didn't start out well. Christmas Eve dinner with his family was horrible. They treated his new girlfriend, Michele, and her little boy Stevie so rudely it was hard for even Tony to believe. Tony can understand why Michele left upset. But he can only do so much, right? They're his family, and these destructive family gatherings are normal to him. But Michele doesn't want Stevie around that environment, and while she loves Tony, she puts a hold on their relationship so she can pray and think about what is best for her and Stevie.

Seeking God's wisdom and guidance is a brand new experience for Tony. But his partner Joe Fiore continues to help him, encouraging him to pray and pointing him to Bible verses that apply to the situations going on in his life. I appreciate the fact that the Lione's don't make Tony an "instant" Christian, automatically knowing all the right things to say and do now that he is a believer. He is still battling with past temptations. It's hard for him not to turn to old habits, such as drinking, when things get tough. But step by step we see Tony learn to view life, including his family relationships, with the new eyes that God is giving him.

Frank & Pam Lione have a rare talent of taking ordinary events and relationships we all relate to and making them so interesting you don't want to stop turning the page. It's also a realistic glimpse into the lives of NYPD's finest. While this book stands on its own and can certainly be read without reading "The Deuce" first, I think readers will enjoy the books more if they start at the beginning with Tony. I highly recommend the Midtown Blues series, and look forward to reading "The Skells," next in the series soon.

Tony Cavalucci has just helped arrest Santa Claus and The Grinch, and it only goes downhill from there on his busy midnight tour. Soon he's facing a machette-wielding bandit, just praying he won't have to shoot the guy. It's all in a night's work for this ten-year NYPD veteran whose story began in F.P. Lione's previous book, The Deuce.

The days before New Year's are busy ones in New York, where "The Crossroads of the World become the Center of the Universe as the eyes of the planet look to Times Square." It's also a chance for Tony to earn some overtime and he welcomes the diversion from his Italian family's disapproval of his girlfriend and her young son. When Christmas Eve dinner at his grandmother's becomes a near brawl as passionate family members verbally (and even physically) duke it out, Tony realizes he has to choose his loyalties fast--before he loses the only woman he's ever wanted to marry.

With his overtime detail of checking cars for bombs in the parking garages with his partner, Joe Fiore, there isn't much time for pondering his family troubles. It's fast and furious during the holidays in The City That Never Sleeps, and Tony wrestles more than once with hitting the bottle again. He's been sober for five months and he's proud of it, but the stresses are enough to stretch any guy to his breaking point. Will he have the strength to do what he knows is right or will he relapse into his old hard-living ways?

A brand new Christian, Tony refreshingly doesn't have it all together. He still smokes. He's still tempted to drink and look at women. But there is a difference in his life. He gets his job done, but with more compassion now. He helps a rookie cop the old-timers would've ostracized. He doesn't hate the perps like he used to. He's a work-in-progress, and he knows it, but he's truly making an effort to live out what he now believes. If The Deuce was all about Tony's journey toward God, The Crossroads is all about his struggle to live out his faith when life, and the people around him, go crazy.

As in The Deuce, you'll be treated to more cop lingo, like a "bus" for an ambulance, and "RMP" for Radio Motor Patrol vehicle, but I appreciated how the authors took even more care to explain unfamiliar terms, often including a definition in parentheses. And although Tony's often tedious directions of where he and Fiore travel on patrol (we drove down this street, then turned down that, then headed east on this) will probably be appreciated best by those familiar with New York City, it does give you the feel for their intimate knowledge of the streets.

Frank & Pam Lione aren't afraid to get down and dirty in their stark portrayal of a cop's life, but they never resort to anything gratuitous. The encounters Tony and Joe experience run the gamut: from the humorous (the bar-fight encounter of the men dressed as Santa and the Grinch), and the gruesome (pulling the personal effects off a dead man in a multiple car accident) to the downright bizarre (an eerie man who sleeps in a coffin). Here's a novel that reveals the true 411 of policework--it's not all chase scenes and gun battles.

Highly worth your time, The Crossroads is a story of reconciliation, consecration, and unforgettable extremes.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for Infuze Magazine

Police drama lovers, this is your book! The husband and wife team of "F. P. Lione" (Frank and Pam) are back with THE CROSSROADS, the second installment in the "Midtown Blue" series and follow-up to THE DEUCE. If you haven't read the first novel, stop here and do so. Although this can be read as a stand-alone, you'll miss too much background. Plus, the first one is too good to miss.

The story opens as middle-aged single cop Tony Cavalucci and his New York City police department prepare for the chaos of New Year's Eve in Times Square. Since THE DEUCE, Tony hasn't had a drink for almost six months. His stalwart Christian partner, Joe Fiore, encourages him with scripture verses and pep talks. Tony is dating Michele, a teacher and unmarried mother of four-and-a-half year old Stevie. Although he's thinking about marriage, he's gotten her earrings rather than "the ring" for Christmas.

Tony's volatile extended family continues to give him trouble. "Hey, we put the fun in dysfunctional," says Tony to Joe. When Tony brings Michele and Stevie to his family Christmas get-together, things quickly disintegrate. Muses Tony, "Michele is always so tactful, she would never come out and say they were a bunch of psychopaths." As a result, Michele pulls back from the relationship, and Tony sees his family --- and how he interacts with them --- in a new light. In the process, he and his mother begin a reconciliation of sorts.

This second novel, like the first, still has some rough spots. The authors take care to explain some of the police lingo, but the explanations often feel intrusive and interfere with the flow of the story (a glossary might have served readers better). In some places, one wonders why an abbreviation was used at all (Tony talks about his RDO, then in parenthesis it says "regular day off." Why not just say it?) A consistent problem in both novels is that too many sentences begin consecutively with the same word or words and many of the sentences are the same length. There is also an overuse of the word "I." ("I unlocked the door... I tossed my keys... I had gotten a cell phone...) Although most readers won't consciously register these facts, they will likely find the writing choppy and repetitive in places.

Many things have improved since the first novel, including the mechanics of the characters and the more careful use of details that enhance, rather than bog down, the storyline. What remains the same is the Liones' terrific insider look at New York City and the day-to-day work of policemen working the streets. Both husband and wife are Italian American children of NYPD detectives, and Frank is a veteran of the New York Police Department.

The Liones' Italian-American heritage shows in the wonderful descriptions of food and of family get-togethers. Indeed, anyone reading the plethora of foodie details included here (the cops can't get a bagel without the Liones describing each flavor and topping) will feel compelled to fix a snack while they continue reading. However, beware: the "ick" factor is still in full play from book one. Some of the scenes include Tony helping an alcoholic repeatedly throw up buckets of blood, drunks wetting their pants in the police car, etc.

The Liones have a knack for using humor to leaven some of the darkness of police work, and several of the incidents are so bizarre you figure they must be real (the woman answering the door naked, the man dressed as a vampire in a coffin). I laughed out loud many times while reading, especially at the arrest of Santa Claus (drunk in a bar with The Grinch). The authors also excel at offering interesting, behind-the-scenes police factoids. I found the logistics of handling between 500,000 and a million people in Times Square for New Year's Eve fascinating --- who would have thought the deceptively simple gathering of so many folks on a holiday required such organization and careful handling?

Fans of THE DEUCE will be delighted with this second installment in the "Midtown Blue" series, which offers the same mix of humor, grit, and relationship tangles that made the first novel so interesting.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at (...)

The Crossroads courageously bridges the gap between Christianity and the contemporary culture. With hard-hitting drama and an emotionally charged plot, this book appeals to readers on several levels.

The realism of police work in New York City is captured with the concise writing and personal knowledge of the authors. There is a genuine sense of danger as the officers respond to calls in this precinct. Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering how each encounter will end.

This second book in the series further explores the relationships between the characters and their family and friends. Tony Cavalucci has committed his life to Christ and now he is trying to live according to his new beliefs. However, there are some serious and long-standing emotional issues between himself and his divorced parents. Readers will watch this character grow in the knowledge of the Lord. It's noteworthy that the authors have portrayed Tony's spiritual development with a sense of realism. His growth as a Christian comes in small, natural steps that blend well with the rest of the novel.

Excellent writing and exceptional dialogue makes each page come alive. The life of a police officer is shown with a clarity that is impressive. The authors captured the fears and uncertainties that surround police work, but contrasted that with the absolute confidence believers have in the Lord. The gospel message is incorporated into the story with skill and sensitivity. Readers will understand the ability of biblical truths to answer today's problems. -- Joyce Handzo, Christian Book Previews.com

i loved this book. i felt as though i was right there with him and his family through every phase of their lives. this book had everything going for it, sadness, chaos, happiness, tragedy. it was so personal and you just felt as though the author let you in to share with him.

This book will be enjoyed by all who read it for it is a story of survival from the ashes of the Holocaust. This book is also an excellent book club selection that will spark much thought and conversation.

Joseph Berger has written a story that needed to be told, but he has included too much extraneous material about his own life. Much of what he tells reveals what it was like growing up as the child of a refugee, but who cares whether or not he dated in high school?

The best parts of this book were those about his mother's life and about how she managed in the United States as a refugee. Berger's writing is more journalism than story telling. He's got all the facts, but none of his descriptions flare above the mundane. His mother's reminisences are far more artistic, and reveal more than the words on the page.

New York Times journalist Joseph Berger has created a masterful, evocative and moving account of the ever-present duality of his life: his identity as an acculturated American child of Holocaust survivors. This duality gives his account of his mother's life and his own evolution from a bewildered refugee child into an accomplished American a poignancy and power. "Displaced Persons" will stand as an important contribution, not only to our understanding of the long-term implications of being a survivor of the Holocaust, but of the unique burdens, pressures and responsibilities children of survivors inherit from their parents.

Berger is acutely aware of "the unmentioned sorrow that was the subtext to everything [his] parents said or did." Haunted by memories, devastated by enormous loss, handicapped by their arrival in America in their twenties and driven to provide security for their families, Holocaust survivors often perceive their children as replacements of beloved family members who perished and as repositories of hopes and dreams denied them. Worried about their children's safety, happiness and future, Berger muses about his parents' perspective, "What could I say about the dread and suspicion with which they encountered a world that had proven maliciously fickle?"

As the author emerges from childhood, he begins to chafe from his mother's protective, controlling instincts and desires to assert himself as his own man. Berger's wrenching analysis of his status becomes the overarching theme of his memoir. "I saw myself now an an American...I would no more be the timid refugee boy with one leg planted in the fearful shtetls of Poland, with a mother ever vigilant that no more perils come to the remnants of her kin." It is this unspoken loving tension between Joseph and his mother, Rachel, that gives "Persons" its dynamism.

Alternating between two narratives, one his own and the other the gripping account of his mother's survival, Berger deftly intermingles past and present. Aware of his distinct heritage, the young Berger recognizes others in his impoverished Manhattan neighborhood who share his background. "We knew one another, knew in our young bellies that our parents were the same dazed and damaged lot, had the same refugee awkwardness, the same whiff about them of marrow bones and carp." Now attempting to wrest coherence in America, Holocaust survivors tend to frustrate Berger with their problem solving techniques. Berger prefers the American way of standing up directly; survivors "were always scraping by on a willingness to do what was necessary to survive, even if that meant surrendering pride or principle."

Raw emotion floods "Displaced Persons." Rachel's symbolic mourning of a dead child in Warsaw at the onset of World War II serves to remind us that she has no "mental picture" of the actual murder of her family. Unspoken grief undulates throughout the memoir. Berger's stoic father Marcus scarcely articulates his unfathomable sense of loss; nearly half a century passes before he can utter the names of his sisters. Guilt ebbs and flows in Rachel's description of her survival. Anguished over refusing to bring non-kosher food to her hungry brother during World War II, she has never forgiven heself, calling it "the worst thing I ever did in my life."

Yet life surges and humor emerges in Berger's descriptions of growing up in New York City in the 1950s and 60s. With both parents working at dreary, tiring jobs, the author experiences a freedom of movement he admits he would never conceive of allowing his own daughter today. His descriptions of his initial exploration of Manhattan reveal the sheer joy of discovery, the incredible exuberance of youthful hopes and the awesome sense of possibilities Berger recognizes in his new home. Berger's frantic disposal of an illicit girlie magazine carries universal appeal; he becomes an American everyboy. His struggles with self-confidence, academic competition and sexual frustrations are those of not only his generation, but of those before and after.

Written with conviction and compassion, "Displaced Persons" is that kind of memoir that not only describes, but instructs. Through the author's descriptions of his resolute, stubborn and proud mother, survivors attain an identity beyond that of suffering and loss. His own life's story shapes our understanding of the purpose of our national experience and the sacredness of an American identity. Treating both the Holocuast in its past brutality and its implications for the second-generation children of survivors, the memoir blends sorrow and joy, heartache and hope, pain and redemption.

My father's story parallels Joseph Berger's in eerie ways...they were both at the Schlactensee DP Camp and the Landsberg-Am-Lech DP camp...Berger's mother's story of her youth could be my grandmother's, from an unpleasant step-mother to the flight East to Russia. My father was born during my grandparents' refuge in the USSR, and crossed illegally with his family into Poland after the war ended. I have always been close to my grandparents, but this book brought clarity and insight into topics they don't generally discuss...the duality that immigrant survivors (the displaced persons) felt between their new lives in America and the tragedy and loss left in Europe. When I look at my grandparents' happy faces at family occasions---graduations, weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties---I wonder if the events make them remember times similar back in Lithuania. Berger's story, beautifully written and researched, is a must-read.

Retired NYPD Det. Al Sheppard is too humble to say so...but he is a True Hero! E-Man is an excellent book...a riveting account of his years with the prestigious Emergency Services Unit of the NYPD. There is an old saying "When a Civilian needs help, they call the Police. When Cops need help...they call the Emergency Services Unit...ESU!" I've known Al for some 17 years...and although I knew a lot about his 20 years of service with NYPD, even I didn't know most of his (and his fellow officer's) courageous exploits...detailed in this book. Buy it, read it, but be warned...You will have trouble putting this book down! --- Dr. J. Hill, Professor of Criminal Justice & Retired NJ Street Cop.

I cant wait till part 2 of E man comes out and hopefully it will.....I have read books by Schmetterer before....that is why this one caught my eye....The Coffey Files....and also Tom Walker has a new book out no one should miss.....A no put down amazing book.....by the author of Ft Apache the Bronx....we are lucky to have authors such as al sheppard schmetter and walker....readers like myself who like REal stories...need them...

Al Sheppard has done an excellent job of capturing what life as an E-Man is about. We have a saying, "Know your job, do your job" and Sheppard is a fine example of that.

From
An active E-Man

E-Man is a powerful collection of vignettes that showcase the excitement and energy of life in the NYPD Emergency Services Unit. It captures the true flavor of life in the streets without the sterilized writing you so often see in memoirs written by professionals trying to capture the essence of another's experiences. Schmetterer, the co-author, is to be complemented for not falling into that trap and thereby allowing us to experience Al Sheppard's life as an E Man as if we were there.

This book is as gripping and as exciting as the other reviews say it is. The only problem is its atrocious writing style, which is so bad that it obstructs the understanding of the content of the book. I had to reread many passages several times to figure out what Sheppard really meant. Topics are disorganized, digressions are sudden and often without appropriate context, grammar mistakes and typos abound (i.e. it's a 9mm submachine gun, not ".9 mm"; one rappels with a rope, not "repels"), police jargon and New York specific idioms are not always explained, and so on. Clearly, nobody proofread the manuscript before publication.

On the other hand, the rambling, conversational feel of Sheppard's writing style serves in a way to authenticate the story. His adventures don't have the life sucked out of them by the blandness and distance that would be imposed by an active co-author. You really feel like you are talking to the man who lived the story, rather than hearing it second-hand.

And what a story it is! Sheppard makes it clear that NYPD ESU is an incredible organization. If you are at all interested in the workings of SWAT teams, rescue operations, or anything related, this book is, despite its flaws, a must-read.

Excellent book -- tons of great restaurants, classic ethnic recipes to make when you get home, indexes by ethnicitiy and locale make places easy to find, explanations and introductions are interesting and informative. If you live in or will visit Queens, this is a great book to have.

Excellent book, beautifully printed, with fascinating information on the foods of many different countries. As Queens County (in New York) has over 150 different ethnicities (the most ethnically diverse county in the US), this is a very welcome addition, and quite obviously a labor of love. Even though it originally came out in 2005, it is still worth purchasing for the great food descriptions of various cultures and the recipes included at the back of each chapter.

In a city that offers thousand of possibilities for food lovers, one needs a very talented and focused Suzanne Parker to separate the wheat from the chafe.
Ms. Parker did a great job in unveiling the cuisines of so many nationalities, and also included excellent recipes for those among us who dare to try.

Organized by ethnic cuisine, this book is a wonderful guide to the vast restaurant scene in Queens, which is underrepresented in both restaurant guides and the New York media. The author has included descriptions of the various cuisines and dishes, and also contact information and easy to follow directions for how to get to each restaurant. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves to eat and wants to get to know New York better.

This book is really quite something. It is jam packed with recipes, restaurant information, and unforgettable facts the likes of which I have never come across in any other cookbook or restaurant guide. This book fills a niche that has been empty far too long.

Growing up in Brooklyn certainly has it's own cachet, but I, a female, growing up in Massachusetts at the same time as E B, found so much that was familiar. The book is a wonderful treatise on growing up anywhere, but E B and his friends are so special that I didn't want to finish reading it. It was a splendid "read".

The book really took me back I grew up in East Flatbush in Bklyn in the 50's. It was a little before my time but I did remember alot of the places he talked about. I recommend this book to anyone it is fast reading,enjoyable and you just feel like your part of EB's many friends. I just emaied a few of my old friends an am passing the book on to one of them and telling the rest to go out an get a copy you won't be sorry. I wish there were more books like this out there I tell my children all the time about how great it was to grow up the 50's.

Gave a great deal of insight into the development of friendships and lifetime committments. "Bobby saves Jerry" and they remain friends for a lifetime. Just beautiful---Would love to see a sequel to this book. Interested in knowing the stories of the characters as they matured, including their successes, joys, heartaches and disappointments.

EB exceeded all of my expectations, and I am a very discriminating reader. It's a charming memoir of a very special time, and of a group of kids that everyone can see a part of themselves in. The backdrop of Flatbush, Brooklyn of the 40s and 50s adds a wonderful, nostalgic touch. How great to read something touching and good in today's times of turmoil and questionable ethics. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

I grew up in a small town, but I married a boy from Brooklyn who went to St. Vincent Ferrer. For 40+ years I have heard the stories of that life and those times, and it was a thrill to have it all documented is such a charming and factual manner. Bert Kemp put on paper what my husband has told me through the years.