Customer Reviews

The New York Times' Book of New York: Stories of the People, the Streets, and the Life of the City Past and Present

5 star:		(4)
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3 star:		(1)
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A "must" for those who love, appreciate, are amused by or are just fascinated with New York, the greatest city in the world, the Big Apple. (In the interest of full disclosure this is coming from an unabashed New York lover, it's excitement, its energy, its everything-ness...)

Stories of New York told as only the New York Times could tell them. Who, after all, knows the city better than the Times? And who is better able to tell the story than the NY Times?

Photos, articles and essays, all kinds of comments and perspecitives, all worthy of the the greatest city in the world.

If you are a New York lover, you will love this book!!

The New York Times Book Of New York is a bit too ambitious for its own good. It begins with "A Note To Readers" written by the editor, James Barron. He writes, "Even in a book as thick as this one turned out to be, the available space was limited, and we had to give many of the stories a trim--but not, we believe, a buzz cut."

Unfortunately, readers will walk away feeling as if a buzz cut was exactly what the articles were given. They will be frustrated because they won't understand why it was done that way. Why, instead of including fewer articles(and printing them at their full length) did Barron choose to print so many articles? Barron provides no answer in his "Note To Readers." That is unfortunate, because readers will feel hungry for more after finishing this book, but not in a good way.

Some better alternatives are "New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of The New York Times," which is edited by Constance Rosenblum, or "City Lights: Stories About New York" by Dan Barry.

I am so glad I purchased this book. It has such good information and stories...I really enjoyed reading it. A thorough and interesting history of all the things that make the city so fascinating. A perfect gift for someone who has a soft spot for the Big Apple.

Great book whether you're a native New Yorker or a visitor, you will enjoy the stories contained in this book.

Gave this as a Christmas gift to someone that is a history buff and loves the old stories of New York. He said he enjoyed the book very much.

Awesome...wonderful...a great historical account of NYC told from various NYTimes articles over the ages...absolutely mesmerizing!!!!!!