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New York Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

New York
New York: Architects 01-02
Published in Paperback by PSA Publishers LLC (2001-11-30)
Author: Carl G. Friedrich
List price: $39.95
Used price: $31.98

Average review score:

New York ý Inside and Out
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-21
Someone gave me New York: Architects 01-02 as a gift. What a great gift! I really enjoyed this book even though I am far from artistic and know nothing about architecture and design.

The book has a stylish cover that features a pattern of geometric, almost-three-dimensional boxes that are in different shades of blue. The internal layout is easy to follow and provides a way to compare architects and their styles virtually side-by-side.

At least one reason I personally liked the book so much is that I've lived in NY for many years, and a decent number of the pictures in this book were of buildings and interior spaces I've walked by or through, admired or have always meant to see. It was interesting to focus on the art, design and structure of these buildings and spaces that are a part of my daily life and nice to realize how much New York architects have contributed to the character of New York.

Architect buffs, people getting ready to build or design a home or office or urbanites planning to design or restructure an apartment anywhere in the world will all love this book, will appreciate the easy access to information about a large number of architects and will find it incredibly useful as a source of design ideas.

Finally, modern NY architects are in the spotlight!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-16
What a great idea! Organized as a directory of modern architectural firms based in the New York area, this book allowed me to really get an in-depth perspective on each firm. I particularly enjoyed the section in each architectural profile where the architects themselves talk about their personal design philosophy. And of course, all those wonderful photographs of spaces and buildings! This would be a great gift book both for the serious lover of modern architecture or for someone who just likes to dream about beautiful spaces.

you don't even have to be an architect...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-16
You don't have to be an architect to really enjoy this book.

The concept of the book, to present a number of incredibly diverse NY architects in once space, is fantastic and one I haven't seen before. And the book itself, while functional, is also great to look through and easy to read and follow. The pictures of the architectural works beautifully illustrate the diversity, style and capabilities of each architect, while the written information accesses the entire world of the particular architect by showing the scope of that architect's experience and the works for which each is responsible.

What a great book to have on your shelf or coffee table, both for the architectural of mind and the architectural lay person.

Useful tool, great pictures
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-16
I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

Useful tool, great pictures
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-16
I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

New York
Nine Months at Ground Zero
Published in Kindle Edition by Scribner (2006-04-14)
Author: Robert Gray
List price: $17.99
New price: $9.99

Average review score:

Excellent Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-13
A very good book of information not provided by the media due to there restricted access of area. Suggested for anyone whois looking for more detail than the news provided about how the recovery and cleanup effort was handled. Informative as to Ground Zero was like, how the clean up started so fast, how it was handled during those 9 months.

We Owe Them a Debt
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-22
For all the crowds who were compelled to come to Ground Zero in those first traumatic months to see for themselves, pay their respects or simply offer moral support, most did not get close enough to see what these men and women who worked "The Pile" saw. Their lives will never be the same. Dedicated first and foremost to bringing home the victims, cutting a giant tangle of twisted steel and pushing compressed concrete--1.8 million tons of "debris"--the ironworkers, heavy equipment operators and other tradesmen who worked the site were heroic in their selfless determination to work fast and see the job through to the end. Reporters were not allowed inside and workers who talked to them could be fired. Unprepared for the horror they would see but pushing through, day after day to get the job done, these men and women came together in an unspoken bond which could not be breached, even by members of their own family. This is a story everyone should know. God bless them all.

We owe a debt of gratitude
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-31
The "outside world" owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who worked hard to respectfully recover those who were killed on 9/11.
This book goes a long way to bring those of use who observed from afar closer to what happened in the aftermath.
The courage to step up and the morality to do what is right is imbedded in these individuals.
Thank you.

9/11 HEROS & ANGELS
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-26
This book is a terrific account of the story of the recovery from the Pile to the Pit at the WTC Site. In contrast with the twisted and bitter 'American Ground' written by William Langewiesche some years ago, 'Nine Months's firsthand hand accounts from the rank and file men and women from the FDNY, NYPD and Constuction Trade show the human efforts and bursting hearts that forged those involved in the recovery into a band of brothers. Their desperate efforts and hopes again inspire us through this account.

It was worth waiting for until now to hear their stories in their own words and much applause to Glenn Stout, Charlie Vitchers and Robert Gray for putting this together for the rest of us. No one should miss it.

For All Those Construction Workers Who Were "In The Pit"
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-25
Thank you Bobby, for imortalizing the experience, and heartache, of us all.

New York
No Easy Place to Be: A Novel
Published in Hardcover by Simon & Schuster (1989-01)
Author: Steven Corbin
List price: $19.95
New price: $14.99
Used price: $0.38
Collectible price: $19.95

Average review score:

Brought Tears my Eyes
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-05
I just happened to pick up this book at the library because I enjoyed Fragments That Remain. The story about three sisters in post World War I Harlem swept me away into a time that is so important in African American history. Corbin did an excellent job interwoving the characters in actual events in history. The characters and the settings seemed more realistic, intriguing, and exciting. I could not put the book down. The pain and joy of these sisters and the people involved in their lives brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to intercede in their world (like their mother) and tell them you can do can better. But the reader is forced to let them live their lives and learn from their joy and pain just like their mother had to let go. I cannot wait to read his other novel.

Simply Outstanding!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-02
I read this book in the early 90's and it still remains one of the best books I have read! It is a shame that this book is out of print and did not do better when first published. The story is so interesting and character development was done with such skill and finesse. Unlike a lot books I have read lately, my interest in the story and characters never waned. It took me a few months to finish the last few pages because I didn't want the story to end.

I first read this when I was 11 years old.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-11
The book was very hard to put down, and more interesting than any tv show could ever be. It wasn't one of those types of books that was slow in the begining, interestings in the middle, but then ends in a way that doesn't make sense. This book is interesting from front to cover.

A truly entertaining piece of literature.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-10-16
I found this book in a relatives book collection and now I refuse to return it. This is the first and only book that I have been able to read more than once and I can honestly say that I am anxious for a sequel.

This book started me on the rode to reading!!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-02-25
Now, this was some good reading. I stumbled across this book around 1992-93 while in the library with my daughter. I hadn't read a book in 15 years. It opened my eyes to the world of reading. This book gave a clear view of life in Harlem during the 1920's, which must have been one of the most exciting times to be alive. It was so vividly written that I felt as if I knew every character. I could not put it down. I've recommended it to many, many others who also thoroughly enjoyed it. The only disappointment was no followup book. To this day, I yearn to find out what became of those three sisters. I haven't read anything yet that compares. Anyone who knows Mr. Corbin should let him know we await a sequel.

New York
The Nylon Hand of God
Published in Hardcover by William Morrow & Co (1996-03)
Author: Steven Hartov
List price: $23.00
New price: $14.95
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Average review score:

Another great read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-27
Why Hartov's name isn't right up there in popularity and acclaim with Daniel Silva and other better-known authors of spy thrillers is beyond me. In this fine novel, as in The Heat of Ramadan, his characters are complex and wonderfully drawn and developed - he has a knack for realizing secondary and 'throwaway' characters that is just amazing. Hartov's plotting is smooth, tricky, tight, and plausible. There is both technical expertise and a subtle, pleasurable literary touch to his writing (my half-star off on NHoG would be that the military/paratroop technicalese got just a smidge too thick for me at times). His books sizzle along - that's my one criticism (tongue firmly in cheek): I finish his books too fast because I don't put them down - and then what?! Wait another 4 or 5 years? Tell the man to get back to work.

an excellent story with fascinating characters.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-03-23
i don't understand why this author isn't being published more. he's a talented writer, with an obvious first hand knowledge of what he writes about. i think he's a potential clancy,ludlum or forsyth.

Hartov delivers the goods with an insider's edge.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-17
While being an insider isn't a prerequisite for being a great writer of intriuge, it doesn't hurt Hartov's novel any. Thankfully he has the skills to flesh out three-dimensional characters. Benni Baum's attempts to reconcile with his daughter, Martina Klump's obsessions and Ruth's feelings for her father and for a NYPD dectective are positive additions to the conflict.

excellent book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-25
There is just one word which can describe The Nylon Hand of God - excellent. Steven Hartov writes with the expertise of an insider. The language itself is rich, as well as beautifully descriptive. This book is a definite must for anybody who is interrested in good fiction.

Another Winner From Hartov!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-26
As usual with one of Hartov's books this book is action packed
and exciting.The book begins with a suicide bombing at the Israeli embassy in New York. Benni Baum is sent to investigate the bombing. While there he attempts to reconcile with his daughter.After looking at the bombing he and his partner believe
that the situation is being manipulated by Iranian agents.They
also discover that one of Baum's arch enemies Maria Klump from East Germany may also be involved in this plot.There are gun battles all over the place and intense action.This book gives you the feeling of having a front row seat.I wish that we could get more books out of Hartov because he has proven himself to be
an excellent author.

New York
One Police Plaza
Published in Hardcover by Random House Value Publishing (1986-08-24)
Author: William Caunitz
List price: $3.99
New price: $38.91
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Great Police Procedural
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-02
This book was great. It felt like I was reading about 3 dimensional characters, not stereotypical cops. An excellent plot that unfolds a little at a time. I would have to say that author CAUNITZ owes a great deal to the late, great ED McBAIN. For a first novel, CAUNITZ delivers a polished product and succeeds on many different levels. I have never been a police detective so I would not really know the authenticity of their dialogue but these detectives talk like real people. All in all a great book and I am glad I picked it up at the library and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Keeps your heart racing through every page!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-09-28
Strong character development, plausible plot, realistic dialogue with a splash of sexuality. Opening pages can be a bit disturbing; not for the faint of heart. Well worth reading; a good book to read when you don't sleep alone. And hope no one you care about ends up in the scenes he describes!

Authentic, accurate, and addictive!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1997-05-14
I had nightmares after the first night of reading due to Caunitz's vivid depiction of a murder scene. The book had a marvelous pace and had nice character and plot development. If you like whodunits you'll love "One Police Plaza"

A thriller with an authentic feel to it.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-27
When the body of Sara Eisinger, travel agent is found, it is just another homicide for Detective Lieutenant Dan Malone and his detectives. Then a few of her possessions are checked and things don't add up. A key that gives access to an exclusive sex club. Two phone numbers that are unlisted CIA. Definitely not your typical travel agent.

These cause Malone and his team to become embroiled in a mystery involving the NYPD, CIA and Mossad. His bosses try to stop the investigation from proceeding but it's already too late and the action carries on until the inevitable violent conclusion in Brooklyn.

Overall this book is a good read. As the author is a retired Detective Lieutenant of the NYPD, you can't help wonder how much of Dan Malone is based around William J. Caunitz. As would be expected, the routine police work is detailed and is interspersed well with some of the action sequences.

This is the authors first book, which is maybe why everything is oriented around the main character, whom just happens to be something that the author once was. Not that this is a negative point, the story line works well and although the main story-line itself is not too plausible, IMO, the way that it is constructed has given the book a feeling of authenticity that someone without the authors background would maybe not have been able to do.

David Lucas (davidlu@sco.com).

The greatest police procedural ever written. Gritty!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-24
The drab, dangerous and often funny details of police work give One Police Plaza a hard-boiled realism. Caunitz shows how government hacks, Mafiosi, reporters, spies and even New York's Catholic Diocese are linked to the cops and each other by a system of favors Malone's manipulation of his superiors and his relentless dedication give this novel the page-turning pull we expect from a good thriller. Its special strength is its carefully exacting depiction of what the working life of a big city police department really is like. With the same bold clarity that served him as a New York City police detective, first-novelist Caunitz delivers a powerful tale of murder and espionage. . . Caunitz expertly depicts the stark reality of the police officer's life and work, and his hard-edged prose drives the story to a stunning conclusion.

New York
Orpheus' Blues
Published in Kindle Edition by (2008-05-25)
Author: Carlos Rubio
List price: $15.95
New price: $9.99

Average review score:

Rhapsody in Orpheus' Blues
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-15
From the security of a comfortable life in Oak Grove, Virginia to the razor cold streets of New York City, Jack Stewart is bound and determined to pursue a career as a jazz musician - against all odds. When he returns home from a tour of duty in Nam, all that life asks of him is that he settle down and carry on the successful family business. Why would anyone who could have it so easy cast their fate to the brutal winds of such an uncertain livilihood as a jazz musician in New York City? There is more to this story by Carlos Rubio than Young man from hometown America sets out to become a jazz musician. In the way that Dizzy Gillespie "like a majestic bird in flight" blows his magic horn and he is suddenly the indisputed center of the universe; from the bottom of his heart to the mouthpiece of his tenor sax, Jack has no doubt that music will deliver him. With Hans (a gothic cathedral of a man in the woof and warp world of jazz), the owner of the Jazz club Empty Hand as his mentor, beautiful woman at the snap of his fingers, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day on a first name basis with Jack as his inspiration, and the jazz epicenter of Greenwich Village as his stage, you would think that Jack Stewart had arrived. Deliverance, however, comes with a price tag. If you have a tall mountain to climb, or a vast valley to cross, or a tenor sax you desire to master, then this book is a must to read. This is a users guide for those of us who prefer center stage to going through life sitting in the cheap seats in the back row. And for those of you whose only request from life is a good book to read, then this is your lucky day.

Alan Hodgkinson
Author of After Incoming

RHAPSODY IN ORPHEUS' BLUE
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-15
From the security of a comfortable life in Oak Grove, Virginia to the razor cold streets of New York City, Jack Stewart is bound and determined to pursue a career as a jazz musician - against all odds. When he returns home from a tour of duty in Nam, all that life asks of him is that he settle down and carry on the successful family business. Why would anyone who could have it so easy cast their fate to the brutal winds of such an uncertain livilihood as a jazz musician in New York City? There is more to this story by Carlos Rubio than Young man from hometown America sets out to become a jazz musician. In the way that Dizzy Gillespie "like a majestic bird in flight" blows his magic horn and he is suddenly the indisputed center of the universe; from the bottom of his heart to the mouthpiece of his tenor sax, Jack has no doubt that music will deliver him. With Hans (a gothic cathedral of a man in the woof and warp world of jazz), the owner of the Jazz club Empty Hand as his mentor, beautiful woman at the snap of his fingers, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day on a first name basis with Jack as his inspiration, and the jazz epicenter of Greenwich Village as his stage, you would think that Jack Stewart had arrived. Deliverance, however, comes with a price tag. If you have a tall mountain to climb, or a vast valley to cross, or a tenor sax you desire to master, than this book is a must to read. This is a users guide for those of us who prefer center stage to going through life sitting in the cheap seats in the back row. And for those of you whose only request from life is a good book to read, then this is your lucky day.

Alan Hodgkinson
Author of After Incoming

Rhapsody In Orpheus Blue
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-11
Meet Jack Stewart, struggling jazz musician who could have coasted comfortably through life by carrying on the family business after returning home from his stint in the Army. His mother who he is so near and dear to him would like nothing more than this. And his desire as a good son is to please her. But he is torn. The problem is, this is not Mr. Two-story-house-with- white-picket-fence-in-the-suburbs. This is a man ultimately in search of himself. Something deep inside told Jack early on that he could only express himself through the mouthpiece of a saxaphone. Now, meet yourself. Knowing thyself is key to everything. This is what Carlos Rubio's novel is really about. The theme here is universal. People who have a profound effect on Jack, like Hans, owner of The Empty Hand coffee house who possesses the old world solidity of a gothic cathedral gives Jack his first clue concerning his unbeknowst quest for a voice when he tells Jack about Orpheus, the musician in Greek mythology who only finds his voice after coming to grips with his own insignificance; or Jack's idol Dizzy Gillespie, a man who blows his bent horn like his life depends on it. Jack meets him one day. During that meeting, Dizzy tells Hans that Jack just needs to "lossen up." Lorraine comes along and teaches Jack just that - how to lossen up. In doing so, she teaches him something important about life, this in a way a man could never learn from his parents. So, all these characters who become part of Jack's daily life in Greenwich Village converge to facilitate Jack's necessary transformation. But of course the real transformation has to come from within. The sudden death of his mother and uniting with his father for the first time as a result of her death is the nudge that completes his transformation. At last, Jack plays his sax like he has never played it before. You see, he is not playing his saxaphone, but he's living fully for the first in his life - he's living through the medium of a musical instrument, a medium that he loves. Jack finds his voice as we all must, least we perish, ironically in the realm of our own significance.

Orheus Blues
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-22
Carlos Rubio captures the struggle of a young artist and the feel of New York City's jazz world. His vivid descriptions brings the sights and sounds of a village night club to the reader to the point of hearing the soulful music and smelling the smokey Empty Hand Cafe. Jack Stewart, the main character, struggles with fullfilling his dreams against all odds. Along the way the importance of mentors, friends, sacrifices, and believing in oneself are interwoven in the theme. This story will be enjoyed by all.

Filled with the art and music that gives soul to life!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-09
Step into the little known world of struggling artists, musicians and writers. This novel of a man's self discovery takes us through close relationships and a troubled past. The author vividly immerses us in the culture and lifestyle found in the Empty Hand, a nightclub whose after hours camaraderie fostered by Hans, their benefactor and philosopher, who holds them, and the novel, together. This is a very well written and descriptive novel that lets you feel the comfort and joy, the frustration and hope of a section of our society few know about. For anyone who has the artist within them, this is one you don't want to miss.

New York
Paramedic
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Bantam (1991-11-01)
Author: Paul Shapiro
List price: $4.99
New price: $36.19
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

fun read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-02
I met a recently retired paramedic who recommended this book as a good book about the reality of what it means to be a paramedic in New York City. He said it was pretty accurate and a good read. He was right. I really enjoyed the story and learning more about this vital service.

this book is so good that i read it in 4 days
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-03
I literally could not put the book down. It made me laugh and cry.

Saving lives in the Big Apple
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-30
Paul Shapiro's account of his experiences as a paramedic in Manhattan is exciting, illuminating, and amusing. I was a volunteer EMT for 12 years, but NYC is an entirely different world. Shapiro shows us what motivates those people who work to save lives in the busiest city in the nation. While I never had to deal with the extremes described by Shapiro, this book still reflects my experiences in its humor and spirit. This is definitely recommended reading for anyone who wants to explore the live and motivations of the dedicated men and woman of our Emergency Medical Services.

Absolutely wonderful!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-29
I have read many books written by paramedics and EMTs and this is, by far, the best one I have read. Paul Shapiro (no relation to me!) writes with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book.

Thrilling
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-23
Paul D. Shapiro candidly takes you through the everyday calls and situations that Paramedics are put through. He shows you how the EMS system works and explains how to handle certain calls from drunks to extracting unconsious people from cars. This novel is exciting and worth while.

New York
Paris Stories (New York Review Books Classics)
Published in Paperback by NYRB Classics (2002-10-31)
Author: Mavis Gallant
List price: $14.95
New price: $6.50
Used price: $4.04

Average review score:

Varieties of Exile
Helpful Votes: 21 out of 23 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-20
I was delighted to see that Mavis Gallant is back in print. I have loved her work for many years, and always eager to buy the NYer when one of her stories was featured. The only drawback to much of her writing (not present in any of the stories in this collection, though) is that much of what she writes are satirical sketches of French intellectual or expatriate life (for example, the "Grippes and Poche" stories in Paris Stories) which would be totally lost on people who have not visited or lived there. The best of her stories are however profound meditations on loneliness and rootlessness. In this I believe she is an archtypal modern writer who can describe the almost universal experience of being an immigrant, refugee, or escapee from some previous stultifying existence. I think this is why so many people respond to her writing. She is, of course, also a master prose stylist. I urge any aspiring fiction writers to read Mavis Gallant. Contrary to what the above reviewer quoted, I think she can be very instructive and inspiring.

Perfection
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-05
"Paris Stories" is an amazing collection of short stories by Mavis Gallant, who is best known for her work in "The New Yorker." The 15 stories in this collection are all set in Europe, and they offer memorable characters, humorous observations, witty commentary, and brilliant prose. Gallant's writing style is very rich, unique, and beautiful. In the afterword of the book, Gallant herself recommends not reading this book entirely in one sitting, and I agree. This is such a fantastic collection that readers are much better off savoring every page. I usually prefer novels to short stories, but "Paris Stories" is amazing and flawless. I highly recommend it!

A master class in short story writing
Helpful Votes: 35 out of 38 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-28
I read this book based on an excellent review of it (a good primer for Mavis Gallant newbies, btw) in the April (or May?) Harper's (a great store room for hidden gems.) I had never heard of Ms. Galant before I read the review and her book, but after reading Paris Stories, all I gotta say is, Where the hell have I been since she's been writing for the past 30+ years? Actually I'm only 30, but still. Her writing is magical on so many levels that I'll only mention a couple of them: the consistency and the sublime richness of her prose - it's like really rich fudge, a phrase or two of one of the 15+ stories is often enough for one sitting; the hauntingly subtle rendering of European life; the authority and command of her voice - there is no doubt in my mind that Mavis Gallant was put on this earth to write fiction as her job, and she writes like she knows it. I love that.

2 recommendations: read Michael Ondaajte's intro (in it he mentions that he knows other writers who intentionally refrain from reading Mavis Gallant when they are writing themselves, so they don't lose confidence in themselves); read the afterward, written by the auther herself (in it she makes the wise suggestion to the reader NOT read the stories in the book back to back, but to take one's time and savor every morsal - I concur. Read this book very slowly pausing to read other stuff perhaps - you don't want to miss a word, it's that good.)

Lovers of sublime artwork in literature, read Mavis Gallant. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I can't wait for Volume 2 to come out this fall!

Lost in Europe
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-03
For better or worse, Mavis Gallant was one of a stable of writers who, for several decades under the editorship of William Shawn, wrote what came to be known as the "typical New Yorker story." Indeed, in a recent interview, the poet Michael Casey recalled a Benjamin Cheever character mocking "a New Yorker story" as "one that goes on and on and nothing much happens but you feel sad at the end of it." And, reading Gallant's stories in the magazine over the years, I likewise felt that they were consistently well written, occasionally interesting, often melancholy, but rather long-winded and ultimately unmemorable.

The fifteen stories collected here offer readers a chance to revisit their impressions of her stories. Behind the Jamesian tea-and-crumpet facade of Gallant's prose lurk human transplants: lost souls away from home, nomads and exiles trying to find a place in the world--Gallant has based virtually her entire career on this theme. The two exceptions are about "the French man of letters" Henri Grippes, Gallant's comic, curmudgeonly, aging alter ego. (Incidentally, the title of the collection, as Michael Ondaatje notes in the introduction, is misleading: not all the stories are set in Paris, nor are they about exiles living in Paris or from Paris; instead, Gallant wrote them all in Paris--which, since Gallant has written nearly all of her fiction there, makes the moniker rather meaningless.)

One of the stylistic quirks that transform many of Gallant's stories into wrestling matches with her readers is her blithe disregard for transitional devices within and between paragraphs. Ondaatje touts this as a virtue: "the next sentence can bring a complete shift of tone or content, while a quick aside can include whole lives--sometimes halfway through one person's thought you will get another's history." At first, the reader might understandably regard these "sudden swerves" as merely untidy--that's certainly the way I felt about them when I read her stories in The New Yorker. But, as often as not, there is some method hiding in the madness; the disorder echoes the jumble of her characters' lives and especially of their thinking.

Savoring these stories, one by one over a couple of months, I found that I truly began to enjoy Gallant's idiosyncratic style and her subtly wicked wit when I reached "Speck's Ideas"--the seventh story of the collection. (At some point, I should probably go back and read the first six.) In sum, I picked up this collection to revisit my judgment of her fiction and came away with a better opinion--but also with the understanding that Gallant will always suffer from that damnably faint praise: she is an acquired taste.

Paris Stories
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-20
I was delighted to see that Mavis Gallant is back in print. I have loved her work for many years, and always eager to buy the NYer when one of her stories was featured. The only drawback to much of her writing (not present in any of the stories in this collection, though) is that much of what she writes are satirical sketches of French intellectual or expatriate life (for example, the "Grippes and Poche" stories) which would be totally lost on people who have not visited or lived there. The best of her stories are however profound meditations on loneliness and rootlessness. In this I believe she is an archtypal modern writer who can describe the almost universal experience of being an immigrant, refugee, or escapee from some previous stultifying existence. I think this is why so many people respond to her writing. She is, of course, also a master prose stylist. I urge any aspiring fiction writers to read Mavis Gallant. Contrary to what the above reviewer quoted, I think she can be very instructive and inspiring.

New York
Pie & Tart (Williams-Sonoma Collection)
Published in Hardcover by Free Press (2003-05-06)
Author: Carolyn Beth Weil
List price: $16.95
New price: $6.76
Used price: $6.62

Average review score:

great variety of ideas
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-07
I have really enjoyed this book, so much so that I bought it for a friend's wedding as well. It is my go-to book for pies & tarts.

Tart Dough
Helpful Votes: 25 out of 25 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-21
Hi, I'm the editor of this book, and was sorry to see that Flame had had mixed experiences. I checked with the author, and her diagnosis is that the tart dough may not have been thoroughly chilled according to the recipe directions. If tart dough is not properly chilled before baking, the butter can melt and leak as described. We were careful to put instructions in every recipe to refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm. I myself have used Caroyln Weil's tart dough recipe for several years and have always had great success with it. If you have had trouble with a particular recipe, please feel free to contact us through Williams-Sonoma customer service and let us know; we are eager to make sure these recipes work well for everyone who tries them.

A Dessert Favorite
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-03
This book has more than 40 recipes and a very informative "Basics" section. There are beautful color photos of each recipe. As with all WS books, the instructions are easy to follow. There are sidebars, where necessary, to provide addtional information. The pies range from simple to elegant -- a recpe for every occasion. I'm partial to the coconut custard.

Overall Good for Pies
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-13
I've had both great and not-so-great experiences with this book. The apple pie was absolutely incredible as were the tarts but the tart dough caught my oven on fire the first time (the recipe called for far too much butter which leaked out everywhere). Overall a good book. For beginners I would also recommend "The Farmhand's Favorite Pies" by Mr. David Butler since its recipes have never turned out bad.

Wonderful Recipes
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-20
I found this book to be informative in baking techniques and the recipes are wonderful. I prepared the tart dough, for the lemon cream pie, and found it delicious and had no trouble with the baking. Truly lovely pies, well written instructions, and beautiful results without highly complicated instructions.

New York
The Politics of Breastfeeding (Issues in Women's Health)
Published in Paperback by New York University Press (1993-11-01)
Author: Gabrielle Palmer
List price: $15.00
New price: $228.49
Used price: $13.73
Collectible price: $65.00

Average review score:

Wonderfully educational, painfully true.
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-24
As a breastfeeding advocate myself, I wish that all young men and women were required to read this in high school, before parnethood. This book lets the reader see the conection between money, big business, and formula marketing. The book educates on the vast differences between artifical feeding and human milk, differences that the general population is unaware of. If you want to get fired-up over an issue, this is the book for you.

A real eye opener!
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-10
As someone who had to defend breastfeeding my child, I already had strong views about how society looks at the practise. The first time I read this book (first edition)I found the history behind it fascinating. What really alarmed me, though, was the truth behind formulas and what used to pass as formula! After getting the second edition, I was dismayed to find that nothing had improved in 10 years. This book is well researched an passionate. Be warned! After reading this, you may just become an activist!

awakened the activist in me!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1997-04-09
I didn't understand breastfeeding advocacy until I read this book. Gabrielle Palmer covers all the bases on why we need to protect future generations from the mass marketing of infant formula, and how those products have become so prevalent throughout our society and the world. Covers the Nestle' illegal marketing tactics so thoroughly that I can't even consider buying any of their products. Background on the World Health Organisation's stance on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes made me realise what an all-encompassing public health issue breastfeeding is

Awakened the Activist in me!
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-01
I didn't understand breastfeeding advocacy until I read this book. Gabrielle Palmer covers all the bases on why we need to protect future generations from the mass marketing of infant formula, and how those products have become so prevalent throughout our society and the world. Covers the Nestle' illegal marketing tactics so thoroughly that I can't even consider buying any of their products. Background on the World Health Organisation's stance on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes made me realise what an all-encompassing public health issue breastfeeding is.

motivational rhetoric for the breastfeeding advocate!
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-05
Already over ten years old, Gabrielle Palmer's eye-opening book pioneered some of the breastfeeding advocacy arguments being used by activists today.

Links obstacles placed in the way of breastfeeding mothers to the devaluation of the motherhood role which occurred during the growth of the industrial revolution.

Detailed history of breastfeeding and wet-nursing. Narrates the history of the Nestle scandal, in empathy with 3rd World perspective. A strong advocate for the rights of all babies to be nourished from the breast.

Counters anti-breastfeeding sentiment in today's society. Explains away sexuality myths which hinder women from breastfeeding in public. Terrific book for the breastfeeding professional who wants to boost their arguments!


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