Lisa (Harmony)

I got this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program for free. I can't see myself buying this if I hadn't or recommending it to a friend given the $14.99 price and all the great New York City guide books out there. If you're planning a trip to New York City or to move, or are a long-time resident trying to learn about the city, I certainly wouldn't make this <i>the</i> guide to get.

First, the table of contents and ordering of the book is alphabetical without even separating by boroughs. There is an index listing them by area, but even there only Manhattan is divided into sections, and only into four each with a map: Northern Manhattan, Upper Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan. Not the most useful system in a city that has very definite neighborhoods. It meant I had to find things on the map first, then look in the table of contents or through the book to find them and that a place in midtown Manhattan could be next to one from Brooklyn. It made it harder to browse or plan. Most New York City guide books organize the material by area.

The outer boroughs, which might be expected to be rich in peaceful, quiet places, is given short shrift. Manhattan has 82 of the 129 sites listed, more than the other boroughs combined. Brooklyn gets 24; Queens 12; Bronx 8 and Staten Island get 6.  Yet Manhattan is the smallest in area and only third in population. Yes, it's where all the most popular attractions by and large can be found, but in a book like this I'd expect more of a spotlight on places off the beaten path.

I'm a lifelong resident of New York's Upper West Side, so I looked through the book's maps and listings to see what places might be within walking distance of where I live, and there were 26 within a mile. Of those, about half are, or are in, famous attractions that would be in any guidebook: Central Park, Riverside Park, Rockefeller Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Which makes some omissions in my area rather glaring. Where's Lincoln Center by the fountain or the quiet, peaceful adjoining atriums and public spaces like Damrosch Park? If you're going to list the Metropolitan, than why not the Museum of Natural History or the New York Historical Society?  Where are the churches and synagogues like St Pauls, Church of the Sacred Sacrament and Shearith Israel Synagogue which are listed in the major guidebooks?

Also, even within its pages I'm not satisfied with the level of detail on the page about the attraction. For instance, <i>National Geographic's Traveler New York</i> gives more detailed information within a crowded space about the kayaking at Hudson River Park, giving the address for all three piers.

Were there some unexpected places I didn't know about? Sure. I hadn't heard of the Onasis Cultural Center, which displays Greek artifacts and I didn't see it listed in the New York City guide books I looked at for comparison such as <i>Time Out New York</i> or <i>National Geographic's Traveler New York</i> or <i>New York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet</i>. It's one place I've marked down as a place to check out. But there just aren't enough of these sorts of places to make this book worth it, especially with such a narrow focus on central Manhattan. I feel as if the author only gave us a very superficial look at the oasis of peace New York City can offer, one of someone that only knows a slice and didn't do the work to uncover the city in all it's diversity of neighborhoods.