Apple's America: The Discriminating Traveler's Guide to 40 Great Cities in the United States and Canada [Paperback]

R. W. Apple Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2005

Unpretentious, sophisticated, and always appetizing advice from a celebrated authority

For more than thirty years, R. W. Apple Jr. has roamed the United States as an eyewitness to history. Here, in Apple's America, his robust enthusiasm for the food and culture of New England, the South and West, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and his native Middle West carries him to forty great cities, where he proves to be our ideal guide--amused and amusing, knowledgeable, indefatigable, and endlessly curious.

From Boston to Honolulu, from Montreal to Las Vegas, Cincinnati to Seattle, Johnny Apple explores the landmarks, architecture, business, culture, and, of course, the food and beverages of his favorite urban communities. Capturing the tone and style of American city life to perfection, he shows us the hidden treasures, the best buildings, the famous landmarks, the historical aura, and the present-day realities that make each city so memorable. And in each he recommends several places to stay, numerous places to eat, and sites or activities you shouldn't miss. No traveler in the United States will want to do without his recommendations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred hotel reviews, restaurant price ranges and detailed directions have no place in Apple's latest travel guide (after Apple's Europe). Instead, readers get an appealing array of historical trivia and museum mentions relating to American cities. As a former New York Times correspondent (he's now an associate editor), Apple traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. After "playing Baedeker" for many years, he parlayed his knowledge of America's cities into a series of articles for the Times, which he updates here. Written in a conversational tone with an emphasis more on city character and less on the best shopping districts, this opinionated, nontraditional work is refreshing. Among Apple's revelations: San Francisco is "full of itself"; Tampa is home to the "world's largest collection of paintings and drawings by... Salvador Dalí"; and "people would rather die than honk" in Seattle. Apple's hotel and restaurant listings at the end of each city description are geared toward the high-end traveler (the Ritz-Carlton chain gets more than its fair share of mentions), which may limit the book's appeal. Still, Apple's thorough research into each city's economic and social history is impressive, as is his consistent highlighting of art collections and architecture. Maps not seen by PW. (Mar.)
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Review

"A wordsmith, trencherman, Trojan and gourmet of the first order. Johnny's fun-filled explorations of the United States broaden our grasp of geography." --Paul C. P. McIlhenny, President and CEO of the McIlhenny Company

"Johnny Apple is a virtuoso performer, in his range and appetite perhaps the most accomplished of his generation. He has written superbly of politics, art, music, architecture, food, drink, and now American cities. This book is Apple at the top of his form." --Ward Just

"Johnny Apple makes looking at architecture a feast--and every American city a luscious dish waiting to be sampled." --James Stewart Polshek

"Anyone who finds it necessary to visit a city for business and knows not a damn thing about the place will be very thankful for Apple's America. Johnny's enthusiasm, style, and gastronomic adventurousness will help any traveler to unfamiliar places, as well as edify any visitor to an American city who hasn't had the luck to go there with him and Betsey. Apple's America, once read, should be bound in leather and kept permanently in the luggage." --William Bolcom

Praise for Apple's Europe:

"[This book's] outstanding service is its advice on how to fill you stomach after filling your eye. . . . Apple sniffs out the best smoked salmon in Britain, the best steak in Scotland, the best grilled fish in Venice, the best Danish pastry in Copenhagen, the best pigeon pie in Marrakech." --Charles Michener, The Atlantic Monthly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (March 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865476853
• ISBN-13: 978-0865476851
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

R.W. APPLE, JR. worked for The New York Times for forty years, serving at various times as Chief Correspondent, Chief Washington Corre - spondent and Washington Bureau Chief. He began writing food articles for the Times in the late 1970s, when reporting from London. His writing also appeared in magazines including The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, GQ, Saveur, Travel & Leisure, Gourmet, Town & Country and National Geographic Traveler. He lived in Washington, D.C., where he died in 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Travel Companion, March 29, 2005

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J. Brown - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Apple's America: The Discriminating Traveler's Guide to 40 Great Cities in the United States and Canada (Paperback)

Apple's America is a God-send for the traveler who is in town for just a day or two but really wants to learn what makes each city tick. No more excuses for just "grabbing dinner" or just passing through on business. I could spend days exploring each city but with this book I've been able to learn more about cities than in years of visiting for business. I've been sending this book to friends of mine to take on business trips and vacation. I prefer Apple's America to any guide out there.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best travel book everq, July 26, 2005

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S. Hill "Foodie" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Apple's America: The Discriminating Traveler's Guide to 40 Great Cities in the United States and Canada (Paperback)

Hands down, this is the best travel book I've ever read -- and I enjoyed reading it cover to cover, unlike many travel books. It's a combination of where to eat, stay and what to see as well as a fascinating history/commentary that really gives you a sense of what a city is like, the pulse. Apple is a fantastic writer and I trust his restaurant recommendations over any other writer/critic out there -- in the cities I know well, he's definitely included the best of the best eats, both high brow and low brow. I really hope he can update and re-publish his European guide soon. I don't want to travel anywhere without his guidance any more!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Johnny Apple will be missed, December 14, 2006

By 

Pranay Gupte "www.pranaygupte.com" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Apple's America: The Discriminating Traveler's Guide to 40 Great Cities in the United States and Canada (Paperback)

I always thought that Johnny Apple was the model correspondent. The insights, the historical perspective, and the narrative drive he brought to his dispatches were unique. This book, an assemblage of his writings about North America, reflects his wonderful style. Johnny died in September 2006, a victim of thoracic cancer. But his writings live on -- through this book, his earlier, "Apple's Europe," and, of course, 43 years of reports for The New York Times.