Apple of My Eye

Rating:
Summary: A "virtual" trip to NYC!!!
Review: Great book about my favorite city! Makes you want to hop the next plane! A fun, non-traditional approach to a tour book to be read even if you're not on the walking tour. Makes you crave a...the "Big Apple"!

Rating:
Summary: Old Favorite
Review: I read this book in hardback more than 20 years ago, when I was a wee tot (comparatively speaking). I had spent one day in New York, and I brought the book back as a souvenir. It immediately gave me ideas for what to see when I returned. The book is especially poignant after 9/11, but the city is as great as ever. A great way to taste the excitement of New York--and not just its big public spaces, but its smaller, more intimate ones too.

Rating:
Summary: Chatty, detailed travel narrative by a true New Yorker.
Review: Strangely enough, I think you'll enjoy this most AFTER your return from your New York vacation. Hanff's gossipy, insider's perspective may not make complete sense to someone not familiar with the sites she details, but it's a complete treat for someone who has just discovered them. Hanff, incidentally, is the author of 84, Charing Cross Road, a real classic for literature lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Why I Want To See New York!
Review: The paper back cover colours and of course authors name leapt out at me instantly and as it was on the bargain counter I had to have. It proved to be a great favourite of mine and many others in the few months of owning it. It was only a few months as the last borrower has never returned it ! This was four and a half years ago and I still greave for that book. That is the impact that one short but extreemly well written guide book has had on me . The wit and beautifully descriptive chapters giving an alternative side for the would- be tourist in New York shines through. She loved her city "warts an all". and the lovely 'asides' such as the characters that live around and/or frequent the Central Park region (whom we are never likely to meet) makes it all the more attractive and appealing to the readers. Helen wrote a tourist guide for the city hoping that her perception of this vibrant and often exotic Metropolis would attract and impress the visitor. It has in this readers 'eye' for I hope to spend a few days there shortly while holidaying in the States later this summer.

Rating:
Summary: Apple of My Eye...is a wonderful book!
Review: This book could be considered out of date in some circles but major landmarks have changed and with all of the changes in NYC since the destruction of the WTC, it is also now a look into NYC's history.

Helene Hanff wrote this book in 1976 when the WTC was still coming up, still being developed. The Top of the Tower Restuarant was "The Talk of the Town!" Over the past 28 years or so it has not only a wonderful tour guide; but for those of us who have never walked the streets of NYC or took the elevator to the 115th floor of the WTC to see the City this a book of pure vision.

Helene Hanff reminds you to never look back at NYC when you are going out to the Statute of Liberty, you'll have plenty enough time to see it on the way back. It seems Her Majesty's beauty should be gazed upon until you etch every detail of her graceful,nurturing, beauty into your mind.

A must read for anyone going to New York City for site seeing, or thinking about writing a book about your own hometown. Helene Hanff's flow of words are perfection and her use of adjectives second to none. A must read for young writers. You are bound to learn something; even if it is where to find the best local hangouts for lunch on a Sunday 12:00 NOON!