New York Books

Eva Kollisch's memoir captures the heady rush of belonging to a revolutionary movement dedicated to creating paradise on earth. Her poignant descriptions of finding herself, her painful self-doubts, her searing disillusionment with her comrades, and her final liberation, brilliantly capture the history of many idealistic youth. In addition, Kollisch's horror at the opportunistic sexism rampant in a movement claiming to be founded on equality is particularly timely. Highly recommended.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends GIRL IN MOVEMENT as an elegant, articulate immersion into the life & times of a young Jewish refugee immigrant living in Staten Island & yearning for purpose & companionship, & finding it within the fiery & dedicated members of a small Trotskyist political group that met in downtown New York.

It's about the rhetoric, the manifesto & working the words of revolution & socialism & is a topnotch, A1, erudite memoir of coming of age during a time most everyone has forgotten -- the politics of Labor in America during WWII.

It's all about outsiders & hell-raisers, passionate prophets & ardent acolytes, & one strong young woman who put her money where her mouth was. GIRL IN MOVEMENT will satisfy & entrance.

Don't be put off that the publishers haven't figured out how to get the cover up on Amazon -- GIRL IN MOVEMENT is an excellent memoir not to be missed, about a fascinating time in the lives of one group of the Greatest Generation.

Amy Swerdlow's review leaves little to say about this wonderful book. Kollisch's simple and direct writing snuck up on me. Without knowing it was happening, by the time I got to the end of the book I was completely captivated by this young woman and her world. I had experienced it all and knew her well: her adolescent yearning for connection bumping up against her need to be true in her personal relationships to her vision of a better world; her place in the history of urban America and one passionate approach to the quest for justice for immigrants and workers.

This memoir of a young woman's courageous search for a theory and a practice of achieving world justice and personal liberation is a moving coming of age adventure story, as well as a delightful and profound contribution to radical and woman's history. The author is,in the late 1930s a teenage refugee from fascist Vienna, a lonely high school student living with her parents on provncial and conservative Staten Island. She discovers a radical socialist sect in her community that speaks to her utopian vision and her need for friendship. She eventualy beomes involved on the highest levels of "the movement, but finds that its fundamentalism violates her need for freedom of thought and life. Kollisch's touching and complex relations with her fellow workers in a Detroit truck factory where she is sent by "the Party" to recruit workers for the imminent socialist revolution,and her wry depictions of the debates, contradictions and cross purposes exhibited at party conventions as well as her observations on love, sex and gender, of which there are many, is narrated with a true ear for the humorous, the authentic and the meretricious. Amy Swerdlow, Sarah Lawrence College Emerita

THE GIRL IN THE FACE OF THE CLOCK glitters with intrige, captivating characters and the unique voice that sets Charles Mathes apart form other mystery novelists. I was hooked from page one, seduced by the engaging prose and irresistable players who people the shadowy world of the story. It's a page-turner, but my advice to the reader is to savor the words and garner the complete experience of this astonishing journey. In the author's competent hands, we travel with the heroine, Jane Sailor, from Cincinnati to New York, Seattle, and London as she attempts to unearth her family's secrets. Who was behind her artist father's tragic "accident" which put him in a coma eight years ago? And what is the connection, if any, to a family heirloom, a hideous ceramic clock? The asborbing story, seamlessly woven with irony, wit and cosmic insight, also includes a lesson about rare, valuable clocks that would make "The Antiques Roadshow" producers salivate with envy.

Excellent writing! This is the best "Girl" book yet.

While working at a Cincinnati repertory theater, dance choreographer Jane Sailor received the call she has been expecting ever since her father, a promising painter, fell down the stairs of his Manhattan loft into a coma. When Royamume Israel Hospital in Long Island finally called she expected to learn her beloved dad finally died. Instead, due to an accident, he has begun talking though still unconscious. Even if he is rambling, Jane must see him.

At the hospital, Jane realizes that her dad is mumbling something about his fall being not an accident. She takes a job with Perry Mannerback who once bought a painting that Jane's dad did. When her father finally succumbs under questionable circumstances, Jane concludes that the clock in the portrait Peter bought is the key to her father's death. Though alone and with no sleuthing experience, Jane is determined to learn the truth behind her father's fall and his death.

The latest stand-alone "Girl" novel, THE GIRL IN THE FACE OF THE CLOCK, is simply fantastic. The story line requires an acceptance stretch, but readers will gladly do so as the amateur sleuth invades the impenetrable art world. The characters including the comatose Aaron make the plot work as readers root for Jane to learn what really happened without suffering further harm and also make it with the "Boy" on the plane to London. Charles Mathes fourth "Girl" novel is an interesting tale.

Harriet Klausner

Just like it is hard to pick my favorite child, it is also hard to pick my favorite 'girl' book. Let me say, this book is fantastic! Not wanting to give away a possible spoiler, I must say Jane Sailor's job is most interesting and skills unique to this job are woven throughout the plot. Intrigue in the art & antique world, the mysterious death of Jane's artist father, puzzles and romance combine to make this a book you will read in one sitting. You will be charmed by a real Valentine too.

Charles Mathes has a magical way with words. He can also discuss serious issues in a deep & concise manner. For example, when Jane's father had a serious fall and went into a coma, Jane had come home from college and 'gone through the horrible process of American medicine in a state of panic and determination, barely able to . . . articulate the decisions that had to be made. Many nights she had just sat by his bedside weeping, overwhelmed by it all'.

Do read this wonderfully witty book!

I've never been to London, but after reading Charles Mathes' latest mystery, The Girl In The Face Of The Clock, I believe I could successfully navigate the city with my eyes closed. You see, the protagonist, Jane Sailor, takes a very important side trip to London, and while Mathes guides us through the twists and turns of characters and plots, he also gives us a guided tour of one of the world's great cities. In fact, one of the supporting characters lives in the neighborhood where Jack the Ripper became infamous. Having read all 4 of this author's works of fiction, this may be the best one yet (and they are all excellent). What distinguishes Mathes from many popular authors is his ability to create characters and objects that are simultaneously on the fringe of credibility and completely credible. Very few authors out there really accomplish this effectively, but it makes for very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable reading. I read this novel partly on a long train ride, partly on the long train ride back, and partly at home; by page 50 or so you won't want to put it down. The mystery is solvable, but you won't solve it. And that's the way it should be, as Mathes takes you the reader on a wild ride from New York, to Seattle, to London, and back to New York. How does the clock enter into things in this book? Read it and find out!

Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.

I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....

Fascinating and excellent read.

Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.

The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.

There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.

It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rocco Dormarunno
author of The Five Points

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--C. J. Singh

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

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

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

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

Dr. Denise Low, professor of creative writing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I really recommend it!

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

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

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