Best New York City Travel Guides
Written by native son who has lived through some of New York City's most historic moments, Downtown is an extraordinary celebration of the magnificent, haunted place that Hamill continues to call home, and that people from all over the country and the world have come to call their own. However, his gruff, seen-it-all voice, filled alternately with wonder at the beauty of a building, disdain for modern trends and indignation at how some worthy historical character has been forgotten, is that of a wise older relative revealing the true past of a place he loves. Hamill is an excellent novelist (see in particular Snow in August, 1997), but in his latest book, he wears his hat as one of the last of the old-time newspapermen whose life and work simply define New York City. As he escorts readers around the island of Manhattan, he takes heavy glances back into history--insisting that New Yorkers constantly experience "aching nostalgia"--as he not so much classifies but revels in the distinctions of NYC both as a "concrete place and as an idea."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Hamill has spent most of his life here and is so convincing in this telling that you would think he was actually here in previous centuries."
"PH loves NY, and especially Manhattan - warts and all, and all its' stories of the people who have lived there from the earliest days until now."
"Downtown. New York is such a remarkable city with such a great history. Born and raised in Brooklyn, journalist/writer Hamill, in his simple yet poetic style chronicles the life and times of Manhattan, the city he loves and in which he has spent his life. Harlem is downtown although it is far uptown (and Hamill does not feel competent to write about it in detail not having neither lived in it nor absorbed its essence as the rest of the city). New York's history is as old as the history of the New World. As the City expanded northward with the passage of time, so Hamill expands his narrative northward, explaining how the "Knickerbockers", the offspring of the unions of old Dutch and English, moved northwards into elegant houses on fifth avenue outside the increasingly teeming streets of downtown. And this is the ongoing theme of the book as Hamill describes the growth of the dangerous neighborhoods of the Five Points and later the Tenderloin, precursors of the Forty Second street/times square district that would threaten the city in the seventies and eighties and the other neighborhoods that developed, Greenwich Village, The Flat Iron district, the lower west side that is today called Tribeca."
"Mr. Hamill's "Downtown: My Manhattan" makes me want to make another trip to this great city."
"The history of New York City, particularly downtown is fascinating."
"Good book."
"As a fan of NYC, I read this first on my Kindle."
"Listening to Pete Hamill is pure joy."
Five boroughs, two major league baseball teams, 12,000 yellow taxis, and more must-see attractions than you can count-New York City has it all. Jesse Leaf, a native New Yorker, has been a travel and food writer for 40 years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very satisfied."
Best of all, Clued In New York gives travelers what they really need: At-a-glance listings, web links, and color photos...not to mention clear directions on the best ways to get from the airport to the city center and back again. This book made it all clear and we had a better time because of it." *Clued In Venice. *Clued In Rome. *Clued In Paris. *Clued In London. *Clued In New York. *Clued In Miami. *Clued In San Francisco Tags: Manhattan guide, Manhattan sights, NYC sights, NYC hotels, NYC restaurants, NYC travel tips, NYC travel, Manhattan travel, NYC travel book, new york city, Manhattan, kindle travel guide nyc, kindle travel book. -Amazon verified customer review. "This travel book delivers on its title." -Amazon verified customer review. "I won't travel without a Clued In Book!"
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"5 stars, and I recommend this book to everyone who wants to explore the city and get the best out of their trip!!"
"I bought Clued In London before going to the UK and really enjoyed the fact that it not another one of those unbiased guides."
"We've added several stops to our itinerary for a NYC trip during the holiday season."
"Tips on places to visit, food, hotels and information about getting around NY."