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Are you showing your out of town or out of country friends around NYC?...

Amaze them with this interactive keepsake.

it recommends truly New York places to see, things to eat and addresses to go...
all the while encouraging the user to keep a sketchy journal of their experiences. This book breathes and it is loaded with fun graphics and only gets better when scribbled and collaged while tooling around NYC.

Amongst the masses of sterile and status conscious books, it is such a relief to see this free spirited, heartfelt blend of chaos and opinion. Only a real NYer with true conviction would give you only ONE choice for the best of everything rather than a watered down list by neighborhood of popular top tens. Absolutely intimidating to use as a notebook as each page is a frameable piece of art. More people should let go this much. A true genius in our time is Laurie Rosenwald.

This is a great new idea, stylishly done.
A quick zip around the kind of shops, services,joints and dives that you would only know about if you lived there.
It's like a cheeky pal on the inside.

With room for notes!

I simply love this book. It's a witty mix of ideas, illustrations, photos, and typography. It's unconventional and playful, and every page is a creative and refreshing experience.

A fab guide for fab folk - experience the real NYC and get ahead of the pack. Get your kicks in all the cool spots and get the low-down from a true NY'er. A must-have!

This map was the best thing we took with us on our week-long vacation to New York. Small and pocketable, we could easily stow the map and conveniently pull it out and find our bearings without having to look too much like tourists. The map shows not only streets but theaters, shopping, tourist attractions etc.
However, the one thing the map lacks (and why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5) is that the subway stops are shown on a separate, smaller map, and it was quite challenging trying to overlap where we were on one map and where a stop was located on the other map--we certainly got our exercise circling a few extra blocks here and there! Also, by the end of the week, the map was showing some signs of wear and tear: one of the perforated folds ripped, and sometimes I'd struggle to get the map to fold back up to its flat size. Regardless, I would definitely recommend this map to anyone headed for New York. And, if you plan on traveling by subway, ask for one of the free (and very large and in-depth) subway maps from any subway station.

A friend got this map for me when I went to New York for the first time and it proved to be invaluable. I studied it before I left on my trip to get an idea of the layout of the land. It was easy to read, folded neatly on it's own, fit in my coat pocket, and it was easy to reference it without having to call attention to myself as a "tourist". The subway map was indispensible at helping me navigate my way around town and it even shows you where the post office and public markets are around town.
This company makes the same types of maps for other major US and European cities so I'm investing in a few before my next trip abroad.

Hi,

I live in NY now. I am about to buy another 6 of these as our visitors keep going home with them because they forget they have them in their pockets! Simply the best maps of NY - I have tried about 5 other types.

These are great, small and detailed

This is surely the best map you could have of Manhattan. I will not go without mine. In fact, I have lost mine several times and always buy a new one before I go. This one has a wonderful layout of the subway system too. But I have used these popout maps in other cities as well. They are so small, convenient, and they show important landmarks/monuments and also hotels. I just bought five different popouts for my trip to Europe this coming summer. I'm sure they are going to be great!

The most annoying thing about maps is having to refold them, and heaven forbid they make you look like a tourist. With the Popout map series, the map is small enough to fit in your pocket and when you open it, it expands on it's own and folds back when you close it. Anytime I go to any major city I've never been to before, I buy a popout map before embarking. Can't say enough about them, just a darn good map! And as if that wasn't enough, Rand Mcnally goes on step further by offering a popout map with a compass and pen on the Deluxe Version.

Born and raised in New York, this song always pulled on my heartstrings. Since Billy Joel, a master story teller, has put this famous song into print for kids, it has even more special meaning. The illustrations are fantastic, from the details of the lights of Times Square to the majesty of the Empire State Builiding, there is barely a corner of the city that is not captured in a colorful, realistic fashion. The pages are fun to look at (the Broadway theatres boast variations of the actual shows) and any native will appreciate the subtle story each page tells. This is great book to introduce a child to New York City, and a special keepsake for grown ups, whether residents or visitors here.

I was a little disappointed at first in the book only because I thought there would be more of a story of someone in New York City with the song as a basis. Error on my part since the book was the "song". However, my niece age 5 whom the book was for was delighted and loved it. Each picture I read and described to her (I must admit she did a couple of twirls to the CD playing) was enjoying it and found all the pictures very descripitive with the song. As a New Yorker myself I was able to explain it with a little story of her "Aunt Re Re" in the Big Apple who has over the years been to all those illustrated sites.

If you like Billy Joel, you will like this book/CD. I am a big fan of Billy Joel's and have always wanted to visit New York. The book provides some great scenes of New York with labeling of all the featured sites. Makes me want to visit New York even more. It's a little goofy that a little dog is featured on all the pages, but small enough that you can ignore it and silly enough that you can enjoy it. It is a book that my two toddler children and I enjoy every day. They love the colorful pictures, and I love Billy Joel's bluesy, soulful music.

A cd single of the song accompanies musician Billy Joe's book of the same name New York State Of Mind, which receives illustration by Izak and imparts a passion for New York, from the Empire state Building to Central Park. From movie stars to newspapers and ice skating, New York State Of Mind imparts a fun and simple appreciation for the city's many offerings.

"New York State of Mind" has always been one of Billy Joel's most passionately-performed pieces. When witnessed live and in person, the song is a glowing tribute to all East Coasters and specifically to New Yorkers, from one of their own. But even the recording on the Turnstiles album is powerful. It pays homage to the concept of "home."

Joel's lyrics transfer nicely onto the pages of this picture book. The main characters, two small dogs, may remind some folks of the pair from "The Lady and the Tramp," another city story. Izak's illustrations portray the metropolis in fall or early winter, with leaves on the ground and ice skaters at Wollman Rink. Each double-page spread visits a specific location in the city, and each are identified by name. Look closely to find the irony in the signage. Theater-goers are standing in line to see "Movin' Out!" on Broadway. And the ice rink banner reads TROMP instead of TRUMP. Play the accompanying CD (containing the Turnstiles version of the song) while reading the captions, and you'll hear the soulful strains of the saxophone just as a sax player appears on the page. A captivating new book for children and adult fans of NYC and/or Billy Joel, particularly poignant in these post-9/11 days.

People--especially the young--who are headed for the first time to the feast New York provides will appreciate the wit and wisdom of David Carroll, 'one time lad, now a druid sage.' He knows the menu! For those who have already partaken of New York, Carroll's poetry is a feast in itself. Marilou Awiakta

People--especially the young--who are headed for the first time to the feast New York provides will appreciate the wit and wisdom of David Carroll, 'one time lad, now a druid sage.' He knows the menu! For those who have already partaken of New York, Carroll's poetry is a feast in itself. Marilou Awiakta

New York: A Feast of Memories weaves a poignant path of poems highlighting the wondrous 20th Century history of the "Big Apple". H. Wm. Card, Jr.

David D. Carroll has captured with sensitivity, insight, and humor the exuberance of a New York of yesterday . E. Blagbrough

A delightful, nostalgic, rollicking remembrance of the wonders of New York, by one who knows it well. In his unique, masterful style of writing, and amazing powers of memory, David Donald Carroll has given us not only unforgettable pictures of New York but also of this remarkable nation. The book is vintage Americana at its best. Dr. J. Moreland

This book was first published in 1969, but remains particularly topical today, in the world of hedge funds and private equity pools. It's all there-- the stock manipulation, the insider trading, the coordinated bear raids and bull pools, the senseless leverage, the lack of regulatory controls, the laissaiz faire Republican administrations, a terrorist attack, the boundless greed and the ruined reputations. Only, it's the 1920's and '30's. History repeats itself. Brooks' account is meticulously researched and the writing flows very easily. Can you believe a corner in the stock of the Stutz Bearcat Company? It happened with ruinous results for everyone involved.I give it to friends in the financial world for their education and amusement, and also as a cautionary tale.

Times may change, but human nature does not. "Once in Golconda" is a play-by-play of the worst financial disaster ever to befall the U.S.-- at least until now. Yet, unfortunately so many of its lessons have faded. Eighty years may have passed since the events described in it took place, but this book reads like living history of the most timely sort-- it covers the first years of the roaring twenties to the last years of the groaning thirties-- and has so many parallels to what's going right now that it's downright eerie.

There are superficial differences of course, we have different characters (They: Charles E. Mitchell, Albert Wiggin, et al-- We: Stanley O'Neal, Richard Fuld, et al.), and we have, of course, developed far more sophisticated ways of circumventing fair standards, decent practices, and common sense. But at their core the greed, the recklessness, and the hubris of then versus now is as similar as one malignant strain of virus to another.
Fast-money, fear; booms, busts; glory, and disgrace are all part of the story line, and believe me it is one that will have you turning pages as fast as any Grisham thriller, while shaking your head that so many of its lessons about free markets, easy credit, and wishful thinking have either been forgotten or forsaken.
After reading John Brooks's brilliant expose, surely no historically knowledgeable Fed head would feed speculation by keeping interest rates recklessly low as Benjamin Strong did in the twenties; or any Congress and President be complicit with or cowed into watering down or repealing hard-won safeguards (Glass Steagall eraser Phil Gramm, anyone...?) by special interests. Just as today, "Once in Golconda" reports industry leaders celebrating economic growth while railing against the onerous, anti-capitalist evils of transparency, oversight, and "anti-competitive" regulation-- all while the bubble they were blowing kept expanding. Then, once it popped, many of those same leaders scurried off, carpetbags bulging with slippery loot, leaving both the markets and the economy shattered.
Everyone should read this book. Maybe then, we could avoid the financial devastation of a casino capitalism that demands socialist-style bailouts. Maybe then people would demand accountability from management, and clarity on how their hard earned retirement funds are being bet, borrowed, and blown. Fat chance.
History is indeed just variations on a theme and "Once in Golconda" shows us how easily we are led not only to march to the same drummer, but, before we know it, right off the same old cliff.

This book brings the Depression to life. The writing is erudite and the author's decision to tell the story through the life of one individual makes it personal, more than a "dry" history. A time that should not be forgotten, a story that should not be forgotten.

The book really placed you back in that era. The information was like spying on the "old guards" of Wall Street. This book was really a well written and it is hard to believe it was written in 1969. I could not believe how much George Whitney bailed out his brother Richard and how others at the Morgan firm went along with it...I guess old money is generally foolish! Great Book!

Once in Golconda is a well-written financial history book. The setting is 1920s and 30s Wall Street. The drama centers around Richard Whitney, who falls from grace like the hero in a Greek tragedy. During the '29 crash, Whitney himself (he was president of the NYSE at the time) strode onto the floor of the exchange and bought U.S. Steel (and other blue chips) to temporarily halt the slide. In the aftermath, Whitney literally stole from widows and orphans and was sent to prison. An excellent example of a financial history book that is not dry and unreadable.

I read this book due to my interest in Hoffman and Swinburne Islands. I have noticed them for years during my walks on the South Beach boardwalk in Staten Island, and I wanted to find out more about them. This book is probably one of the few books to actually have an entire chapter devoted to these two islands. But I got more than I bargained for by reading this book because I learned a lot about many other islands of NYC. I have lived in NYC my entire life (which means 35 years) and this book made me feel like a total stranger to my home state. But I mean that as a compliment to the book, because I now have an interest in visiting the islands mentioned in the book in order to continue to enhance the knowledge that the book gave me. My main criticism is the lack of photos. For example, the chapter on Hoffman and Swinburne has one photo, and this photo merely shows two shacks sitting on a tiny part of an island. The photo doesn't explain that the shacks are on Swinburne, and there is not one photo of Hoffman at all. All chapters are like this. It's hard to appreciate the layout/size of the islands without photos. Other than that, I would recommend this book to readers.

NOTE: This is not a review. We are the book's authors and are writing in response to the careless and misleading comments made by reviewer "erikbaard."

"erikbaard" seems to think we should have written a narrowly focused book catering to his personal interest as a kayaker, describing such minutiae as seagull eggs. But our book is intended as a history and guide book, an approach we believed would entertain, intrigue and inform a far broader audience. So while we did detail the natural beauty-from the garnet and feldspar on Twin Islands to the towering hickory trees of Hunter Island--we gave far greater focus to the tales of colorful people (Nellie Bly and Mae West) and momentous events (the General Slocum fire and the building of the Statue of Liberty) as well as the marvelous attractions that those islands accessible to the public hold.

"erikbaard" also attacks us for a "self-congratulatory" tone because we dubbed a handful of islands as being "forgotten." How can they be forgotten, he asks, if he and other kayakers know of them. While kayaking is growing in popularity in New York, it's a safe bet that a small percentage of the 7 million New Yorkers are out there paddling. And having spoken with thousands of New Yorkers about the islands since this book was first published in 1996 we are equally certain that the vast majority of people coming to this book know little or nothing about most of these islands, even those that we didn't call "Forgotten"-islands like North Brother Island or Swinburne Island. We are not self-congratulatory, simply enthusiastic about sharing all we learned in our research.
(But "Erikbaard" is quite self-congratulatory, and mistakenly so. He boasts several times about visiting these islands in his kayak. However, many of these islands-including Swinburne Island, which he mentions-are part of the Harbor Heron Project and if he visits without permission he may be doing irreversible damage to an important bird refuge through his adventurism.)

In addition, he implies that we didn't visit the islands and instead relied on interviews with historians. He also criticizes our tone toward working class residents as condescending. We did visit the islands-we even watched them bury the dead in the Potter's Field on Hart Island and Sharon went into the jails at Rikers Island-and did several years worth of historical research but we also talked to ordinary citizens, residents of the islands or people whose lives were touched by them, like Adella Wotherspoon, the last survivor of the General Slocum disaster. And if you ask them-as we have-- they will say not that the tone is condescending but that we accurately captured life on their islands in a way that few other journalists ever have.

The reviewer also condemns us as squeamish and too liberal because we didn't mention islets-barely more than rocks, actually-that had the word Negro in them. In point of fact, those islets don't exist anymore and we make passing mention of just five of the many such islets that once existed there, picking just a few of the most colorful names like "Bald Headed Billy" and "Bread and Cheese." It seems that "erikbaard" brings this point up solely to glorify a short article he once wrote and to relive his glory days when he got to interview a city parks commissioner.

Then comes a blatant inaccuracy when the reviewer accuses us of ignoring Native Americans. In fact, they are mentioned throughout the book, where appropriate-however, the reality is that they rarely lived on these islands and used them only occasionally so there is minimal recorded history related to them. If he was not so intent on trashing our book, however, he would have noted our chapter on Bergen and Mill Islands that delves into the Canarsie Indians, the wampum they produced and how they defended themselves from the Mohawks and later traded with the settlers.

All in all, we were quite dismayed by the combative approach of this reviewer. If you are interested in a book on kayaking around New York, then maybe he will write one for you. In the meantime, if you want stories about Typhoid Mary, the invention of the hot dog at Coney Island, the inspiring presence of herons and egrets in New York, and the development of the tight-knit community of Broad Channel, then we hope you take some time to explore "The Other Islands of New York City."

Whenever we take guests on a cruise around NYC I am the designated tour guide who points out all the sights. People are always amazed by all the little known stories about the history of the city as viewed from the water that I can relate to them. Many of them I gleaned from this wonderful book. After you read this book, a ferry or circle line ride will be a totally new experience.

fast, great

As a native New Yorker, I heard of many islands that occupied the waters that surround the five boroughs of the city. As I flew back into LaGuardia and JFK airports I even began to notice them from above. Obtaining information about these islands was very difficult, even from local libraries, and therefore when I found this book at a local bookstore, I was delighted that someone came up with the idea of publishing such a book.

From Roosevelt Island to Cuban Ledge, the authors give a very thorough and well researched book on the many islands inhabiting the New York archipelago. Many islands which were once islands, but have long since been connected to the boroughs by artificial landfills are also covered here (e.g. Coney Island-Brooklyn, Hunter Island-Bronx, Battery Park area-Manhattan, etc..) are also covered here.

If you live in the city or plan on visiting, please make sure to pick up a copy of this guide, and make sure to visit the many hidden treasures found in this city.It makes an excellent companion book while aboard a plane or even in the subway.

This small novel set in Austria after WWI portrays with vivid poignancy the stifling impact of poverty and the bitter alienation engendered by new wealth as the two face each other amidst the ashes of a great empire's destruction. Written with such feeling that it almost resembles a fairy tale but one with out color, constructed all in shadows of gray on gray.

The setting is economically depressed post World War I Austria, which is a shadow of its former glory as the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Christine Hoflehner is the "post office girl" who lives a crushingly routine existence managing a post office and nursing her ailing mother in the rural wine-growing region of Austria. Although her life is mundane, it is settled, and Christine doesn't really question the greyness of small village conformity and poverty.

Her life changes dramatically when she is invited by an American aunt to a luxury hotel in the Egadine region of Switzerland. She is soon caught up in the swirl of post WWI partying and decadence amongst the European idle rich, and she quickly transforms (with the aid of her aunt's wardrobe) from shy, retiring provincial to elegant and seemingly sophisticated "Christine van Boolen."

Her dizzying ascendance to toast of the party is matched by a crashing fall to laughingstock. She leaves the hotel early, destroyed in the knowledge that she has been exposed to an opulent side of life that she will never again realize.

The second half of the book covers Christine's relationship with Ferdinand, a completely hollowed-out and cynical war veteran. The two form a relationship not forged in love but rather in mutual despair. The bleakness of their lives bonds them, and they ultimately craft a desperate plan to escape the torture of their daily struggles.

This wonderful book reminds me of Thomas Hardy's best works, since it deals so eloquently with the drabness of rural life and individuals cast adrift in a seemingly random and cruel world. However, unlike most of Hardy's novels, the ending is surprisingly original and refreshing with an opportunity (however slight) for redemption.

An absorbing story, beautifully written; it captures the bleakness of life in Austria between the wars and depicts the soul of central europeans in a sharp and telling way.

. . . and in the lowest deep a lower deep,
Still threatening to devour me, opens wide,
To which the hel l I suffer seems a heaven."
John Milton, Paradise Lost

There are some books that you can finish, put back down on the table and five-minutes later have it virtually erased from your consciousness. Stefan Zweig's "The Post-Office Girl" stayed with me long after I put the book down. It is a brilliantly crafted book that looks at the mind-boggling despair that can crush the soul out of just about anyone. What makes the book memorable is the fact that Zweig does not write with an overwhelming appeal to pathos. No, instead, Zweig is direct and his narrative manages to convey this sense of despair without drowning the reader in rhetorical devices aimed at soliciting sympathy for his characters.

The setting is post World War I Austria in the 1920s. The Austro-Hungarian empire has been dismantled after the Treaty of Versailles and Austria, like her ally Germany, is suffering the `economic consequences of the peace'. The Post-Office Girl is Christine Hoflehner. At the war's outset, Christine and her family enjoyed a comfortable middle-class existence in Vienna. But the war and the economic suffering brought on by the hyper-inflation of the 1920s has booted Christine out of Vienna and her middle class life. She and her mother live at the poverty level in a one-room bed-sitter in a village two hours from Vienna. Christine works as a low-ranking postal official in the town's post office. As the story opens she's in her 20s and merely going through the motions. But her robot-like existence is shattered when she receives a telegram (a big event) from an aunt, her mother's sister, who left Austria before the war and married a rich American businessman. They invite Christine to spend a holiday with them in a Swiss mountain resort. Christine goes grudgingly but is astonished at the life she is exposed too. Her aunt buys her beautiful clothes, feeds her well and all of a sudden Christine is exposed to a life she never knew existed. She takes to it immediately. She relishes her new life and cherishes every minute of it. But no sooner has she found a new life than she is tossed back into the old one. Any despair Christine may have felt before her Swiss trip is now magnified by the fact that she has actually seen how different life can be. She arrives at what she thought was the lowest deep only to discover that there are depths of despair yet to go.

It is at this point that she finds Ferdinand on a day trip to Vienna. For Ferdinand life has been, if anything, more unkind to him than to Christine. Their meeting and their developing relationship takes us through the second half of the book. They know they are soul mates but their existence is such that they each know that love (if you can call their fumbling attempts at personal physical and social intimacy love) is not nearly enough to be of any help to them at all. They face the question posed by Milton in the heading of this review - which way shall they fly? Zweig's resolution is, in this context, perfect.

What Zweig has done so well in my opinion is to use Christine and Ferdinand as a masterful vehicle for looking at Austrian (and Europe generally) society in the aftermath of the Great War. Zweig's characters are well crafted and felt very realistically drawn to me. They were absorbing, warts and all. "The Post-Office Girl" was well worth reading and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in reading a book that lingers with you after you are done. L. Fleisig

I only review a fraction of the number of books I read, so I don't give this compliment lightly.

Summary, no spoilers:

Let me start off by saying that it is difficult to give a good review of this book without slight spoilers - but I will do my best and try to still give a flavor of what makes this such a memorable read.

This *gorgeously* written novel starts off with a brilliant description of a desolate country post office in Austria, in 1926. Working in this depressing bureaucratic hell, is a 28 year old woman named Christine, who has been beaten down by poverty, dullness and tedium in her life.

Christine had a much different childhood; her family had substantial means and lived comfortably, and she grew up a happy and content child. But all changed with the Great War, and they, like so many other Europeans, lost everything. All that remains to Christine is her job with the post office, and taking care of her sick mother in a depressing and decrepit attic room.

She is devoid of hope, and that is part of the key to this fantastic story.

While toiling at the post office, Christine gets a telegraph message from her aunt in America - a woman she's never met. The wealthy aunt offers her a vacation at an expensive and elegant Alpine resort. Christine immediately runs to her mother to find out if this is real, and her mother explains that it is, and that her sister (the aunt) wanted her to go, but that she couldn't because she couldn't travel and that she should take Christine.

Christine, utterly flummoxed by the thought of any change in the dull routine of her life, packs her small straw suitcase, and takes a train to meet her aunt.

The description of Christine's arrival at the hotel are priceless and brilliant. Christine is overwhelmed by the beauty and by the elegance of everything, and she is like Cinderella at the ball. Her aunt (and uncle) are good to her, and dress her in beautiful clothing and have her hair cut in the latest elegant fashion, and have her face made-up. The scene reminded me of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz movie - being primped and taken care of from every angle.

Christine is so excited, and so astounded at her ability to feel anything but sadness and tedium, that she cannot sleep for the first night. She feels like her eyes have been opened to the beauty of the world, and she wants to take it all in.

This is all from Part One, of this two part novel. If you want absolutely no spoilers, don't read on (and don't read the back cover of the novel) - although I recommend that you do and that it won't take away from your enjoyment of this novel. For me, knowing a little bit in advance only enhanced my reading experience.

Part Two is a far different story, although it takes place immediately afterwards. Christine, like Cinderella, has been returned to the hovel, but now it all becomes unbearable because she has experienced and seen the other side.

Christine befriends a man named Ferdinand, a bitter war veteran, who shares her world-view and despondency. They try to see each other and have a relationship, but this is not easy in post-war Austria, when one doesn't have any money or means. But they make plans...

There are so many things to love about this book - number one being that it's just so beautifully written. There are paragraphs that I read over and over again, just because of Zweig's ability to string words together to get across a feeling or an idea or a description are just so perfect. And yet this is a translation, to boot! It makes me want to learn German, just so I could read this in its native language.

Secondly, this is an astute novel about what it's like to live without hope, and what happens when someone who has nothing is given this chance to see what the good life is like, and then have it taken away from them. Is it better not to have been given this chance at all?

Needless to say, this novel is highly recommended. I also highly recommend another NYRB Classic release, "Beware of Pity", Zweig's first novel released under this label. He is fast becoming my favorite author, and I hope that all of his books and stories become available in English. Sadly, he and his wife committed suicide in 1942 in Brazil, haunted by what was happening in his native Austria and Germany.

The book is the account of the anarchist Alexander's Berkman's experiences in prison after his botched attempt to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the monster who "legally" slaughtered workers during the Homestead strike of 1892. Although Berkman never abandons his anarchist principles, he does soften his moral repugnance for criminals whose crimes were not motivated by political or humanitarian aims. If anything his friendships with prisoners deepen his anarchist insights about how exploitation and poverty are the principal causes of criminal behavior. Like his lover Emma Goldman, he spends his prison years advocating for the needs of his fellow inmates, often being punished for his advocacy. Berkman details the brutality, graft and corruption of the prison establishment.

Anticipating Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Berkman shows that those who view their punishment as a part of a larger purpose are best equipped to survive the inhuman treatment and conditions of prison life. The book is not all seriousness, however. It often has lighter moments, as when Berkman describes the quixotic attempt by his friends to tunnel into the prison to free him. Berkman's sub rosa argument, made to Goldman, that Leon Czologosz's assassination of President McKinley lacked redeeming social value, unlike his (Berkman's) attempt to assassinate Frick, while though interesting fails to be convincing. Those interested in the relationship of these remarkable people (Goldman and Berkman) will especially want to read that section.

The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well. It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting.

In 1892, Alexander Berkman burst into the office of Henry Frick, an overseer at Carnegie's steelworks, and attempted to gun him down to foment a revolutionary uprising. Frick survived. Berkman went to jail. Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is Berkman's account, not only of the revolutionary ardor which drove him to assault Frick, but also of the horrors of incarceration and the transformation of his own thinking while behind bars.

We get plenty of revolutionary and anarchist theory from Berkman. He opens a door into the thoughts and feelings of people struggling for economic and social justice 100 years ago. More than that, he opens a door into the mindset of a fanatic, one which may help us understand the motivations of those who flew their planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001:

"Could anything be nobler than to die for a grand, a sublime Cause? Why, the very life of a true revolutionist has no other purpose, no significance whatever, save to sacrifice it on the altar of the beloved People." (p. 12)

"My own individuality is entirely in the background; aye, I am not conscious of any personality in matters pertaining to the Cause. I am simply a revolutionist; a terrorist by conviction, an instrument for furthering the cause of humanity." (p. 13)

"True, the Cause often calls upon the revolutionist to commit an unpleasant act; but it is the test of a true revolutionist-nay, more, his pride-to sacrifice all merely human feeling at the call of the People's Cause." (p. 12)

Berkman, the purist, disdains his fellow prisoners. He sees himself as better than they are, a Servant of Humanity, not a petty criminal, a predator on the poor. But, life in prison, although it does not shake his revolutionary and anarchist convictions, does bring him down from his ivory tower. Berkman begins to see that:

"The individual, in certain cases, is of more direct and immediate consequence than humanity. What is the latter but the aggregate of individual existences-and shall these, the best of them, forever be sacrificed for the metaphysical collectivity?" (p. 403)

His revolutionary understanding also shifts. He begins to differentiate between the autocratic despotism of Europe and the despotism of republican institutions:

"The despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on the popular delusion of self-government and independence. That is the subtle source of democratic tyranny, and, as such, it cannot be reached with a bullet. In modern capitalism, exploitation rather than oppression is the real enemy of the people ... the battle is to be waged in the economic rather than the political field." (p. 424)

This is not, however, a political manifesto (for that, one can read Berkman's ABCs of Anarchism). Berkman reveals his inner processes during fourteen years of incarceration. We discover, not only the horrors and corruption of the prison system, but also wander intimately through Berkman's mind. We visit his childhood, soften at unexpected gentlenesses behind bars, and begin to appreciate something as simple as the sunrise.

Although Berkman did not write the memoir until after he left prison, it has a sense of surreal immediacy. He wrote in the present tense, but that alone does not account for the way his text grips, and drags the reader into the maelstrom of his experience. We run with him through childhood memories, daily brutality, fantasies of escape and suicide, and the ideals that keep him sane. His longing for Emma Goldman shines through the text. He enthrones her almost as the guardian of his sanity through the years. Little can compare with the poignancy of his fantasy of mailing himself to his beloved Emma, escaping prison and finding himself with her again. (p. 135-137)

Five stars. Absolutely brilliant work, as relevant today as it was nearly 100 years ago. In her autobiography, Living my Life, Emma Goldman recounted how Berkman saved his sanity and his life by writing this memoir. The deep introspection, the flights of fancy, the accounting of prison life-all deeply illumine the best and the worst of human nature. This book is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand the fanatical, terrorist mindset, for Berkman describes that aptly. Far more importantly, he shares the experience of survival and transformation. He, who entered prison a fanatic, left those iron gates more committed than ever to his cause, but no longer a fanatic. His story tells of graduating from terrorist to humanist, from monomaniacal fanatic to a deeply committed human being. If you read nothing else this year, read this book.

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Everyone should read this book. It was written at the begining of the 19th century, but everything is still important today. I ordered this book for a friend in prison and he loved it, and passed it around to other prisoners. If you know anyone in jail or prison, please send them this book. It was my husband's favorite book before he was killed on a freight train. It's very well written and comes highly recommended.

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Berkman, as you probably know, tried to kill Henry Frick in an ill fated (and stupid) solidarity action with a group of strikers. He went to jail for it, and his immature poltics underwent an amazing transistion.

But instead of coming out of jail reformed, he came out with a more complex sense of who he was and what he had to do and returned immediately to his poltical work. Berkman's writing style changes as he changes as a person, starting out ultra doctrinare and ending up a more well rounded and likeable human being. Highly recommened, even if you aren't interested in the politics.

"Is there anything higher in life than to be a true revolutionist...?" - From Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

This is an incredibly moving and detailed account of an activist's experiences in early industrial America. As an Anarchist, Alexander Berkman recounts his observations of the era's struggle for decent living standards and fair treatment from fat cat industrialists. In prison for attempted assasination of a steel magnate who was responsible for firing and killing striking steel workers, Berkman eloquently describes his reasons for acting on behalf of the working poor and exploited. His experiences in prison are gut wrenching and very human. Not much fluffy language - very straighforward observations, which are emotionally piercing in their social significance and human truth. An exceptional read for anyone interested in the American history that is usually left out of school text books. Berkman's experiences are painful but very motivating and inspiring as they illustrate human love, the will to survive and continue to work for an ideal under the most horrendous conditions. This book is an extraordinary powerful testament to human goodness and strength.

If you're in a relationship...read this book. If you're looking for a relationship...read this book. Rich Gilmore was on point with this one. There has to be a sequel. A Star Is Born!

Never heard of Rich Gilmore, but after reading this book...hehas earned another fan!

Great character development, great plot, all with a greater message... This book was unusually empowering for a sexy urban novel. I look forward to more Rich Gilmore novels...I'm officially a FAN!!! I hope he keeps it up

The cover does the book no justice. The book was deep and full of substance. I read it cover to cover in one day. Rich gets 5 Stars for this one. I can't wait for the sequel or movie

Rich Gilmore is the next biggest thing. I love his books, especially this one. I learned all about the "lust game" from reading. A MUST READ!