City Travel Guides
Home Page > Go back a page
Books : Blue Guide New York
Search Books - select a category
1 2
1 2
Rating: 
- This city guide is a treasure.
Carol von Pressentin Wright's BLUE GUIDE NEW YORK is a brilliant guide to the city and stands alone for historical perspective, cultural depth, and effective prose. Though I've lived in New York City for 12 years, this book serves as a constant companion, and I grab it nearly any time I walk out the door--every outing can now yield new layers of understanding of this, my adopted town. In the midst of a busy day, I might pass through, say, Union Square and take a moment to read the appropriate entry. Not only do I absorb details of architecture and city planning that previously eluded me, but also the whole checkered and colorful history of the place jumps to life.
Thus, I heartily recommend the book to all longer-term visitors and to those New York residents who yearn for a greater appreciation of home. Indeed, the richness of detail and comprehensive geographical coverage may actually render BLUE GUIDE less than ideal for the short-term visitor. (For those in need of a restaurant or hotel guide, there are more than enough lesser guides to fill the bill.)
One caveat. As an avid user of the 1991 2nd edition, I looked forward to the long overdue 2002 edition. With all due respect to the two new co-authors and their well-intentioned efforts, I believe that the newer, more user-friendly visual format actually decreases the book's effectiveness, as does the additional text, which lacks the consistently high critical standards of Wright's solo work. I recommend seeking out the 1991 edition (Amazon seems to offer several copies at reasonable prices). Whatever inconvenience is caused by the several outdated entries is outweighed by the ample rewards of the text.
Rating: - Timeless
All right, the most recent edition of the Blue Guide added CBGB's, an East Village rock, punk club that has now gone out of business. A few other establishments in the various editions of this fantastic guide are undoubtedly also no longer with us.
Having said that, even the oldest first and second editions (the latter, from 1991) are still incredibly useful, even timeless. For even they have listings of the most important sights in each of the city's five boroughs, a bevy of maps, lists of hotels and restaurants, sightseeing services, theaters, amusements, gardens, museums and so on.
But unlike the average, perfunctory city guide, this one (at least the 1991 edition) has more than 760 pages, including all the maps. And those pages also encompass a broad spectrum of architectural descriptions and historical events.
Not only buildings and the like are described here. So are whole parks, streets and districts, along with detailed pointers on all the exterior and interior trivia one could ever want to know while on a walking tour.
I can't attest to the value of any of the other 40-plus Blue Guide titles. But if you forget every other guide book while in New York, it will be okay, so long as you bring along at least some version of this one.
--Alyssa A. Lappen
Rating: - Not a review but an informative note
Although Amazon lists only one author, the current edition of this book was actually revised and heavily rewritten by Stuart Miller and Sharon Seitz as a glance inside the book itself will reveal.
Co-authors of "The Other Islands of New York City" and individually authors of "Big Apple Safari for Families" (Seitz) and "Where Have All Our Giants Gone" (Miller), we streamlined many of the routes and shifted the emphasis of the book to add more on the boroughs outside of Manhattan and to add places that reflect previous oversights in terms of nature and of popular culture (places like CBGBs, for example).
Rating: - Simply Indispensable!
Carol von Pressentin Wright's "Blue Guide to New York" is probably the most comprehensive guidebook to the Big Apple available. Absolutely indispensable, it includes 41 detailed maps for all five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, along with several black and white photographs. As a New Yorker, I cannot think of anything that has not been included here. I frequently use the book myself, especially when I have out-of-town visitors. It is also excellent, for New Yorkers and visitors alike, to use on walking tours. I have the 2002 edition.
In an extremely accessible format, "The Blue Guide" presents information on all NYC districts and important sights, including: practical information, lodgings, restaurants and eateries for every budget, transportation, museums and galleries, sports, performing arts, shopping, monuments, historic detail and districts, detailed walking tours and background information. As noted, there is a veritable plethora of clear and easy-to-follow maps, along with a large pull-out MTA map of the subway system, and bus, railroad and ferry connections.
From the posh shops on Madison and Fifth Avenues to the funky Lower East Side, from the streets of Greenwich Village and Soho to the brownstones of Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, this is the one and only guide you will need to navigate through this fabulous city, and to find fascinating out-of-the-way places most tourests never discover. There are myriad cultures here: Little Odessa in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Little Italy, Chinatown, a thriving Greek community in Astoria, Queens, Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn where Arabic is heard on the street and wares from all over the Middle East are sold. Almost every country in the world is represented here and you can visit them all easily with the Blue Guide in hand. I hope you enjoy the city I love!
JANA
Rating: - Still the best
Because I note that the existing reviews on this site refer to the previous edition, this New Yorker recommends the Blue Guide as the only NY guidebook you will need. I refer to mine again and again.
One caveat: the subway lines are now happily back to normal, again running to South Ferry, and the map included in this book, which went to press shortly after the World Trade Center disaster, is out of date. Updated maps are posted in every subway station and train, are available free at every subway change booth, and can be reviewed on the Web.
- This city guide is a treasure.Carol von Pressentin Wright's BLUE GUIDE NEW YORK is a brilliant guide to the city and stands alone for historical perspective, cultural depth, and effective prose. Though I've lived in New York City for 12 years, this book serves as a constant companion, and I grab it nearly any time I walk out the door--every outing can now yield new layers of understanding of this, my adopted town. In the midst of a busy day, I might pass through, say, Union Square and take a moment to read the appropriate entry. Not only do I absorb details of architecture and city planning that previously eluded me, but also the whole checkered and colorful history of the place jumps to life.
Thus, I heartily recommend the book to all longer-term visitors and to those New York residents who yearn for a greater appreciation of home. Indeed, the richness of detail and comprehensive geographical coverage may actually render BLUE GUIDE less than ideal for the short-term visitor. (For those in need of a restaurant or hotel guide, there are more than enough lesser guides to fill the bill.)
One caveat. As an avid user of the 1991 2nd edition, I looked forward to the long overdue 2002 edition. With all due respect to the two new co-authors and their well-intentioned efforts, I believe that the newer, more user-friendly visual format actually decreases the book's effectiveness, as does the additional text, which lacks the consistently high critical standards of Wright's solo work. I recommend seeking out the 1991 edition (Amazon seems to offer several copies at reasonable prices). Whatever inconvenience is caused by the several outdated entries is outweighed by the ample rewards of the text.
Rating:
- TimelessAll right, the most recent edition of the Blue Guide added CBGB's, an East Village rock, punk club that has now gone out of business. A few other establishments in the various editions of this fantastic guide are undoubtedly also no longer with us.
Having said that, even the oldest first and second editions (the latter, from 1991) are still incredibly useful, even timeless. For even they have listings of the most important sights in each of the city's five boroughs, a bevy of maps, lists of hotels and restaurants, sightseeing services, theaters, amusements, gardens, museums and so on.
But unlike the average, perfunctory city guide, this one (at least the 1991 edition) has more than 760 pages, including all the maps. And those pages also encompass a broad spectrum of architectural descriptions and historical events.
Not only buildings and the like are described here. So are whole parks, streets and districts, along with detailed pointers on all the exterior and interior trivia one could ever want to know while on a walking tour.
I can't attest to the value of any of the other 40-plus Blue Guide titles. But if you forget every other guide book while in New York, it will be okay, so long as you bring along at least some version of this one.
--Alyssa A. Lappen
Rating:
- Not a review but an informative noteAlthough Amazon lists only one author, the current edition of this book was actually revised and heavily rewritten by Stuart Miller and Sharon Seitz as a glance inside the book itself will reveal.
Co-authors of "The Other Islands of New York City" and individually authors of "Big Apple Safari for Families" (Seitz) and "Where Have All Our Giants Gone" (Miller), we streamlined many of the routes and shifted the emphasis of the book to add more on the boroughs outside of Manhattan and to add places that reflect previous oversights in terms of nature and of popular culture (places like CBGBs, for example).
Rating:
- Simply Indispensable!Carol von Pressentin Wright's "Blue Guide to New York" is probably the most comprehensive guidebook to the Big Apple available. Absolutely indispensable, it includes 41 detailed maps for all five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, along with several black and white photographs. As a New Yorker, I cannot think of anything that has not been included here. I frequently use the book myself, especially when I have out-of-town visitors. It is also excellent, for New Yorkers and visitors alike, to use on walking tours. I have the 2002 edition.
In an extremely accessible format, "The Blue Guide" presents information on all NYC districts and important sights, including: practical information, lodgings, restaurants and eateries for every budget, transportation, museums and galleries, sports, performing arts, shopping, monuments, historic detail and districts, detailed walking tours and background information. As noted, there is a veritable plethora of clear and easy-to-follow maps, along with a large pull-out MTA map of the subway system, and bus, railroad and ferry connections.
From the posh shops on Madison and Fifth Avenues to the funky Lower East Side, from the streets of Greenwich Village and Soho to the brownstones of Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, this is the one and only guide you will need to navigate through this fabulous city, and to find fascinating out-of-the-way places most tourests never discover. There are myriad cultures here: Little Odessa in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Little Italy, Chinatown, a thriving Greek community in Astoria, Queens, Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn where Arabic is heard on the street and wares from all over the Middle East are sold. Almost every country in the world is represented here and you can visit them all easily with the Blue Guide in hand. I hope you enjoy the city I love!
JANA
Rating:
- Still the bestBecause I note that the existing reviews on this site refer to the previous edition, this New Yorker recommends the Blue Guide as the only NY guidebook you will need. I refer to mine again and again.
One caveat: the subway lines are now happily back to normal, again running to South Ferry, and the map included in this book, which went to press shortly after the World Trade Center disaster, is out of date. Updated maps are posted in every subway station and train, are available free at every subway change booth, and can be reviewed on the Web.