Author: William B. Helmreich
Title: The New York nobody knows : walking 6,000 miles in the city
Publication Info: Princeton :, Princeton University Press,, [2013]
Summary/Review:
The title suggests that the author has walked every block of every street and this book is going to be a story of this walks. But for Helmreich, the walks are just a launch pad for something bigger, a sociological/ethnographic portrait of the City today in a single volume. It’s a huge undertaking, but I think he succeeds in creating a comprehensive portrait of contemporary New York, built on statistics, and illustrated with stories from his walk. His take on gentrification and life in New York for the poor today as well as the recent immigrant experience are particularly interesting. This is a good book for people interested in New York or in studies of urban environments.
Favorite Passages:
Recommended books: Snowshoeing Through Sewers: Adventures in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia by Michael Aaron Rockland
Rating: ****
