New York Books

Note: I offended an immature person by giving negative reviews to books attempting to "prove the Book of Mormon." Rather than answer my criticisms, that person gives my reviews negative votes. Oh, well.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated, and please remember that a short review (recommendation in this case) is good if it leads you to a great book.

I own this edition, and I would highly recommend it. I agree with the other reviewers. This is a must-have book for anyone with an interest in art.

My copy is from 1997. That edition (p. 112) contains the most wonderful scene of two children and a dog running up a hill with a beautiful valley in the background. It's from the cover of the "Saturday Evening Post" of May, 1960. Done in light greens and yellows, this painting is very evocative of an innocent youthful world.

I wish that painting had been larger. If someone knows where I could obtain a copy, please leave a message here.

"Famous American Illustrators" is full of large-format pictures that give the reader an appreciation for the talent and imagination that has gone into these paintings. What a wonderful world these artists created.

Thanks, and you will enjoy this book. Highly recommended.

The Walt Reed book referred to by the other reviewers contains many more artists, but it has far smaller reproductions because there is so much packed in. By contrast the present book has some magnificent large and colourful illustrations that allow the reader to gain a better appreciation of each of the artists. The colour balance is wonderful (unlike some art books) and the selection of illustrators is great.

Books on illustrators, from the golden age to the present, with their vast sample illustrations are in constant demand these days due to titles going throught out-of-print listings. One excellent reference source-The Illustrator in America:1880- 1980 by Walt Reed contains hundreds of works by illustrators from the late 19th century to the 1980's. The book unfortunately, is now out-of-print. Now, a new recent addition has been published-Famous American Illustrators. The various listings and samples of illustrators from the book are all elected members of the American Society of Illustrators. The book is an excellent supplement for Walt Reed's title where the readers can view more samples of each of the illustrators' unique styles.

The book is an excellent supplement to one of the title by WaltReed-The Illustrators in America: 1880 to 1980. The book containnumerous sample illustrations by elected members of the American Society of Illustrators.

Professor Wilshire calls for, and admirably practices, self-reflection, as he critiques the commercialization/professionalization and dehistoricizing trend of analytic philosophy. He celebrates freedom and ecstasy in a spiritual, passionate inquiry committed to pursuing difficult questions, wherever they may lead.

He takes risks, not least of which is deliberately remembering, even that which is most painful.

Someone who has survived academia without being tainted by it,
he is also one of the very few men who can truly appreciate the radical feminist theology/thealogy of Mary Daly.

What's not to love?

Socrates died long ago but his influence continues. Wilshire's Fashionable Nihilism continues his tradition of stinging us into awareness, of stopping us in our sleepwalking and demanding that we wake up and question our benumbing assumptions, of prompting us to inquire whether we are as fully alive as we might be. Wilshire tears into the reigning analytic philosophers absorbed in technical conversations with each other. With philosophical problems nearly consuming us as a nation, Wilshire's book explodes coteries and cliques and directs our attention to the pressing world all around us.

I found this book of considerable value for understanding the philosophical situation in America today. It demonstrates very convincingly the deep differences between analytical and continental/American approaches to the field, and this is already quite informative. But it goes on from here to show that analytical philosophy is unable to assume the responsibility of pursuing a genuinely humanistic and humane thought -- and thus is unable to address the great issues of our day. At its core, it is a nihilistic enterprise that is absorbed in the play and interplay of linguistic and conceptual systems, thereby sealing itself off from the most profound ethical and political issues of the contemporary world. Despite its remarkable logical power, it becomes a self-inhibiting and self-defeating way of doing philosophy. Something else is called for, and the author points to this other direction -- inspired by American and continental philosophy -- eloquently and forcefully.

This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the recent history of philosophy in America, or who cares about its future. Wilshire takes sure aim at a philosophy that "mangle[s] the roots of our thinking-feeling-evaluating selves." Analytical philosophy, an approach to consciousness and self that weds philosophy to the style of natural sciences, can disable self-conceptions, leaving us with nihilism. It can all too easily reduce flesh or body to lifeless matter, morph minds and imaginations into chemicals and `wiring,' and deflate sacred ceremony and myth to no more than childish mimicry and fable. Whatever happened to Socratic "care for the soul"? These elegantly crafted essays are a treat to read. Wilshire nurtures an affirmative celebration of the passion of philosophy. No one will want to miss his account -- the best I've seen -- of the battle in the late `70's between mainstream analysts and marginalized American phenomenologists and existentialists for recognition in the American Philosophical Association. Later chapters rethink Native American thought, consider Henry Bugbee, a neglected American "philosopher of intimacy,"and revisit William James' concern for `the spiritual.' Wilshire ends with a elegiac meditation on his daughter's death that bears out his philosophical spirit -- such proof as can be given that nihilism does not speak the final word.

This book explores both generational and cultural aspects of Indian families transplanted to and from the U.S. It is a delightful read on its own merits, but can also be applied to any immigrant experience. The expectations from the originating country and the dilution which occurs over time is portrayed with great understanding.

Just finished Robbie Sethi's novel FIFTY-FIFTY. Enjoyed the voyages per chapter. I felt i have just returned from a world that I am happy to know more about, especially because I am intent upon trying to open myself to what may be exotic, foreign, or so much like what i know that I am blind to sameness. What branching lineage for each chapter. What a tour de force of novelistic orchestration! Seventeen main characters interacting or ignoring or judging and showing up and disappearing. I feel my first and strongest and most lingering impression is how different the expectations are when families are internationally mobile and also realistically skeptical about how secure life and status can be where ever one lives. Of course, the novel intends to show that, but I feel for the first time I came to understand why, frankly, I have so often been intrigued by and alienated from recently arrived immigrants--and even those who have settled close to me in New York City. At least in the Punjabi heritage it was made clear how dependent relatives are and also thwarted, made proud, and confused. Felt the love affair between Natisha and Lalita was finely drawn, and the author captured the attitude and dilemma of the African-American father of Kunti's baby devastatingly accurately based on my experience. Too many young men now handle their lives just as he tried to. Captured Kenya well also, a rather schizophrenic society I was not comfortable in--and for some of the same reasons as the Kaurs and Singhs!
I thought a lot about the Indian and Pakistani students I have taught and how what is occurring at home and in their communities shapes how they may think and behave. They are often the most mysterious group in my experience--and the novel enabled me to comprehend how social and economic and cultural pressures and expectations distinguish them from many other ethnicities. I am being rather sociological in my appreciation, but that is how I was most directly impacted. Robbie Sethi can enter into other cultures so confidently and empathetically? empathically? I admire that very much. I wanted to thank her for writing FIFTY FIFTY, and I hope she reads these comments.

Sethi's second novel is a clever, daring, and sharply insightful panorama of a family's struggle to transcend the inevitable entropy of the family structure as a result of time, distance, and tradition. The children of Biji have, by choice or obligation, traveled disparate paths, spanning continents and generations, and through their darkly realistic struggles to satisfy both their roles as members of a family and their individual desires, we are given not only a powerful and profound lesson on culture, spirituality, and imperialism, but a carefully sharp and gripping portrayal of the universal struggles that all humans share. Unlike the conventional novel, Sethi's tale is told through a series of stories, each presenting a unique's character's perspective in his or her own voice. From the compelling story of young Rosa Gill's attempt to identify in a suburban California culture that treats "the other" as a form of boutique cataloguing, to the dark descents into self-destruction of cousins Kunti and Rajit, and even the tale of Biji herself, a political refugee and dominant head of the family, these tales intertwine in a way that is brilliant and wholly fulfilling. No stone is left unturned, and the reader is left with a mosaic of human existence that is much more than a "multicultural" tale, but a beautiful and frightening commentary on the universal struggle against loneliness, responsibility, identity, and alienation. The expansive scope at the book does, at times, create a somewhat off-putting separation between character and reader, but Sethi's ability to mold, color, and develop a versatile stock of voices is brilliant enough to bring you into a universe that crosses continents, cultures, and personalities, and shows that the deepest emotions are those that do not know such boundaries.

In her first book, THE BRIDE WORE RED, Robbie Clipper Sethi established herself as a skilled cultural translator as she explored the lives of three American women and the families of the Indian men they married. Now, with FIFTY-FIFTY, she introduces her readers to yet another Punjabi Sikh family, this one spread over four continents and struggling to adapt to their adopted lands. Told with startling compassion and insight, this novel offers a complex and realistic view of what it means to be an immigrant.

Like Sethi's first book, which was described as a "novel-in-stories," FIFTY-FIFTY is told through multiple voices, each with its own titled chapter. From the Gill family matriarch Biji to her four children to her grandchildren, they each tell their part of the family history. Although the chapters could stand alone as short stories, their real power comes from their compilation. The best chapters are "Exile," "Three Sisters," "The Curse of Life," and "Double Mind." Sethi writes with a no-nonsense style; however, the moments she chooses to reveal are lyrical. I could not help feeling for every one of these displaced individuals. By the time I finished FIFTY-FIFTY, I did not want to leave these self-exiled characters who, despite all that they have suffered, continue to harbor hope.

I highly recommend this for readers of literary fiction and those interested in cross-cultural and immigrant issues.

Lots of action that makes you read this book more than once! I hope they make a movie out of this!

This book is great. It has a lot of twists and turns. It keeps you reading right to the end. There was a couple of times where I felt bad for bad guy and thought that he was going to prove victorious over the good guy. It really is suspense filled. Read it.

John Lutz and David August did an unbelievable job at writing Final Seconds. I was blown away by the suspense and mystery of this novel. They should make more books together. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read. (Final Seconds would make a great movie!)

If you want a good, entertaining book, you could not choose a better one than this

NYC Island Hopping made easy

Flashmaps is a wonderful guide to carry with you when you are trying to find that fabulous restaurant in "The City". All of my friends love this book and have bought one for themselves.

Flashmaps '98 is a very easy to use guide. There is a special map for every subject like a college map, a hospital map, a sightseeing map and much more. Almost like a two-in-one guide.

If you want a small lightweight book that has everything about New York, this is your book. Since New York has lots of sidestreets, and you can easily get lost there, you will love the maps and directions. The shopping section even has street maps with every single store on every single street! This book is great for shopping information.

A fine addition to my Granddaughter's collection of books about the borough she calls home.

The other night, my three-year-old son couldn't sleep. I took out my daughter's copy of Flying Over Brooklyn and started to read. He was wide-eyed and smiling through the entire adventure and absolutely surprised when we reached the end, "That was a dream?" he asked. "Yes, go to sleep so you can have an adventure too," I replied. "Wow, I would if I could have dreams THAT good!" I am sure that when my children are older they will appreciate the dreamy glimpses of a world far removed from our own (Brooklyn) and the historic significance of a child's recollection of an unusual event, but for now, they simply enjoy sharing the boy's dream-come-true flight over a snow-covered city. Meanwhile, I appreciate the positive spin it gives to the words, "Bed-time!"

"This is the first childrens book I have seen written for city kids. Every city kid will appeciate this story about flying over the city and seeing the great snow storm. It is truly a child's dream.

Mr. Uhlberg's book FLYING OVER BROOKLYN should be required reading for any child who can read, or even before he has that ability. It is a lovely illustrated book that my grandchildren were delighted and fascinated by, especially when I was able to corroborate how the little boy felt. I, too, as a little boy lived through that blizzard in 1946 and that made the grandkids' eyes open wide, I guess with admiration that I had survived the ordeal. Kudos to Mr. Uhlberg. Give us more, sir!

NYC can be overwhelming even for the repeat visitor. Be prepared, and use Fodor's. What I loved about the guide is that it breaks the city down into neighborhoods. You can pick the ones you want to visit, and wander through a different one each day. I originally tried to visit NYC with a map highlighted with the sights I wanted to see. It was a wild goose chase! The suggested itineraries in Fodor's made it easier, and I wasn't harried by running all over the city.

Fodor's has done good by NYC here. This tome is packed with juicy tid-bits throughout. If you 'Need A Break?' during your walking, there are literally hundreds of highlighted cafes, corner deli's, candy shops, and bakaries for you to peruse-separated by neighborhood and borough.

This book is divided into different chapters, the first dealing mainly with Manhattan and its different neighborhoods. Want to visit the grill/movie studio owned by actor Robert De Niro? It's in here. Want to visit the former homes of any number of famous New Yorkers? Or the bar in which poet Dylan Thomas supposedly drank himself to death? The restaurants where Hemingway and others wrote? Prohibition-era speakeasy's? All these and much more are expounded upon.

There is a dizzying array of info on museums, nightclubs, music clubs, restaurants, transit systems, and tours. My wife and I have been devouring this book in the months before our trip to NYC. It has been a blast. The beginning of the book also includes some nice color photography of various key sights and Fodor's has done readers a great service by listing its 'moments not to miss' on one page (things like where to be for a great sunset or the most romantic restaurant etc.).

Also helpful are numerous itineraries for walking tours based on a 3 day or 5 day trip to NYC. The inside cover includes a checklist of items to cover in the months up to your trip (reservations, finances etc.)

After returning from our trip, my wife and I can say that this book was a MASSIVE help to us. We carried it around in our bag and stopped each day once or twice to review it as we walked around. A great resource.

Absoluetly a GREAT BOOK! From the pull out map, to the pictures this book is just jam packed with information!

It includes categories such as: The Arts, Lodging, Nightlife, Shopping, and many more. Everything you need to know about the greatest city in the world is in this book!

Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book is that it has up to the date website information. I was able to purchase many of my tickets for attractions in advance thanks to this feature which allowed me to avoid long lines.

Other great features include addresses and telephone numbers, fax numbers, admission prices, and opening hours. Never worry about not having enough $$ or arriving too late to find the attraction closed.

Use this book as your guide and you are guaranteed to have a wonderful visit to NYC!

Amazon.com Readers,

Just a note -- the building on the cover of this book is the Flatiron Building, not the WTC as another reader suggested.

Within the past year, I bought a Fodor's guide to New York City. The guide I bought was the 2001 edition (not too much different from the 2002 edition), because I wanted to see what it said about the famous and not so famous places in New York City. I am a resident of NYC, and I have been for my whole life, which is one reason I wanted to see a travel book, about it. I read about Grand Central Station, the American Museum of Natural History (which I live very close to), and the buildings along Central Park West. One building I would like to see some information about in the Fodor's guides is the El Dorado, further up Central Park West than the Dakota, San Remo and Beresford (three very famous buildings, but not necessarily more worthy of attention than the El Dorado). Most reviewers might think that the El Dorado is too far uptown to be fashionable, but there are some famous people living in that building who may disagree. The building is a fine example of art deco design, and was made a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Since I am a resident of this great city, it was very interesting for me to actually buy a travel guide and read it as a tourist would. Fodor's is always very comprehensive with their reviews.

I didn't read the restaurant reviews, but some restaurants that I have liked going to for a while include Merchants NY, on Columbus Avenue between 85th and 86th streets, Neo (a bit pricey, but a great Japanese restaurant) on 84th and Broadway, and Zocalo (a Mexican restaurant) on the Dining Concourse level of Grand Central Station. Write some follow-up reviews of this Fodor's Title and let me know how you like these restaurants! Enjoy your trip to the greatest city on earth!

All the Best,

--Daniel

I bought this for my best friend, who is a teacher...she absolutely loved it and said it was wonderful book.

IT IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PRIVILEDGE TO WALK THROUGH THE HORROR OF 9/11 WITH THESE COURAGEOUS TEACHERS. IN TELLING THEIR VERY PERSONAL STORIES WITH HUMILITY AND HUMANITY, THEY GAVE OF THEMSELVES, OPENLY AND GENEROUSLY, AND, LET US INTO THEIR LIVES ON THAT UNIMAGINABLE DAY.

WE ALL THOUGHT ABOUT THE NYC SCHOOL CHILDREN THAT DAY. WE ALL WONDERED ABOUT THE TEACHERS WHO WERE IN CHARGE. WE WANTED TO KNOW WHEN AND HOW THEY FOUND OUT, WHAT EACH TEACHER SAID , HOW THEY FELT, WHO THEY CALLED, HOW THEY KEPT THEIR COOL WITH THE CHILDREN.... HOW THEY SHOWED UP AS LEADERS IN THE FACE OF THE GRAVEST TRAGEDY. AND, IN THE AFTERMATH, HOW THEY CAME TO AN INNER PLACE OF HOPE FOR THE FUTURE; HOPE THAT CONTINUES TODAY.

THE STORIES ARE STIRRING. THE VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD. THE READINGS WILL TOUCH YOUR HEART, WILL MOVE YOU TO TEARS, AND WILL LEAVE YOU WITH PROFOUND RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR OUR TEACHERS... AND A DEEP SENSE OF GRATITUDE FOR EVERY DAY.

This book eloquently recounts the stories of the 9/11 tragedy and its aftermath from the perspective of the New York City teachers who were on the job that fateful day. It is powerfully written, a testament to their hope and strength and shared humanity. The writing was so compelling that I wanted to read it all at once, but emotionally I needed to go slowly, to let each chapter sink in. It is one of the most powerful pieces of writing that I have ever read.

What would you do if you had been a teacher or administrator in a New York City school on September 11th, 2001?

None of us can be sure how we would have responded to such a challenge. But the 17 teachers who wrote this book, do. Their very personal memoirs have inspired me as a teacher, and as a grandparent of young children who have already asked: "Can something like that happen again?"

Reading these teachers' well-earned words is like sitting around a kitchen table with a group of smart, dedicated, and exerienced teachers, and hearing them share t heir struggles with the greatest educational challenge of our time: sustaining the hopes of the next generation.

Patricia Lent, a 2nd-3rd grade teacher, reports one of her students saying: "I'll never forget that on that day you held my hand and you didn't let go."

"I couldn't let what had happened destroy what was left that was good," writes Debbie Almontaser.

Voices from the classroom are all too rare in the literature of education and pedagogy. This book is exhilarting to read and an authentic source of hope and help for parents, teachers, and students.

Ronald Gross

I am very touched by the events that the author of this book had to share. She is indeed a very strong person. The average person could not survive the various pitfalls and bouts of discouragement that she had to suffer. She was placed in foster care at very young age. Although she felt bitter, she later discovered that it was better then being with her real mother. This young lady searched and found her mother, by way of the grapevine network within the black community. To her disappointment she did not find a loving mother. She found a discouraging woman living in confusion and poverty.

This was not the stopping point for the young lady in the book. She pushed herself. She even worked and saved her money. With the help of a kind social worker, she was able to go to college. I'm so proud of her.
The foster care system, is often one void of real love. As a parent and one who loves children, I take the care of children personally. Any child placed in my home for whatever reason is my child. I feel like it's up to me to love and protect that child. The elements of life are harsh enough. Children have day to day challanges just like adults. Foster parents your young charges need you. You are their guardians. LOVE THEM, PROTECT THEM, TREAT THEM LIKE YOUR OWN CHILDREN.

I was a bit surprised to find out how racially bias Buffalo, New York was. But the wonderful, wonderful thing is the good and positive life that the writer of this book is reaping. Hats Off to her. Keep On Pushing!

This book reveals the emotional impact of life in the foster care system for a black girl who was bounced from one foster home to another from birth until the age of 18. Except for the nationally publicized case of Baby Jessica, who was forcibly removed from her adoptive family at the age of two to be reunited with her birth mother and father, it is rare that the public gets a glimpse of the emotional damage done to the child. This book should be MUST reading for everyone involved in foster care.

Theresa Cameron's difficult odyssey began when her biological mother did not make decisions with her daughter's best interests in mind. As difficult as it might have been for the mother to admit that adoption was the best route for her to follow, she simply abandoned a beautiful child and left her at the mercy of an inadequate system. As strong as Ms Cameron obviously is, as an unwilling participant in the foster care system, her childhood was unnecessarily harsh and often cruel. Rarely can we says such a story has meaning in all our lives. I recommend this book for all who face the irreversible decision of creating a child.

This is a heartfelt, painfully true story of how one child can be forgotten in the "system". Even the cover itself is revealing...the only photograph the author has from her childhood and it does not even show her face.

By far my favorite book of alltime. I recommend it to all socialworkers, teachers, counselors, mothers, fathers, ministers, politicians, EVERYONE! It is well-written and easy to read, although it caused me to lose sleep at night knowing children are out there--alone, forgotten by their caseworkers, and lacking the basic needs such as touch, hugs, encouragement, or even a smile from those whose care they are in.

How Ms.Cameron did what she did all alone is beyond me. She is simply amazing.

After reading this book I wanted to reach out and hug Ms. Cameron.
She has made me a better mother.

This is a calendar I will enjoy everyday, and I knew I would when I ordered it. Fra Angelio is a featured artist of The Met this year, but they were out of the calendars when I ordered, so I was very happy to find that Amazon had it. The pictures selected for this calendar are beautiful, and provide daily inspiration, though painted by this Italian artist about 800 years ago.

This is much more than a coffee table book because of the extensive coverage of the artist: his life, his contemporaties, influences on his style and his influence on the styles of others. The lavish illustrations in glorious color emphasize the other-worldliness of the subject matter.

This beautiful book, published in conjunction with the first major exhibition of Fra Angelico's work since the cinquecentenary exhibition of 1955 in Florence, will feature more than seventy paintings, drawings, and manuscript illuminations covering all periods of the artist's career, from round 1410 to 1455. Also included will be fifty selected works by his assistants and losest followers.

Fra Angelico ("the angelic friar"; ca. 1390/95-1455) was one of Renaissance Florence's leading painters. In addition to his celebrated altarpieces and frescos in Florence, Fiesole, Cortona, Perugia, and Rome, Fra Angelico also completed many masterpieces on a small scale. His predella panels, the small narrative scenes included beneath large altarpieces, are among the most innovative creations in fifteenth century Florence, while his images of the Virgin and Child still retain the inspirational immediacy and presence that first secured the artist's reputation as the premier painter of his age.

Research undertaken in the last fifty years now allows scholars to reconstruct a more historically reliable biography of Fra Angelico that goes beyond the legends and traditions to establish his position not only as one of the greatest masters of the fifteenth century, but also as one of the most intellectually accomplished painters who ever lived.

This book is an up-to-date, and comprehensive, look at the sublime works of one of Renaissance Italy's greatest masters.

FRA ANGELICO may be a museum catalogue for the current exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but it is also one of the more impressive historical documents on this important painter and his influence on the world of art in the library today. The book is a masterwork of scholarship and visual examples of this 15th Century artist.

Words fail in describing the degree of integrity of scholarship of the contributors. Under the curatorial guidance of Laurence Kanter the museum has gathered seventy-odd paintings, drawings and illuminations from books by Fra Angelico, and then to add to the dimension of the great master's influence, they have added some fifty works by his students and disciples. While Fra Angelico shines in his extraordinary sense of detail and representational art in a period when art was flattened decor and just entering the blossoming of the Renaissance, the works included by his pupils are quite staggeringly beautiful. Some would say comparison to the master is unfair: history offers another vantage, that being the concept that the truly great teachers enlighten their pupils to exceed the teacher's creations!

While the visual components of this fine book are incomparable, the various written sections by not only Laurence Kanter, but also by Pia Palladino, Magnolia Scudieri, Carl Strehlke, Victor M. Schmidt, and Anneke de Vries not only inform - they also read like a novel of the life and times in 15th Century Florence. In every way this is a magnum opus that represents well the Museum's exemplary exhibition of the work of Fra Angelico. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05