New York Books

I was staying at 60 Thompson and our concierge suggested the BlackBook guide. It was extremely useful in finding hot spots around the city. BlackBook guides also make great gifts for friends who are going to the city.

Often stuck in a rut when deciding where to go out at night, I picked up the BlackBook Guide to New York upon a recommendation from a buddy of mine. As a resident New Yorker, I must say, I was definitely impressed. This book truly captured the essence of my favorite local spots and helped to open my eyes to many other night-spots that I never would have known about otherwise. Ignoring the countless tired, old, been-there-done-that types of places, this book seems to include only those places that I actually would enjoy. It certainly makes Zagat's seem geriatric in comparison.

The BlackBook Guide to New York is better than any other I've read. What I especially like about it are the detailed maps that it provides, marking all of the spots that it reviews. Other excellent features include subway directions for each location, something that most other guide books don't provide.

The guide is organized in a very logical way. Tabs on the side divide it into larger regions, while it is further divided into neighborhoods within each region. All you have to do is choose the area you want to visit, and it lays out several excellent options for dining or partying.

Probably my favorite feature is its extensive listings for Brooklyn, which is a really hip and up and coming area that no other guide book is covering. The fact that the Brooklyn entries are almost as extensive as the Manhattan ones really shows that the people at BlackBook know what is happening right now in New York.

Really the only drawback I can find is that it is not terribly comprehensive. It has far fewer listings that most other books, but the reviews for the places it does list are really helpful in deciding where to visit. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to go out on the town in New York.

I love the BlackBook Guide series (used to be the BlackBook list), because the entries are pre-selected by the editors of BlackBook Magazine as the best restaurants, bars, and clubs in the city. Each entry gives you a really good idea of what type of food, service, decor, crowd the venue has, and the writers add humor to the reviews so that they are fun to read. Unlike Zagats, which lets customers rate, the BlackBook Guide is like always having that one cool friend around who always knows just where to go.

As someone determined to squeeze everything possible out of any trip, I can honestly say that BlackBook produces the best city guides I've encountered. I've lived in NYC for two years and I decided to check out BlackBook's guide to New York. As I expected, this guide is spot-on accurate. The reviews evoke the atmosphere of my favorite places in a few words: The Indian restaurant Banjara is "genial and dusky" while Café Gitane's "soothing pastel colors" make it comfortable lunch spot. Although the descriptions in this guide are short, they're right on the money. The editors call Café Gitane a "Europhile's wet dream" (true), and point out that while electronic/world music club Nublu has a "clever, mellow space and lush, jungly back garden," the lack of sign out front is the ultimate purveyor of the club's cool.

The observations in these books, along with the array of other necessary information that they provide makes these guides credible and useful. For restaurants, the guide includes the average price of a two-course meal and a drink at the end of each review, as well as symbols indicating which places are new, cash-only, really inexpensive, or editors' picks. They also factor noise level, elbow room, and the clientele into the reviews. I agree with the judgment in these guides: BlackBook definitely has a New Yorker's perspective, but the editors pull back and see each neighborhood in the larger context that most New Yorkers have forgotten about. They point out that while much of Nolita/Little Italy's has been gentrified, "a distinct Old World Charm lingers," and they recommend a night trip to Chinatown for "delectable, exotic and well-priced" meals, where the fun is enhanced by Chinatown's mysterious nightime aura. I also agree with BlackBook's naming of the Bowery Ballroom and Northsix as among the best places to hear live music. This is a selective list, so the guide doesn't include every bar, club, or restaurant that I like. I do wish this guidebook was a little more comprehensive, but I think they're trying to give you a review of noteworthy places. Although BlackBook's lists (like BlackBook Magazine) seem to be geared toward a cutting-edge readership, these guides are accessible. No matter who you are, I think you can gauge from the write-ups whether you'd like a place or not.



4.5 out of 5 stars

The novel is an interesting story about a man's experiences in the financial industry and his struggles with himself given the ethics of that industry. The author does an excellent job of explaining basic financial concepts so that the reader gets an education in that world, and this makes the book more interesting.

This book has it all--terrific locations, love, sex, and greed, with a main character--Nick Larson--that you just have to root for as he struggles with right and wrong. The author hits the nail on the head with the backroom shenanigans of the financial market. He clearly knows the ins and outs of the financial world. The story portrayed could easily be tomorrow's headline.

Having a background in the securities industry along with twenty five years in he oil and gas business, I was astonished at how Mr. Issacman wove such a realistice story that was so thoroughly enjoyable. I literally could not put the book down.

Even though I have a background in both industries, this book would be of interest to anyone seeking the enjoyment of a well written novel of intrigue that also captures the timeliness of corporate coruption in business today.

max isaacman did a great job describing the pump and dump of a houston oil stock--he also showsthe very human side of a stockbroker who is searching to do good--he is lonely but has to make a living--a onetime big producer -sucessfull broker but when his wife dies --things begin happening to hime--a very human story--a fast exciting read that you can not put down--mr isaacman is the louie lamore for stock traders and investors--

I've read a couple of books on investing in the stock market by Max Isaacman and found them interesting and informative. The problem is that books about the market go out of date quickly, depending upon the cycle. Max's latest is a novel, "Blizzard of Money," and while also about the stock market, it isn't going out of date anytime soon. It is a thrill a minute ride through the world of international oil intrigue, wheeler-dealers, financiers, analysts and stock brokers with a heroin, Nick Larson, whom you can't help but like.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is that I feel I know, or at least recognize, many of the characters. From Nick Larson to his special friend, Linda, deceased wife, Julie, oil tycoon, Bret Wells, money manager, Lenny Zellon and so on, I've believe I've met them all. Another thing that amazes is that the author weaves a yarn with a topic that is, or certainly could be, current news. It is sort of a cross between the old film, "Wall Street," and the more recent film, "Boiler Room."

In our current world we have been swamped with news of boardroom antics and financial manipulation. The headlines have screamed Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. This novel is so real you feel you can almost add the name Nugget Petroleum of Houston to the current roster. Does a Houston setting have a familiar ring? When you add in other wonderful venues such as San Francisco and Buenos Aires you have a novel that has real glamour locations as its backdrop.

This author knows of that which he speaks. He has constructed a story of suspense that is both timely and interesting. It will appeal to those people who are not in the financial arena as well as those that are. While you may not read the entire book in one night it will certainly keep you enough in suspense to finish it in two.

I found myself overlooking the rough edges in this book and simply enjoying experience of being held in the hands of a true storyteller. I am not a boxer and don't frequent Hell's Kitchen but after ten pages I was completely invested in the lives of the characters. The author's compassion and heart come through in every scene. Buy this book and enjoy it!

This is a strong, compelling first novel written by an author who brings compassion and heart to each of his characters. I recommend it highly.

Matt Bloom has created not only a tale of moral struggle, but has evoked disturbingly real, multi-faceted characters that draw one in not by
contrived heroism or allegory, but by unflinching attention to gut realism. He does not sweeten his characters or scenarios to make them artificially sympathetic, but displays a finely honed sensitivity and courage to face and evoke the emptiness and search for authenticity of his range of characters and experience. This is all accomplished with the skill and depth possessed only by a true writer, one who yearns to and succeeds at creating new and genuine realities.

I not only had the pleasure of watching Matt immerse himself in disparate lifestyles in order to feed his writing over the years, but I boxed lots of rounds with him. It is an honor to have seen him turn his cultivated, unpretentious talent, his hours of training and taking (and slipping - he's really good in the ring) punches, and his uncompromised immersion into life, and turn them into literature that is both memorably fine and a pleasure to experience. Highly recommended.

In Blue Paradise, Matt Bloom creates a vivid landscape of stragglers and ragged souls - but you could never call them losers, for one of Bloom's gifts as a writer is that his characters live within the real world, where hope is always a choice, for those who reach for it.

This novel is full of great characters populating a world the reader can see, hear and almost touch. It's a difficult, painful world - one might even say it's sordid in many ways, but I have to say that the author's sympathy and understanding,not to be confused with sentimentality, for his characters brings a strong sense of realism and complexity to this work.

Of course, it's fundamentally a great story, with a good dose of suspense and an ending that, quite frankly, gives me goosebumps.

I just can't resist checking out fresh young voices whose books deal with New York City sleaze and whose main characters are named Nick.

Nick is a young bartender in a working class bar in the west 40's. He is a boxer who is training for his big fight. Naturally, the local mob figures want him to throw the fight. His best friend, Jimmy, is a loser who patronizes massage and porn parlors, drinks too much, and always is trying schemes that don't work. The author uses simple words but yet gets into the heart and soul of the characters. I felt their reality as they moved about in their world, breathed the dust on the West Side Highway, smelled the beer in the bar, felt the mugginess of the summer heat wave. More characterization than story, but I still couldn't stop reading. A good first novel and an author to watch. Recommended.

This book is a wonderful introduction and reference work on the art of boatbuilding. Although I would love to see Mr. Steward do an online version of the book so that the techniques and materials would remain up-to-date, his methods and materials are time-tested and proven to work as is. There is no better work for beginners.

This book is (or should be) truly mandatory for anyone constructing a boat or rebuilding a boat (sail or power) made of wood. It is an invaluable reference, and has a wealth of information and tips for the most experienced boatbuilder. Most importantly however, is that it paints a remarkably accuate portrait of what is involved in working with the media of wood and water. It will either encourage the motivated amateur, or discourage him or her with its no-nonsense explanation of the nature of such an undertaking.

In short, it makes life easier for *anyone* who works with wooden boats, sail or power.

I'm actually building a boat and will tell you that this book is a good overview on the topic, but when it comes to finding specifics for a particular project it will usually fall short. I have had much better luck with a specific research topic referring to the likes of Fred Bingham, Howard Chappelle, Bud Mcintosh, and Larry Pardey. Having said that, your library is not complete without this classic. It is another valued tool in the toolbox

The Boatbuilding Manual is essentially a text book, in all sense of the word, of boatbuilding. It's a great introduction to boatbuilding for beginners and amateurs. If you're looking for a quick, purely instructional guide to building a seacraft, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you are looking for an in-depth, well-researched and well-presented book building a boat, then you have the right book.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, easy to read, and simple to understand. It is really all you need to build your own wooden book. It is inspirational and important at the same time. This would make a wonderful textbook for those whom wish to study the craft in a more rigorous academic environment. While it is a great book, I found some other books better as far as being more complete and up to date. I rated this book a four star rating for this, and only this, reason. I recommend it, and suggest that it would make a great addition to any library of book construction techniques.

When Joseph Mitchell died in 1996 at the age of 87, the obituary that appeared in the New York Times, May 25, 1996, called him the "chronicler of the unsung and the unconventional." Mitchell began his career as a writer for The New York Herald Tribune in 1929. His career spanned the 1930s to the 1960s. He joined The New Yorker in 1938, and the pieces he contributed to that magazine have continued to gather momentum, taking on a life of their own. The six essays offered in this collection, a revised edition of The Bottom of the Harbor, were first published between 1944 and 1959.

Mitchell came to New York from rural North Carolina, and quickly found a fascination with life in the city. His essays, a combination of oral history, natural history, and psychological observation, reflect his love for the people and the surroundings of New York, with a special emphasis on fishermen and others involved in life around the harbor.

The first essay in the collection, "Up in the Old Hotel," is a kind of mystery--from a restaurant on the ground floor of a building near the Fulton Fish Market, Mitchell leads the reader to wonder along with him what the abandoned floors above may hold. It is this idea of mystery, things hidden from view, which permeate his stories. Whether he is describing the rat infestations on board ships in the harbor or the wild flowers growing in graveyards, his eye for detail is captivating. The narrative in each essay unfolds slowly, following a kind of wandering trajectory like the paths Mitchell takes to visit the individuals whose stories he relates with charm.

The Bottom of the Harbor is a book to be enjoyed slowly. The characters and settings are vividly drawn. The historical detail will delight those readers with an interest in New York's past, and the oral histories will captivate those readers who have a penchant for dialogue and psychology.

Armchair Interviews says: First-class essays all will enjoy.

The people that Joseph Mitchell introduces the reader to in these character sketches are representative of a New York that no longer exists and their stories are nostalgic and sentimental. But there is more here than that. Mitchell writes with a respect for his subjects regardless of their circumstances that reveals a true observer of life at work. Without a hint of judgementalism he takes the time to understand and the reader is rewarded and enriched as a result.
This collection is particulary good and Up In The Old Hotel contains more of the same style. The latter book is more readily available although I found a copy of this at the Strand bookstore off Union Square.

He really does take you places. Places you may have been before, but in a time we'll never know again. As I'm reading, I'm careful to catch every word, afraid of missing out on the world he's revealing to me.

This is the first I've ever read of Mitchell, but he's already one of my favorite authors. Journalism at its finest.

Informative and very well-written short stories about life near and on the New York waterways in the 1940-1950's. A thoughtful and seemingly kind writer...I will definately read more of his work.

There are so many good things I could say about The Bottom of the Harbor. Mitchell's writing style is clean easy to read without lacking in depth and texture. The stories themselves are fascinating and off beat.

But the best part of the book are the characters Mitchell writes about. They come alive through his portrayals and you will find yourself thinking about them, their thoughts, and their ways of life long after you stop reading.

The book contains six separate stories, each about 40 (short) pages long, so you can absorb them at your own pace without losing the thread. Personally, I had a hard time putting the book down.

In this important book, the authors tackle an old issue in a modern context. We might recall that Victor Hugo, in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, discussed the moral and cultural implications of the printing press. Burniske and Monke bring this discussion to the 1990s by studying the implications of Internet technology on education. The fundamental question centers on what it means to be educated in the first place. Burniske, for example, makes a distinction between being trained, the language of technology, and being educated, the language of the humanities. This book walks us through specific efforts by the authors to integrate Internet technology into their classroom teaching, but what clearly galls both of them is that deeper questions about how to properly educate students are getting lost in the hype over equipment, technical wizardry and on-line chatter. There are plenty of kids out there who can create web sites, hack into complex systems, and master the language of technology, but do these same kids know right from wrong? Can they critically read a text, or relate to the deep emotions revealed in a play or novel, or even treat fellow classmates or online correspondents with respect? These issues are the real test of education, and if they get lost in the hype, we are building a Brave New World every bit as pernicious as the one described by Huxley. Burniske is an innovator who is trying to find ways to correctly use technology in the classroom, that is, without surrendering human issues or context. Monke is more skeptical, perhaps, but a willing participant in the dialogue -- how can teachers be empowered and liberated to properly educate their students.

Students, by the way, are the real concern of these two teachers. They do not see them as products or consumers, but as a community of people who need to be nurtured, cared about and finally led to a deeper and wiser understanding of their place in the world. Burniske and Monke are teachers in the best tradition of that word. They are about shedding light on the human experience, not simply walking the beaten (and often failed) paths of traditional educational discourse. Whether you agree or disagree with their arguments, you will find the discussion worth the effort. The final chapter is riveting, but the rest of the book provides a rich context for an important, humane and caring dialogue about some very important issues confronting humanity.

I heard one of the authors, Dr. Burniske, speak at the Odyssey Bookstore in Massachusetts in July. He gave such an impressive and thoughtful talk that I decided to buy a copy of this book. I'm not an educator, but I am a parent and I found this an extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking book. I don't think you have to be a teacher to understand the stories that Burniske and Monke tell or the ideas that they develop. It helps, however, to understand some of the problems that teachers face with respect to their own professional development. If you've not been in a school recently this book will certainly help you understand why so many teachers struggle with new technology -- and why we all should be asking more questions about its place in the curriculum. As some of the other reviewers have suggested, I think this should be required reading for every parent and teacher who wishes to take part in the discussion of technology in education.

I believe this book will greatly help educators to find practical and very effective uses of this emerging technology. With the guidance of this book, educators should lose their confusion and the trepidations that I believe many of us have in the use of this potentially excellent tool. With a bit of help from their teachers, students can learn to focus their efforts and perhaps for the first time, realize they can take part in making positive and profound changes in their lives and in the lives of others that they will touch. The deep insights revealed by this book, and the practical ideas presented by Burniske and Monke will reduce or eliminate much stess by educators that do not wish to repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before us.

I am a high school (Gymnasium) teacher from Germany and I picked up a copy of this book at an education conference. We have been using computers in our school for two years now but have received little training in how to use them to aid our teaching (we have received only technical training). By looking at the case studies in this book I finally have a good, practical guide for me that I can use to help teach my students using e-mail and the Internet. This really opens up a whole new world of learning for me and my students. It is nice to finally read *by teachers* about how teachers are actually using the technology, and not just a bunch of theories on how you *could* use it. Highly recommended.

As a secondary school English and social studies teacher, I found "Breaking Down the Digital Walls" to be inspiring, thoughtful and helpful. I would like to embark upon a telecollaborative project with my students, and use the Internet for something more than research, but until now, I hadn't felt prepared to do so. This book provided me with ideas and support, and it was interesting to read - thank you!

One of the most interesting parts of this book is Schwarz's examination of how Runyon created the special language of his 'Runyonese', of how he put together the language of vaudeville, of the radio, of the criminals slang, of New York City street talk, of Yiddish mamaloshen, to build an idiom all his own yet reflecting the energy and vibrancy of his special world of gamblers, sportspeople, Broadway characters , of all types.
Schwarz is also interested in examining how Runyon contributed to the shaping of our image of New York City, of urban life in general.
An outstanding study especially for those who know who Nicely- Nicely and Harry the Horse are.

"Broadway Boogie Woogie" is a fascinating read, both for anyone who finds New York City a fascinating city and for anyone with an interest in the origins of today's debate about how American journalism does and should shape the popular imagination. In "Broadway," Schwarz convincingly and vividly portrays an early-twentieth-century urban world of celebrity journalists and criminals, those who set the stage for that part of today's popular culture embodied in the celebrity cult phenomenon.
At the same time, he paints the true American Dream story of Damon Runyon, a man who used words--from his newspaper articles to his short stories--to pull himself out of humble beginnings to attain wealth and fame. But while Runyon took full advantage of the elevated status he reached in early 20th century society--somewhat in the tradition of William Randolph Heart--he never forgot where he came from: his highly entertaining stories about humble men and women were suffused with a great deal of sympathy and sometimes even glorified shadowy and desperate lives. Anyone who ever loved "Guys and Dolls" and "West Side Story" should read this book.

"Broadway Boogie Woogie" is a fascinating read, both for anyone who finds New York City a fascinating city and for anyone with an interest in the origins of today's debate about how American journalism does and should shape the popular imagination. In "Broadway," Schwarz convincingly and vividly portrays an early-twentieth-century urban world of celebrity journalists and criminals, those who set the stage for that part of today's popular culture embodied in the celebrity cult phenomenon.
At the same time, he paints a true story of "the American dream," embodied in Damon Runyon, a self-made man who used words--through his newspaper articles to his short stories--to pull himself out of humble beginnings to attain wealth and fame. But while Runyon took full advantage of the elevated status he reached in early 20th century society--somewhat in the tradition of William Randolph Heart--he never forgot where he came from: his wrote about humble men and women with a great deal of sympathy, sometimes even glorifying the lifestyles of the shadowy and desperate. Anyone who ever loved "Guys and Dolls" and "West Side Story" should read this book.

Schwarz has written a fine book that captures the energy and excitment of high life and low life in Manhattan in the first half of the twentieth century. He discusses Damon Runyon's many short stories--including those that were incorporated in the musical "Guys and Dolls"--setting them in their historical context and drawing our attention to Runyon's gift for conveying speech in writing. Schwarz also discusses Runyon's life and his work as a reporter who covered many of the major events of the day, especially showcase trials like the Lindberg trial. If you liked "Seabiscuit," you; will like this book: as with "Seabiscuit," you will come away from Schwarz's book feeling that you have vacationed in the twenties and thirties and have been enriched by the experience.

BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE situates Runyon's stories and reportage in their New York, circa 1929-1946, context and tells us why Runyon's work still matters. The seriousness and skill that Schwarz used in earlier books to examine the writings of High Modernism (Conrad, Joyce, Woolf, Wallace Stevens) he uses here to illuminate the "wiseguy" world of BROADWAY BOOGIE WOOGIE. With insight and compassion Schwarz re-visits this world of gamblers, gangsters, swindlers, womanizers, and cheats and looks at America's ever present yearning to "take a walk on the wild side." The book should appeal to not only students and scholars in American Studies, 20th Century American History, Urban and Immigration History, Working-Class Studies, and American Literature, but also to anyone who simply loves New York.

Beautiful book, wonderfully written, about the most amazing and historic site in the great borough of Brooklyn, NY.

"It was the ambition of the New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the [Central] Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood."

- From an 1866 New York Times article


Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery - New York's Buried Treasure by Jeffrey I. Richman is full of interesting stories and anecdotes of New York's most colorful citizens. As the dust jacket so eloquently states: "Everybody loves a great story, and Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery has many of New York's great stories to tell. Everyone who was anybody in 19th century New York wanted to be buried there, and they were."

Some names you are sure to recognize - Elias Howe, Jr. (inventor of the sewing machine), Nathaniel Currier and James M. Ives (Currier & Ives prints), Henry Ward Beecher (pastor), Edward R. Murrow (TV and radio journalist), Henry Engelhard Steinway (of piano fame!), Leonard Bernstein (composer), Louis Comfort Tiffany (acclaimed designer).

But the lesser known figures in Richman's book have fascinating histories of their own. For example, you may have seen the movie Glory, the story of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War. General George Crockett Strong, who died leading the charge on Fort Wagner, now reposes at Green-Wood.

Charles Feltman, the Coney Island restaurateur who is credited with inventing the hot dog as we know it, is also buried at Green-Wood. He was born in Germany, where he was intimately familiar with the frankfurter. To help improve business, he decided to put the frank in a special long roll, to make it easier to eat while walking on the street or strolling the beach. The rest, as they say, is history.

The book is lavishly illustrated with a wide variety of historic images from several different sources, showing the author's broad range and scope when composing his narrative. Richman photographed all of the cemetery monuments himself, adding a sense of place to each of Green-Wood's permanent residents.

Although the book is a bit pricey, it is well worth the money. It is only available in hardcover, and is 240 pages long. It is written as a collection of short biographies that you can pick up and read now and again.

But I will warn you: Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down!

I found this book to be an interesting chronology of the individuals who, at some point in time, were the bedrock (sorry about that) of New York's high society as well as its underworld (well, maybe I'm not so sorry).

In addition to its well prepared text, the book is a wealth of contemporary photographs and a rich collection of historically significant pictures and illustrations.

A major portion of the book is devoted to the magnificent monuments, memorials, and statuary that make Green-Wood the "buried treasure" that is it.

You don't really have to be from New York to buy this. It's a very nice history of the individuals who populate the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. I picked it up after my first trip[ to Green Wood and found it very useful on the second trip. Though it lacks much in the way of maps to find the markers were you planning to seek them out, it is lavishly illustrated with short biographical bits on the more prominent people there mixed into a history of the cemetery.

I purchased this book directly through Greenwood Cemetery. Greenwood is the most magnificent cemetery and this books uncovers so much of it's rich history. I live very close to it and visit it regularly. It's full of great photographs and you'd be wise to get yourself a copy. Jeff Richman thoroughly explores this Greenwood. I have a framed picture of the Niblo Lion monument hanging on my wall that Mr. Richman was kind enough to inscribe for me. Just one of his many beautiful photographs. Highly recommended.

Terrific photo essay on the people that make up good old Brooklyn NY.
This book is a must for all Brooklynites, current and past residents.
It really captures the essence of each individual highlighted, with a
interesting mix of subjects. Highly recommend-

I love this book! It embodies everything Brooklyn. I grew up in upstate New York, didn't visit Brooklyn until I was in my 30s, I fell in love immediately with the sights, sounds and people...there is nothing fake about Brooklyn, it's the real deal. This book not only puts it into words, but amazing portraits of the people that live and work there. It's worth a look.

The care with which these two have crafted this vision of our beloved Brooklyn is evident in every shot and sentence. I went to high school with both of the authors and am in the book. But even if I hadn't and weren't, from half way across the country this book would make me feel like I was back on the block.

Growing up in the nosebleed section of Queens, I always admired Brooklyn from afar. And this incredible book captures it all in verse and image--it's big and brash and bold and beautiful and unabashedly proud. You'll find all the big Brooklynite names profiled here (Spike Lee, Rosie Perez, Jonathan Lethem...) but I think what makes the book so touching is how the authors were able to capture the "real" people who call this place home. In these pages, you find a sense of pride and community that has all but evaporated in the rest of the city...and the country, for that matter. Deserves a spot on your bookshelf or coffee table.

As a native Brooklynite now living beyond the boundaries of Kings County I spend at least half of every day pining away for the comfort, culture and security of this beloved borough. Now I have found an artful and authentic way to bring Brooklyn back to my senses and into my life. Well done.

Has there ever been a more unlikely hero than Richard Gillies? I don't know one.

A socially awkward, somewhat introverted, Social Security claims analyst in Manhattans lower east side, our first glimpses into his inner landscape show a slightly creepy office savant whose most joyful moments arise during his innocent but fantasy tinged interactions with a married coworker. From these humble beginnings, however, he evolves into a highly principled and courageous bureaucratic knight in shining armor, risking all that he has and even endangering his dream girl, so that a wild collection of bizarre and unfortunate individuals can justly partake of society's benefits. Even when he is finally discovered and threatened with prosecution, he remains courageous and true to his ideals,and in so doing provides inspiration for others to display their better selves.

The strength of character which he comes to display was always there, it seems, but never reached the surface, mostly because it wasn't needed. Crucial to its emergence is the General, a father figure and martyred leader, who may be roughly and partially modeled after a real psychoanalytic business maven named Leonard Strahl. The conjunction of Richards own unique brilliance at the SSA bureaucratic process with his innate sense of justice and compassion, nudged on by the General, creates an underground superhero who we can all marvel at, however unhappily improbable he may be in real life.

Throughout the tale, there are numerous fascinating and lascivious subplots showing others besides Richard who develop and bring to the surface their own higher aspirations and potentials...or not....It's kinda like a snow ball effect when one person breaks free of the things which limit their own true expression, and in realizing their better self inspires others to do the same.

Plus the good guy gets the girl in the end !

Something for everybody !!! WooHoo!!!

Bureaucrat is a compelling read, which is surprising because the protagonist is one of the least sympathetic subspecies of homo sapiens: the Social Security Administration claims representative. The author makes one care about the claim rep Richard and his two beloveds, one a fellow worker, one a client. Just as notable an accomplishment is he also forces us to care about Richard's many other clients, memorable characters from New York's homeless population. Be carried along as the plot unfolds and as Richard acquires and avoids self-knowledge; it is an engaging journey.

Eric Rosenblatt mines the subterranean world of New York City--and the human heart--in this perplexing new novel. His protagonist, Richard Gillies, is Elckerlijc--Everyman--wrestling with moral ambiguity. Ultimately, Gillies understands that in the end, a person will only have his good deeds to accompany him beyond the grave. A significant work of staggering complexity from a promising young author.

The people in this novel are related to Chekhov's characters: they live submerged lives and they evolve in fascinating and surprising ways as the story turns. This is a great unknown work of art--and it's also accessible to people who like Pee Wee Herman.

This is a story of a middle-income guy risking it all to give the city's loonies a proper chance at life. This along with a romantic twist and a clever plot becomes an intriguing, page-turning, honest novel with wit and integrity. And the imagery of New York City is fascinating! I absolutely recommend this book - I couldn't put it down!