Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City [Paperback]

Michelle Nevius (Author), James Nevius (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 24, 2009

How much do you actually know about New York City? Did you know they tried to anchor Zeppelins at the top of the Empire State Building? Or that the high-rent district of Park Avenue was once so dangerous it was called "Death Avenue"? Lively and comprehensive, Inside the Apple brings to life New York's fascinating past.

This narrative history of New York City is the first to offer practical walking tour know-how. Fast-paced but thorough, its bite-size chapters each focus on an event, person, or place of historical significance. Rich in anecdotes and illustrations, it whisks readers from colonial New Amsterdam through Manhattan's past, right up to post-9/11 New York. The book also works as a historical walking-tour guide, with 14 self-guided tours, maps, and step-by-step directions. Easy to carry with you as you explore the city, Inside the Apple allows you to visit the site of every story it tells. This energetic, wide-ranging, and often humorous book covers New York's most important historical moments, but is always anchored in the city of today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most of this guide book is devoted to an exhaustive catalog of New York City history, beginning with glaciers' impact on the geography of Central Park and ending (161 chapters later) with the aftermath of 9/11. Not for cover-to-cover reading, this guide from a tour-guide/entrepreneur husband-and-wife team is best approached from behind, with the 14 walking tours that cap the volume; each highlighted site references the relevant chapters preceding. Considering New York's dense history, these tours offer something for everyone: the Greenwich Village tour alone encompasses the Stonewall Inn, considered the birthplace of gay rights; Jefferson Market Courthouse, the nation's first night court; and the house where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women. Not even natives know this much; even if they do recall the late-19th and early-20th century tenement laws meant to improve living conditions (chapter 84), they'll probably be surprised to learn where the city's first tenement is located (chapter 32). From the 1765 Bowling Green Park protest of the Stamp Act to the 1980 murder of John Lennon outside the Dakota Apartments, this extremely thorough sidewalk-level guide is rich with 20 years of combined tour experience. Photos and maps.
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Review

"I was born in New York and lived there for years, but I had no idea what I was missing until I picked up Inside the Apple. It's jammed with fascinating pieces of history and great nuggets of trivia. I can't wait to walk Manhattan again with this book in hand." -- Noah D. Oppenheim, coauthor of the bestselling The Intellectual Devotional™ series

"As a longtime New Yorker, I never tire of walking the streets and uncovering something new about the world's most fascinating city, where every street has a story to tell. Inside the Apple is a gem of a book, filled with nuggets about New York's extraordinary past, from the sidewalks up. Whether you are a tourist exploring for the very first time or a seasoned walker in the city, this book is a must." -- Kenneth C. Davis, author of the bestsellers America's Hidden History and Don't Know Much About® History

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; Original edition (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141658997X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416589976
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Travel > United States > Northeast > Mid Atlantic
  • #54 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Tourist Destinations & Museums

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT opportunity to learn about NYC! March 23, 2009

By Jenny F

Format:Paperback

I live in NYC and admit that I am daily taking all of the great sites around me for granted. I saw the positive NY Post review about the book and decided to buy it. It was well worth every penny. This book is broken down into concise, well-written and clever chapters (182 of them! Great info!) that do a phenomenal job of introducing the reader to little-known facts about a huge variety of areas in the city. I've learned more things about the city in reading the book than I have in the 6 years I've lived here!!

I fully admit that I am not even "into" history and found this book fascinating. AND they include 14 walking tours at the end of the book.... my husband and I went on one this weekend as a "date" and had a wonderful (COST-FREE) day. I can't wait until the spring when we can go on all of the tours!

I'm going to buy this for all of my NYC friends and will hand it over to any out-of-towners visiting me looking for fun things to do in the city. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who lives in or will visit NYC (or anyone just interested in learning more about the city).

Can't wait to see what these authors have lined up next.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book! May 12, 2009

By Andrew W. Zeitler

Format:Paperback

I really loved this book. Both the historical account of the city and the walking tours work amazingly well as if separate books, and the way they integrate into one another so seamlessly makes this a truly unique resource. I disagree with Publisher's Weekly where they said that "Inside the Apple" was not for cover to cover reading. In fact, I read it cover to cover and found it both fascinating and easy to read. You don't need to be out there using it as a tour book--it makes an excellent history of the city for anyone interested in New York.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific new source on NYC history April 12, 2009

By Lea

Format:Paperback

As a historian, I'm truly impressed with the way this book succeeds in presenting a wealth of in-depth, thoroughly researched information about New York City history in a highly readable, sometimes downright humorous, manner.

On one hand, Inside the Apple traces a chronological history of the city from its Native American settlements to the present, divided into thematic chapters such as The Early City (1600s), The Growth of the Immigrant City (mid-1800s) and Boom and Bust (1920s). By focusing on a number of well-chosen places, people and events in each period, the authors bring their stories to life. For instance, the section on The Great Port (1805-1835) includes detailed discussions of: DeWitt Clinton's role in implementing Manhattan's street grid; the consruction of the city's first tenement building; and the hugely destructive but little remembered Great Fire of 1835.

Complementing the chronological history, the book also contains a collection of self-guided walking tours. Fourteen easy-to-follow tours, accompanied by maps, appear at the end of the book and continually refer readers back to the historical discussions. So, when you come upon a statue commemorating the Great Fire while walking through Central Park, you're directed to the earlier chapter on the fire.

I recommend this book for visitors to NYC, for history buffs, and also for life-long New Yorkers who are sure to uncover layers of the past hiding in plain sight just beyond their doorsteps.