The WPA Guide to New York City: The Federal Writers' Project Guide to 1930s New York (American Guide) (Paperback)

~ Federal Writers Project (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This and several similar guides were sanctioned by the Federal Writers Project in the 1930s. Published in 1939, WPA Guide, which was praised by the New York Times as "one of the best books ever published about New York," dissects the wicked city in minute detail with the aid of maps and photos. With the American Library Association meeting in Manhattan next July, this book will help librarians brush up on the Big Apple.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Useful, broadly informative, and amazing. -- The New York Times, 23 July 1939

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Product Details

• Paperback: 700 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565843215
• ISBN-13: 978-1565843219
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #627,160 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The golden age of New York, June 17, 1999

By	Rob "rmadeo" (Glenmont, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Anyone interested in New York City will find this book absolutely fascinating. Imagine being transported to the City's golden age -the years during which America was emerging from the Depression---and before being thrust into World War Two. The City is chronicled neighborhood by neighborhood and includes interesting historical background information. With this book you will see New York through the eyes of the past; One of my all time favorites.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating read, September 11, 2003

By A Customer

Not for reading straight through, the guide is an amazing resource. Anybody living in or visiting New York regularly will be fascinated to look up their favourite (or least favourite) neighbourhoods to see what they were like in 1939. The maps are beautiful (the photos less interesting) and the text is elegantly and lyrically written.

It's a bit of an archeological game at times, as you find that a few minor idiosyncracies in neighbourhoods today are the remnants of entire cultures and histories that used to thrive.

The editors made the right decision to leave the text entirely alone.

A perfect gift for anybody trying to make it in the Big Apple.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading, June 26, 2007

By	Robert O. Knecht "Born and raised in NYC" (Sussex NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This well written guide had intersting facts about this - the greatest city in the world. The majority of the buildings described are still standing. The descriptions of the city in 1939 are facinating to read. Well worth reading if you are planning to visit 21st century New York and a must for any New Yorker