New York Books

"A sleep-looking pocket-sized black book of maps, charts, listings and commentary that's apparently too sleek-looking for out of towners (but certainly useful for them), this user's guide in Manhattan covers the borough by neighborhood (even, thankfully, the ones above 110th Street) and points out such useful information as the locations of movie theaters, video-rental places, ATMs, and liquor stores."

--TIME OUT NY Nov 30-Dec 7, 2000

"Every year I come upon a new travel or city guide concept. NFT is one of the best and elegantly thought out sourcebook ideas--each designed in a format suitable for the city covered--listing major city resources for people who live there (where to get bagels or find a gas station in any NYC neighborhood, for instance) with great maps. So far they have Manhattan and Los Angeles. DC, San Francisco, and Boston are next."

--Eugene Schwartz, from FORWARD THIS WEEK April 3, 2002

"Not For Tourists Guide to Manhattan is nothing less than a sleekly designed, full-color guide to everything from the lighting schedule of the Empire State Building to a map of Central Park, to Web addresses and phone numbers for ferry services, to full breakdowns on the 10 branches of the Long Island Railroad (with a helpful note about the LIRR's policy on pets).

'Manhattan is an enormous city, but it's really like 2 separate cities,' explains [NFTs] Rob Tallia... 'If you go out of the neighborhood that you know, it's like going to another city.'

Is the book the next Zagat Survey...? It's certainly the goal..."

Michelle Leder, Crain's New York Business (March 5-11, 2001)

"Wouldn't it be great to be able to visit a city and get around like it's your own hometown? Well, now you can--in New York and L.A., no less. The 2002 Not For Tourists Guide to Manhattan and Not For Tourists Guide to Los Angeles are little black books that are the keys to these cities. The books provide information that is vital to anyone new to the city, and, as the titles suggest, are great toos for native dwellers as well.

"The Not For Tourists series is a new kind of guidebook. It combines the graphic functionality of street and subway maps with user-friendly information, like restaurant listings, shops, and sports arenas. The neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide lists pharmacies, gas stations, post offices, ATMs--the kinds of things you need to know to make the most of the cities."

--TRAVEL HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

"How often do you find yourself sitting in your hotel room flipping through the local restaurant guide, newspaper, yellow pages and the hotel's complimentary visitor guide? If the answer is always, then it's time to pick up the latest edition of the 2002 Not For Tourists guide to Manhattan or Los Angeles--a complete information-packed city guidebook, helping you navigate these two fascinating cities in no time.

"Partners Jane Pirone and Rob Tallia launched Not For Tourists in 2000--breaking the mold of ordinary city guidebooks--including essential information to spend your time most efficiently.

"Whether you are a resident or just traveling through, Not For Tourists offers readers up-to-date information on each neighborhood in Manhattan and Los Angeles, including boroughs. In addition to detailed neighborhood maps, the books feature subway and bus information, as well as essentials such as locations for post offices, 24-hour pharmacies, landmarks and even popular bagel stores.

"Facts about New York City including the Empire State Building's lighting schedule, airport information and maps, rail information, specific ATM machine locators, hotels and FedEx locations pack the 110-page guidebook. There's also a nifty subway pull-out map, so you can maneuver the city's underground system with no problem."

--Jaclyn Perlstein, BUSINESS TRAVELER Jan 2002

Book arrived on time in excellent condition. 100% satisfied with everything and will buy a couple more books as Christmas gifts.

For this former resident (Corona and Laurelton), Old Queens presented an engrossing, illuminating, and refreshing visual window on the area of New York that has received too little historical attention. Arranged by community, the book provides concise, individual historical narratives to go with a set of photographs of people and places and old maps that can only be called amazing. Indeed, the treasures of this book, for my taste, are the many photos from the era before the construction of the subway lines that transformed rural Queens into megalopolis. Many of the area photos (structures from the 1939 World's Fair, for example) will no doubt be familiar to many. What surprises, however, are photos such as the two page spread of an untamed, deserted pre-World's Fair Flushing Meadow, a lush meadow creased by the winding Flushing River, itself crossed by the vanished Strong's Causeway that carried Corona Avenue traffic across the soggy marsh to Lawrence Street in Flushing. Equally compelling are photos of the muddy looking thoroughly rural roads of Queens Boulevard and Merrick Road (in Springfield) from the early 20th century complete with isolated farm buildings. Perhaps the most symbolic photo, however, is the panoramic photo showing a spanking new IRT Flushing Line elevated tracks slanting across a nearly-vacant 1915 Sunnyside landscape that looks more like Ohio than New York City. This book helps the reader see Queens as it existed before the housing explosion. It also makes one wonder what might have been. In effect, Old Queens shows what was lost to all-too-rapid, unplanned suburbanization left entirely in the greedy hands of the marketplace. Lack of urban planning and nonexistent historic preservation is the unspoken theme that resonates often in this book. Who wouldn't want to live in one of those handsome, tree-shaded, Victorian homes on the shady, Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Jamaica, or Elmhurst? The question is academic, since none of these homes survived the Queens building boom of the early 20th century. Suppose Robert Moses had actually carried through plans to turn the Corona Dump/Flushing Meadow into an honest-to-goodness park with kinds of recreational facilities he lavished on his Long Island state parks? Suppose the city fathers (and local politicians) had taken a more custodial role and protected Jamaica Bay and it surrounding marshlands from pollution for descendants of the gentlemen angler shown pulling his crabpot out of a quiet channel in Meadowmere? While this reader would have liked to view a few photos from vanished communities, such as Ramblersville (Ozone Park), Black Stump (Fresh Meadows), or White Pot (Forest Hills), he believes that Seyfried and Asadorian have assembled a fascinating book that appears destined for the coffee table hall of fame, that is, if rabid readers don't tear it to shreds, first.

Queens usually takes third place to Manhattan and Brooklyn on NYC bookshelfs but this terrific photo collection will go a long way to remedy that. There's an enlightening introduction about the borough and wonderful photos/captions for 27 neighborhoods. My personal favorite is on pp.122-123, a jaw-dropping 1906 view of the strange junction of Jamaica Ave., Myrtle Ave. and Lefferts Blvd. in Richmond Hill. Today, this unique street pattern remains but, alas, the Triangle Hotel, later the Triangle Hofbrau, where the likes of Babe Ruth and Mae West imbibed, recently closed down. I've shown this book to a couple of former Queens people and they were amazed. Don't miss it if you're from Queens or have even a passing interest in urban history. Hopefully, the publisher is correcting a page-order problem in the beginning of the edition I purchased at a museum last summer, but don't let that hold you back. This is a real gem.

I guess we all have our own opinion of what we'd like to see in a collection of old photos and the history of a particular place. In the case of this book, there are lots of old photos and interesting memorabilia, like early maps and ads for housing developments, as well as a brief synopsis of each section of the borough through the photos' descriptions. The quality of the photo reproductions is quite good, overall, and the writing is fine. I only wish it was larger and had more from the area I grew up in but, never-the-less, still a worthwhile addition to anyone's bookcase or coffee table.

I grew up in Hollis, Queens during the '50s & and '60s and thought that I saw a lot of changes in the neighborhood. But this book is a real eye-opener showing how the area changed from farmlands in the 19th century (including developer's ads) to a fully built up residential community by the 1940's. The book is a must read for anyone who has lived in Queens

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.

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!

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.

If ego is a drug, Richard Whitney was Wall Street's Tony "Scarface" Montana. More than $27 million in debt and trying to conceal bald-faced embezzlement, the broke stockbroker and former New York Stock Exchange president still managed to carry himself with a smug hauteur as he drew up new IOUs.

Approaching one broker with whom he was on a bad footing, Whitney "made no lame effort to ingratiate himself. Rather he announced brusquely that he 'wanted to get this over with quickly'...Then he said he wanted to borrow $250,000 'on my face.'"

He was denied that time, at least, but Whitney's arrogance was rewarded in other instances. When you were one of Wall Street's aristocrats of the 1920s and 1930s, life was like that.

Whitney is the central character in John Brooks' "Once In Golconda," an absorbing, picaresque account of the New York Stock Exchange's painful coming of age during the Jazz Age and Great Depression. Though there are some patterns watchers of today's stock markets may recognize in this account of the Great Crash of 1929 and its aftermath, some things are probably never to be repeated, probably for the best.

Wall Street in 1929 was a plutocratic fiefdom where might meant right and no one was righter than J.P. Morgan & Co., known by many as "23" for its Wall Street address. But the crash brought anger as it took the rest of the national economy down with it, and in time, calls for reform that the stockbroking elite ignored at their peril. Leading the resistance to change was NYSE President Whitney, who showed great bravery on Black Thursday by placing some stabilizing bids but remained inflexible despite growing demands for needful change.

"Once In Golconda" is a financial history anyone can pick up and enjoy. The terminology is not too technical, and Brooks writes with a real zest for the human equation. At the same time, you get a deeper appreciation for the market forces that dictated what happened on the Street; how the market was democratized, first by the influx of middle-class investors before the bubble burst, and then after, by the formation of the Securities And Exchange Commission; and how J.P. Morgan lost its supremacy to new-money upstarts like Merrill Lynch.

Brooks, writing in the late 1960s, clearly favored a closely regulated market, but he avoids coming off shrill by presenting both sides of the argument at all times. Not completely in the New Deal camp, he describes the theory of an early FDR economic adviser as amounting to populist voodoo economics. "To reverse the roles by trying to make gold prices affect commodity prices was like a man in a building lobby trying to move an elevator from floor to floor by pushing the indicator dial from place to place: it wouldn't work, and it could easily end up ruining the whole mechanism."

This is an excellent companion volume to Brooks' other classic, "The Go-Go Years," a contemporary account about the market's rise in the 1960s. It has the same elegant prose, the same attention to nuance and detail, perhaps an even larger-than-life cast of characters, and a wry wit that pierces through even the driest sensibility. Of one fabled stockbroker, he writes: "He published a book explaining his stock-market techniques - a tip-off that they were no longer working for him."

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.

One of my all-time favorites from childhood, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it holds up just as well on a re-read as an adult. Maybe better; I didn't get all the humor and wit at age ten!

The lone average child in an extremely eccentric family, Jack feels left out and begins a campaign to be special too.

Highly recommended!

If P.G. Wodehouse had been writing novels for young readers during the last quarter of the 20th century, he might have come up with something like "Ordinary Jack," the first in Helen Cresswell's series The Bagthorpe Saga. Jack, a hopelessly conventional and normal boy stuck in the middle of the madcap, eccentric Bagthorpe family, known for their prodigious achievements, wonders how he can ever get himself noticed. Uncle Parker, not so brilliant himself, sympathizes and comes up with a plan: Jack will become a prophet and go in for such mystical pursuits as visions, water divining, crystal-ball gazing and Tarot-card reading. Of course, all sorts of complications and much hilarity ensue. This very funny book and its six sequels can be found in British paperback editions and ordered from Amazon.co.uk.

This book is usually billed as a children's book. I'm pretty
sure that's the reason it's out of print. It's an *excellent*
book, one of the best I have ever read. The characters come
vividly alive, driving the storyline. The plot is deeply
involved, yet easy enough to follow. The prose is crisp and
colorful and draws the reader into the story.

The only problem is, the vocabulary is a little more advanced
than a lot of children these days can comfortably handle. If
the book were marketed for adults, it would be a bigger hit.

This is not to say that children cannot read this book. They
can, if they're avid readers with a good grasp on vocabulary.
I could have read it by sixth grade or so -- about the same
time I was ready to read Dickens and Shakespeare. I didn't
happen to run into it until somewhat later, however, and I can
confirm that it's a great book for adults.

This book will exceed your expectations and capture your
imagination. You'll read it in notime flat, because you won't
put it down for mundane things like meals.

The second book, Absolute Zero, is just as good. The others
in the series are also not bad, though the first two are easily
the best. This is the one to get first.

It's been a long time since I read a children's book that really knocked my socks off. I had heard in various children's book circles about the mysterious Bagthorpe saga. A series of stories in which a single ordinary boy must learn to live with his genius/insane family. What I had heard, however, was not exactly conclusive. For all I knew, these books could be good or they could be overrated justly forgotten tripe of the lowest order. Out of the merest curiosity (and because I could locate a copy in my library) I found an original 1977 edition of the book, complete with illustrator Trina Schart Hyman's fabulous cover in which every single Bagthorpe member is rendered in the flesh. What I discovered will now eat up hours and hours of my spare time as I systematically track down each and every Bagthorpe edition in the series available to me. This is an amazing children's experience that must be read to be believed.

Jack is just your average kid. In any other family, this would be a good thing. In Jack's family, it's just short of catastrophe. For you see, in the clan of the Bagthorpes, everyone's a genius. Jack's brother William has a ham radio, plays darts, enjoys the bongos, and often goes about searching for new exciting talents to add to his bag of tricks (or, as they say, strings to their bows). Rosie, Jack's younger sister, is an accomplished portrait painter and recently beat Jack at swimming. Living in such a conceited family might push anyone over the edge, but fortunately Jack has one person he can count on. His Uncle Parker married into the family and, though extraordinary in his own ways, he's just as normal as his nephew. Together, the two plan to make Jack into the kind of guy his siblings see as an equal. They're going to make him into a prophet. This may mean they'll have to employ dowsing rods, crystal balls, purple suits, bear costumes, and tarot cards, but in the end it'll all be worth it.

So many in-jokes, clever puns, and smart plot twists pop up in this book that you'll wonder how long these characters were wandering around author Helen Cresswell's head before she committed them to paper. Adults reading this book will recognize characters they've met in real life while children will read about them and find themselves wishing they belonged to families just this crazy. There's more than a little "Cheaper By the Dozen" in this book, except that each character you meet in "Ordinary Jack" comes with their own very particular personality. I can even pinpoint the moment I feel head over heels in love with the book. After a particularly disastrous birthday celebration that ends in the dining room catching on fire, Uncle Parker laments that, for him, the real loss of the evening was that he won't be able to get the little mottos out of the crackers now. Americans, unfamiliar with crackers, may need a bit of explanation about this Britishism. Those who know what they are, however, will be delighted by Uncle Parker's assertion that he collects them so that at parties he can "stop conversation dead" with one.

Will kids like the book? They won't be able to help but do so. Jack is completely sympathetic, dealing with his crazy relations by becoming even crazier than they are. I loved his self-esteem talks to his dog Zero and how the women in the family suddenly start to get involved in Yoga for no particular reason. Reading this book, you'll forget it was originally published in 1977, so contemporary are some of the terms and fads. You can only assume that had no-carb diets been around in the late 70s, the Bagthorpes would've been involved in those as well.

There are hundreds of children's books that center on crazy families. Heck, Polly Horvath's practically made her living off of the genre. But the best of all these, by far, is Helen Cresswell's really breathtaking Bagthorpe books. "Ordinary Jack" is one of the best children's books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A brilliant book for any kid with a sense of humor and a yen for the bizarre.

How COULD they have stop printing these books? I have loved the Bagthorpes since I first got Ordinary Jack as a kid and wanted to get the Bagthorpe series for my niece and friends who are having children. Even though I was labeled "gifted" as a child, Jack is readily identifiable and the books are written with such a gentle humor that they are well worth fighting for.

Really, are we supposed to let "Sweet Valley High" set the tone for our pre-adolescents?

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.

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."

As a native New Yorker, I heard of many islands that occupied the waters that surrounded 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.

Real Stories, Untold Truths reads like a detective novel. Though it is introspective, it is also fast-paced, detailed, and full of mystery. I was eager to turn the pages, to learn what would happen to J.C., the author's homeless friend. How did a seventy-something-year-old, former math teacher and father, end up homeless in New York City? Why was it sometimes hard for him to accept help when it arrived?
After reading the first book in this series, Have a Great One!, in 2001, I wondered if it would be difficult for me to get back inside the story since several years had passed. The transition felt effortless. It's not easy for an author to involve a reader so quickly. Laurie Anthony holds degrees in special education and social work, yet she also has a gift for storytelling. Her style is straightforward. Tightly packed scenes, unique characters, detailed settings, and seamless dialogue reeled me in.
In all friendships, the more you learn each other's secrets, the more you become aware that you can never fully understand another human being. In any meaningful relationship, our values and preconceptions are tested and that's how we grow as individuals. We humans are multi-faceted--a product of our genes, our environment, and our choices. These complexities are addressed in the book so well, I wish more background had been given about the racial strife J.C. must have faced living in the south before The Civil Rights Movement. Why do some people, like J.C.'s brother thrive after enduring great hardships, and others, like J.C., make so many unhealthy decisions? I wonder if that could be another volume in the making--the history of these two men.
The author approaches many sensitive issues with an open mind. Homelessness, mental illness, poverty, the sexual tension that may happen between men and women who become friends. She tells us how it feels to be manipulated, what it's like trying to trust someone who can be selfish, withholding, who sometimes suffers from distorted thinking and is often verbally abusive. The author's sense of self is plumbed each time a new revelation about her friend, J.C., occurs. She shares her journal with us, the letters she writes to him and sometimes does not send. We feel her angst, her hope, her disappointments and her headaches.
Though Laurie Anthony has returned to Ohio, where she teaches the fifth grade, she still visits J.C. in New York not only to work on the book, but to help him in times of need. She's strolled down the streets of Harlem, visited J.C.'s new living quarters, acted as a go-between with him and his relatives, lawyers, and old friends. She has kept in touch with his family and has journeyed to his home town.
I admire the author's tenacity, and also her inner strength. It is a challenge to nurture such a difficult friendship. Many of us would lose our patience after one of J.C.'s insults. On the other hand, I feel J.C. is to be commended for opening up to a woman who came from such a different world than he did. It isn't easy confiding in someone, let alone telling them your past mistakes. As a writer, I'm in awe of the amount of research and time these two books must have taken to complete in the midst of so many setbacks and frustrations. It's fun to imagine them marketing their book together after so many ups and downs in their relationship.
I did not approach either of these books as a technical treatise on the homeless. To me, it is an example of journaling at its best. This book in particular was not only about finding the meaning of compassion and friendship, but also about our accountability to ourselves and to each other, and knowing when to set boundaries. When does helping become enabling? How long can we continue to help someone in need if they do not try to help themselves? The book was about asking all the big questions: who, when, what, where, how, and why? And being OK with the realization that there are rarely easy answers to all of those questions. True stories do not always have the happiest or the clearest of endings.
If you are looking for a quick fix to societal problems, pat remedies for the human condition, a to-do list of "how to stop being that way" you won't find those here. This is a woman's honest, troubled account of trying to understand a complicated problem that needs to be addressed, while struggling with her own confusion in the process. She is on a path of rediscovering what friendship means to her. She meets, then befriends one man and tells his story in an effort to help him out of a life-threatening situation: living without a roof over his head. She does not look the other way, or adapt a holier than thou attitude toward J.C.. You witness her unhappiness over many of J.C.'s choices and behaviours, but you never feel she will abandon the friendship once the book is done.
I recommend both books to educators and readers. It's bound to provoke many questions and could lead to discussions on drug abuse, homelessness, racism, mental health, and what it means to be a friend.
Copyright (c) by Catherine Tudor 2004
One Woman's Writing Retreat ...

Who is J.C.? What is hidden behind the amiable facade of an unusually engaging and intelligent homeless? How did he go from evident riches and expensive education to rags and worse? In a page turner of a book, Laurie Anthony describes her quest for answers to this baffling riddle - a mission that ultimately proves to be a path of painful self-discovery as well.

The book is an inter-racial and inter-gender odyssey, shuttling back and forth between serene Ohio and a multi-faceted Manhattan, between the 1950s and the present, between the author's own family and J.C.'s. One step forward - J.C. finds an apartment and buys a car - is invariably and dishearteningly followed by (at least) two steps back - J.C. again estranged from his children, whom he hasn't seen in decades.

Gradually, the dark secrets, the black holes at the core of the J.C. galaxy of contradictory behaviors and traits - emerge. As they unfold, this riveting book rivals any thriller I have read. It is also an excellent primer to the inner world of the narcissistic psychopath. A must!

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

We learned about J.C. Simmons, a homeless man, in Laurie Anthony's first book, Have a Great One! A Homeless Man's Story. This book tells the rest of the story -- the secrets J.C. has hidden, and how Laurie responds. I was very impressed with how she pulled it all together at the end of the book.

Although J.C. is not typical of most homeless persons (says Laurie Anthony), reading Real Stories, Untold Truths set my mind thinking. Why don't homeless individuals take advantage of all the help that is available? J.C. was mentally ill, but is that a reason for him to take advantage of others? I rate this book high because of Laurie's honesty, and her ability to even question herself.

Laurie Anthony's story poses the question, "Who are the homeless and can we judge them?" In an excellent, thought-provoking sequel to her first book, "Have a Great One! A Homeless Man's Story," Anthony struggles with the situation she has found herself in -- helping a homeless man who has grown dependent on her, and selectively shares secrets of his past with her. She becomes cautious and uncomfortable, yet her message rings clear, helping all of us decide for ourselves where we stand on the issue of homelessness.

For nearly 30 years I have carried this book with me virtually everywhere. No, it's not "an easy read" - but it is worth buying (owning)and treasuring - if only for the FOURTH LETTER (to a German Friend)- it is the most moving argument/declaration for humanity and choosing it that I have ever seen anywhere.

Some (like Sartre?) might call it a "rationalization". But even those who have resigned themselves to the religions of cynicism and despair - could find a remnant of fight and even "goodness" (yikes!) inside themselves. Camus' words remind us that resignation and the inevitable indifference and inhumanity that follow are the ultimate betrayals of life.

While there is nothing "cheerful" or even optimistic about these writings - you'd have to be cold-blooded, heartless and completely beyond repair or redemption not to be inspired by the wistful aspirations that Camus exudes from his admittedly battered heart and soul.

I disagree with the reviewer (who did praise this precious book) Sartre is smart - but so is Camus - and Camus exudes the humanity that Sartre can't even see or imagine.

Sartre would tell us that we always have the freedom to at least rattle our chains (at least theoretically) - but Camus has the power to inspire us to want to.

"I step onto the podium only when forced to by the pressure of circumstances and by my conception of my function as a writer." (p. 132) From the circumstances of Fascist Spain and Nazi occupied France, to the circumstances of the Hungarian and Algerian struggles for freedom, Camus' essays demand involvement, require action in the face of hopelessness. He never offers a moment's peace for couch-potato complacency. "Freedom is not made up principally of privileges; it is made up especially of duties." (p. 96)

To read these essays is to step into the world of a man who said to Christians "I share with you the same revulsion from evil. But I do not share your hope, and I continue to struggle against this universe in which children suffer and die." (p. 71) And "Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children." (p. 73)

Camus is recalled to the podium, in a day when children are tortured and die in Chiapas while most turn a blind eye and complain that sitcoms just aren't what they used to be. These essays, possibly his most accessible work, demand an active response from the modern reader. Our struggle today, although not against Nazi minions, still must echo his "There are means that cannot be excused. I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice." (p. 5) [See Jamal's Live from Death Row and Peltier's Prison Writings, elsewhere on Amazon.]

Camus is outspoken about capital punishment, too. "It is obviously no less repulsive than the crime, and this new murder, far from making amends for the harm done to the social body, adds a new blot to the first one." (p. 176) His "Reflections on the Guillotine" is the longest essay in book. He views capital punishment, even in "free" societies, as an act of totalitarianism.

Camus proclaims the call to justice and the struggle for freedom found in the Old Testament, especially in the minor prophets. But he does so in a modern context, where God is silent and man is the maker of his own destiny. Although he sees no messianic age, he proclims the hope that by continuous effort evil can be diminished and freedom and justice may become more prevalent.

Five stars for courage, five stars for clarity, five stars for consistency. After the abortion of democracy on December 9, 2000, every freedom and justice seeking American needs to read this book.

(If you would like to respond to this review, click on the "about me" link above & send me email. Thanks!)

This collection of essays is the most brilliant one of Camus' diverse smaller non-fiction writings. The bulk of this book concerns his journalistic writings on the Algerian Revolution, Soviet Union etc. Through these essays, you understand the pain of Camus. Camus' ethics doesn't agree to mindless violence for the sake of power. He makes an impassioned plea for tolerance and humanitarian solutions to the problems of war and peace.

Camus is not necessarily logical or politically correct. His stand on the issue of independence of Algeria is a compromised position between French imperialism and Algerian aspirations for freedom during that period. However, in his passion for diagnozing the problems of his time and addressing them, he hits upon a lot of interesting insights and arguments.

Particularly brilliant for both its analysis and its conclusion is Camus' landmark long essay 'Reflections on the Guillotine' which occupies a fair part of the book. In this essay, Camus systematically demolishes all legal or quasi-moral justifications for capital punishment and answers the third aspect of the question - Whether human life is worth taking?

In his 'The Myth of Sisyphus', he had argued against self-murder. In 'The Rebel', he argued against murder and genocide. In this essay, he argues against legalized murder. But unlike his earlier works where he offered weak arguments after a brilliant analysis, here he hits the mark by demolishing the justifications for capital punishment, totally. This particular essay deserves to be considered a classic in the philosophy of law and justice.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It has provided me with the strongest, most clear-headed confidence in the face of unrelenting hypocrisy and struggle. Camus was on the side of the angels for all of the conflicts of his time, a time that saw the darkest face of humanity. His arguments for compassion and justice are utterly transfixing and revelatory, and written with a clarity and insight that are simply breath-taking.

I challenge anyone that supports the death penalty to read "Reflections on the Guillotine" and walk away with their arguments intact. In this piece Camus utterly demolishes every argument for state-sanctioned murder while defending the right to live with dignity, a right that can easily encompass the self-defense by combat necessitated by circumstance.

Camus was a moral, intellectual, and physical hero, and reading these essays one is almost overcome by his sense of humilty, justice, and compassion. His writing is so crystalline, it's almost jolting. This is a powerful tonic for all those that despair of creating a place for the best qualities of the human race in times of utter darkness. A must-read.

Camus' essays are obviously more difficult to read than hisstories, and quite possibly more difficult to read than his philosophical investigations as well. Should they be read? Of course. In them, he speaks of similar topics (i.e. what to do in the face of absurditiy, human moral dilemmas, etc.) as he does in the other books, though in a more precise, more direct fashion. His views on the death penalty shaped my own almost completely.

What you get in this book are coherent arguments by a coherent, nuainced thinker. Is Sartre smarter than Camus? Camus knew enough to fear most -isms and -ologies where Sartre did not... (not that I recommend ignoring Sartre either! )

I just started reading BARK magazine and saw this advertised and had to order it as I read ANYTHING about dogs I can find....I loved it...It is hysterically funny and I finished it in about 2 days I enjoyed it so much! If you have a shelter dog or a rescue dog you should definitely read it as you will relate to so much....The baby talk we all start to use upon getting a dog-especially a fearful one was really funny.(I do it too)!!! Highly recommended!

I just finished reading this book and I loved it! I've read Rex and the City stories in The Bark mag and I've always enjoyed them so when I read in The Bark that Lee Harrington had a book coming out based on the same stories I couldn't wait to read it. If you're a dog lover you will certainly enjoy this book! I saw my self, my husband and my dogs in this story and laughed through out the book. My husband is reading it now!!

I have two rescued dobermans and went through a h*ll of a time trying to help them get used to their new homes.
This book had me in tears, both becuase i was laughing so hard at how funny her descriptions are, but also I cried sometimes, because what she says about dogs, and about people with dogs, is so true and real. Rescuing dogs sure can be hard. But this is a great story!! Just wait and see what a terrific dog "rex" turns into, and how the author turns into a terrific person as well. I am giving copies to all my dog-loving friends. and i hear there is a Volume II coming out, i can't wait for that one.

I haven't finished this book yet, but I've read the Rex and they City column in Bark magazine, so I know something about the story line.

Anyway, I found the following part amusing (these two people have just gotten a dog and right away they are doubting what they've done):

-----
"Can we do it?" I said to Ted. "Can we take him back?"
"I think we're going to have to," he said.
[...]
"I just wish there were a sign," I said. "Some sign, some guarantee that it's not always going to be like this. If he'll love us some day. That there'll be some reward."
Rex was lying on the floor as I said this, and he had begun to lick his privates in a loud and rather lewd way. Rex glanced at me suspiciously and belched. Then he went back to licking himself.
"There's your sign," Ted said.
----

Heh. I don't think I have ever heard a dog burp. If I had asked for a sign and my dog burped at that exact moment, I'm pretty sure I would have taken him back.

They don't take the dog back, though. I guess that's because he burped in chapter 2 and the book wasn't finished. Smart dog not to burp in a later chapter.

Not everyone likes this kind of humor, but if you do you might like this book.

Rex and the City is the best dog memoir I have ever read!!! And it seems to me that the reviewer above missed an important point. Ms. Harrington has written an honest, poignant book about her experiences rescuing a shelter dog. The author admits, from the very first chapter, that before she got the dog she was rather misguided and self-absorbed-and this is the very thing that the viewer above is criticizing her for. But I think the author was very brave to admit her shortcomings-she discusses her fears and insecurities and poor judgment she felt as a woman in her thirties. She discusses her insecurities about feeling she is not a good enough person to take care of her dog. And because she is so honest, Harrington subjects herself to the very sort of criticism the reviewer above subjected her to. (the reviewer calls her "uninteresting" and a "fool"). But who hasn't been a fool in life? To admit this, and to write a memoir about it, is very brave indeed. And very real. The best thing about REX AND THE CITY is that the author overcomes a lot of her shortcomings, all because she rehabilitated this dog. In rescuing Rex, she ultimately rescued herself. And that, in my mind, is an inspiring story- for dog lovers and insecure women alike. The dog showed Ms. Harrington what it feels like to receive unconditional love. And we could all use more of that. A lot of people believe, erroneously, that we can find happiness through material things. And it is a big epiphany to realize only love can buy happiness. I recommend this book highly.

I picked up this novel because my family was planning a visit to Saratoga, NY. I am not a child, I am 40+, but I did not see many novels out there for my age. I recommend this book for young adults and for older readers.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters and story were well written. It is a story about a 16 year old girl named Amity that lives with her family in Saratoga, NY. Her brother recently died and she lives with her parents and a baby brother that is ill. Her father joins the war. She has many other neighbors that sons have joined the war. The story tells how some people in the area were for the American side and some sympathized with the British. The author speaks about General John Burgoyne who was the general for the British and also about General Benedict Arnold and how he was a hero during the battle of Saratoga, but did not get the proper credit for assistance in winning this battle.

Amity, the main character does some brave things during the story, but I won't give out too much since you need to read the story especially if you plan a trip to the Saratoga area. It truly is a beautiful area to visit. There is a Saratoga National Historical Park that shows important areas during the battle that were written in this book.

WOW! This was a way good book with a way good story line. Now we all like to rave on about our favorites and how much we love em and all, but I'm going to give you a little background. Amity Spencer is your average sixteen year old farm girl. She milks the cow, does the gardening, and all the other chores too. She also is in love with the humble peddler, Cheppa John Chapman. Well, often, this peddler brings news about the war. When he dissappears (after Father goes off to war), she begins to wonder. Well, anyways, Amity comes upon a secret message that will determine how the rest of the war goes on. She takes it upon herself to get this letter to General Arnold in Stillwater, to inform him of the surprise attack that will take place on Oct 7. Can Amity get him the letter in time to prepare? Can she ever get there? Does she ever work out her feelings with Cheppa John? Well, READ THIS BOOK - READ THIS BOOK - READ THIS BOOK and see!

Amity Spencer,a 16-year-old girl shows courage, loyalty, ingenuity,patriotism, and even love,all in just 24 chapters,how does she do it!?!? She is a good influence towards young girls today. She shows that anybody can be their own hero, if they have the heart!Also that anyone can get the respect they diserve!And also that anybody,no matter what race or skin color can be a patriot,even in disguise! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I just finished reading it last night. It's a fine example of historical fiction. Amity is a sixteen-year-old girl, barely grown, and thinks the war is nowhere near. She must endure her father joining the war and all her neighbors fleeing. When her friend Matt comes looking for them they discover a secret letter in a canteen a dying enemy soldier gave him. Amity hides the letter in her dress buttons and travels to Stillwater to give it to Benedict Arnold. She helps them win the war

This book is by far one of the best I have read in a long time. This is one book I couldn't put down! The first paragraph caught me up in the story. You realy have to read this book. It's great for a book report. Enjoy the book!

This is the book that got me interested in Atlantis almost twenty-five years ago. Mr. Muck backs his ideas and theories with solid evidence that whetted my appetite for anything Atlantis oriented. It's a "must read" for anyone who is interested in the subject, especially since it's based on provable History, Archeology, Science, and Mythology, and not "iffy" ideas. It was added long ago to my personal library.

It's not even a close call. This is easily the best book ever written on Atlantis. Speculation is kept to a minimum while scientific analysis prevails. Muck surveys ocean currents, plant and animal distributions and geological evidence and concldues that there is no other scientific explanation available---there must have been a large island or small continet in the Atlantic that has disappeared.

Muck provides ample conjecture and speculation (most of which holds up much better than other Atlantean theorists). The concepts utilized in his argument are plausible; the belief in an advanced civilization wiped out with little trace is just as plausible, if by nature or said civilization's own hand. It's probably best to leave the decision whether this is fact, truth, or myth to each reader. As a poster on a wise (if odd) character's wall simply read: "I want to believe."

A very interesting book for those interested in the legend of Atlantis. All of Mr. Muck's ideas are very intuitive and certainly can't be disputed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in both Atlantis and theories of very early history.

If you read any one book on the topic of Atlantis, this should be it. It's a scholarly work that covers scientific ground that no one else even thinks to tackle. In particular, the late Dr. Muck's discussion of the Gulf Stream and climatologic evidence is persuasive. (It should be tested against the hypothesis of a polar axial shift to ensure validity with regard to location of currents vis a vis the Gulf Stream. His same ideas and techniques applied to Siberia could add further weight to the axial displacement hypothesis as well, or refute it.) More recent evidence about the astronomic event that shattered a small comet or asteroid into over half a million pieces, crossed North America from Alaska and crashed into the Sargasso Sea during the correct time frame (as evidenced by the "Carolina Bays") fully supports Muck's thesis and lends greater credibility to it. This out of print book should be reissued!