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Whom You Know is delighted to begin our work with the Princeton University Press, especially because F. Scott Fitzgerald attended Princeton and no one ever has been a better writer...
I love the book “NY Nobody Knows” as I too as a child grew up in Manhattan as did author, William Helmreich. Astonishing to me is that someone could complete walking every single block through all of the five boroughs. What a challenge! The 6,000 miles that he walked took him through the most interesting neighborhoods. As he really tried to get everything out of this journey, he not only observed with his eyes, but also met and conversed with many New Yorkers on the street. This book is a collaboration of the many stories and highlights that Helmreich encountered. Compelling and dynamic, this is a great book that you will enjoy from a geographic point of view as well as entering into the melting pot first had as if you were experiencing it yourself. This book will truly make you love NY and all that it is made up of. You can feel the passion the author has about where he grew up and an even greater passion to share it with the world. Perfect for those who grew up in the city and even better for those who want to experience it from the eyes of the beholder, William Helmreich.
Averaging 32 miles a week for four straight years is a monumental task for anyone, and that's precisely what
William Helmreich did to research this book. Systematically he walked 6,000 miles around all five boroughs, and since our outlook is on one of them only, we liked the stories of Manhattan most. Immigration is a major area of concentration throughout, as are the pros and cons of gentrification according to
William Helmreich, though we see economic progress, business development, manners, cleaner streets and much of what gentrification brings to be an asset to any community that only heightens its allure and flavor. Whom You Know has always been about celebrating achievement. The highly educated segment of the population we believe are our audience and include Peachy and many panelists on Whom You Know that would not have moved to New York without the economic opportunities here and concentration of the young and bright. We feel buildings are just as important as other aspects of the city and would have liked to have seen commentary on the New York Landmarks Conservancy who do so much for this city and when you walk around New York, their great work is seen everywhere. Buildings are people too. Overall, we would have liked to have seen more success stories captured and in terms of immigrant groups the amazing Gaelic Park in the Bronx of the Irish was omitted, however we do like that
William Helmreich captures small personal details we like as in immigrants that bring flowers from their own countries to plant in New York. Some of this book is highly statistical and we liked the qualitative sections most. Discussions on workers that don't pay taxes we found disappointing and we believe everyone here should work hard, reside legally, behave and pay their taxes. We loved the interview with Mayor Bloomberg on page 263-4 (we miss him already!) and would comment that we disagree that he prioritizes the wealthy: Bloomberg embodies achievement and hard work and in time those that don't fully appreciate him yet will grow to see how much he has done for our great city.
Do you love finding hidden gems within the seemingly familiar? If you are curious and adventurous, aside from reading Whom You Know, you must read “The New York Nobody Knows”. This delightfully entertaining historical perspective combines current everyday events with corresponding historical backgrounds of multiple locations within the five boroughs of New York City. William B. Helmreich, a sociologist and life-long New Yorker, combines his childhood love of exploring new areas of his city on foot with his father along with the critical perspective of his discipline. In this book, he walks the neighborhoods of New York, speaks to its inhabitants, relates their perspectives, and provides historical backgrounds for his observations. His chapters are richly annotated, supporting his astute observations. Be advised this is no ordinary sightseeing guide. As a New Yorker whose parents are native New Yorkers, I can attest to the accurate portrayal of the decline and revitalization of my city. One is given a perspective of the city that spans generations. Helmreich begins by chronicling the multiple waves of immigrants that have come to New York with their hopes and dreams. He relates tales of their struggles to improve themselves and how these intersect with those who inhabit the communities they enter. The observation that New York constitutes a unified whole comprised of many separate communities is borne out multiple times in different permutations. He provides a rich history of the decline of the 70’s and the subsequent revitalization, or gentrification, of the previously destroyed areas. His interviews with former Mayors Koch, Giuliani, Dinkins, and current Mayor Bloomberg enhance his observations. Helmreich discusses the future of ethnic New York in the last section of the book. My favorite section is entitled “Enjoying the City”. Its pages are replete with charming tales of little known facts. For example, did you know that the coffeehouse on Broadway named Edgar’s Café is on the site of a farmhouse occupied by Edgar Allan Poe for a short time in 1844 where he wrote his famous poem, “The Raven”? Did you know that tourists from all over the world travel to Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights to gaze upon the holiday decorations during the Christmas season? You must proceed to the next section entititlted “Spaces in the Big Apple” to explore hidden urban oases within the concrete structures of New York. Do you how Forced Tube Avenue in Queens was named? Hint, it dates back to its 1858 history. Treasures abound in this well written and well researched book. You will want to put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes, mark your pages and sally forth to sample the finds of this delightful work and discover your own. Enjoy your journey.
Lovers of New York everywhere, rejoice! We have a new "guide" to the city. Hot off the presses from Princeton, as written brilliantly by William B. Helmreich, The New York Nobody Knows will walk you 6,000 miles all over New York. That's exactly what the author did, as you will read in his introduction. The different neighborhoods of our fair and complex burg vary even from block to block, and Mr. Helmreich has taken to the streets to document just that urban miracle. Every single block of the city tells a story, and the author has documented not just the topographical, but the sociological fiber of the streets. Sometimes in neighborhoods not so familiar, in situations that make one pause, but certainly, in a litany of diverse contacts with the good citizens of Manhattan and beyond. This is not a guide book per se, but an overview that includes anecdotes and quotes direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Walk with him as he traverses near and far, and learn. Learn about neighborhoods you've never seen, and about historical facts perhaps too obscure for you to have unearthed yourself. Learn, and absorb, and enjoy, for this is a book of celebration. Mr. Helmreich learned his love of New York at his father's knee, and now, he has created a legacy we can all pass down to our own. As a professor at City College, his influence and academic credits are renowned. In his approach to New York, he lends this credibility in an easy read that projects fondness and appreciation for every corner, literally, of what we know as our New York.
It's been said that once you've lived in New York City for 10 years, you are a true New Yorker. Well, I recently celebrated my 10-year anniversary, and was feeling pretty proud of how well I'd come to know the city I love. However, after reading Bill Helmreich's superb book, The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City, published by Princeton University Press, I was truly humbled - it turns out that I actually knew very little! In his introduction, Mr. Helmreich states that his purpose in writing the book was to "present a picture of the inner life, heart, and soul of New York City, to apprehend its spirit and make it come alive for the reader." In order to do so, he walked block by block through every area of each of the city's five boroughs, ultimately covering a total of 6,048 miles. The journey took him four years, during which he conducted countless spontaneous interviews with all kinds of people, from mayors to the homeless, as well as everyone in between. The result of all of his hard work is an engaging and informative masterpiece; The New York Nobody Knows is full of interesting facts about the city, as well as fascinating observations about the individuals that live here and how they all come together to make the whole of the city something much greater than the sum of its parts. Every person here has a place and a purpose, as well as a story that's all their own. Since reading The New York Nobody Knows, I've had a much different appreciation for the people I see in my daily travels; I'm much more aware of the fact that each individual has their own interesting story, from the homeless man seen every day on 59th St. between Park and Lexington, to the friendly girl at the coffee shop where I get my daily caffeine fix, to my countless fellow riders on the subway. Thoughtful, insightful, and truly fascinating from start to finish, The New York Nobody Knows is a must-read for anyone who knows and loves this city.
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Bill Helmreich had a problem—How do you get to know a city as diverse and multitudinous as New York City? Most visitors don’t stray far beyond the borders of Manhattan; even New Yorkers don’t venture to the far beyond the reaches of the borough or block in which they live or work. So, four years ago, he set out on a mission to walk every block of New York City. This epic journey, documented in THE NEW YORK NOBODY KNOWS: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City (pub date: November 6, 2013), took him to every corner of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Along the way, Helmreich spoke with hundreds of New Yorkers from every walk of life and from every part of the globe. Their stories of struggling to make it in the Big Apple, overcoming adversity, raising families, and trying to extract meaning and happiness from their lives, make for fascinating reading. There’s the beloved minister in the Central Bronx, who performs weekly exorcisms for his flock; the Guyanese immigrant who grows tropical flowers outside his modest Queens home to recapture the beauty of his homeland; the Brooklyn-raised grandchild of Italian immigrants who lights up the neon grocery store sign in their memory in the first floor window of his brownstone home; the exclusive Todt Hill section of Staten Island featuring multi-million dollar fantasy homes with stunning vistas of the city; the bike doctor of Harlem who diagnoses broken down two-wheelers with a stethoscope before refurbishing and selling them; interviews with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former mayors Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins, and Edward Koch; and much, much more.
THE NEW YORK NOBODY KNOWS is about the heart and soul of contemporary New York City. Helmreich combines his first-hand observations with a rich and vast knowledge of the literature to explore the various ways New Yorkers live locally while simultaneously being part of the world’s greatest cosmopolitan city. Among Helmreich’s conclusions—many
New Yorkers are creating a unique hybrid culture of local and global; gentrification has permanently altered the city in myriad ways, good and bad; people use public spaces in innovative ways; there’s tremendous sympathy for the undocumented; and 9/11 has left a deep, ineradicable scar on the city.
“Helmreich set himself a formidable task: he walked every block in New York City over a four-year period, producing what he calls an ‘ethnographic study’ comprised of vignettes based on interviews with hundreds of residents on sidewalks, streets, and even in private homes. The result: a magisterial work that examines how people live in this large, complex, and evolving urban landscape. . . . This is a landmark achievement, for those wanting to dig deeper than The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson. Highly recommended to sociologists, urban demographers, New York historians, and all walking enthusiasts in the city.”
—Richard Drezen, Library Journal starred review
“William Helmreich has walked everywhere and read everything pertinent on New York, and has many astute observations about both the essential spirit of the Big Apple and its rapid changes. Recommended to all lovers of this particular city, and cities in general.”
—Phillip Lopate, author of Waterfront: A Walk around Manhattan
About the Author:
William B. Helmreich is professor of sociology at the City University Graduate Center (CUNY) and City College of New York. His many books include What Was I Thinking? The Dumb Things We Do and How to Avoid Them.
A life-long New Yorker, Helmreich, has been exploring the hidden outskirts of New York since he was 9 years old and his father invented the game “Last Stop”—literally taking a subway to the last stop and exploring the area on foot. This sparked a life-long love of the hidden corners of New York City and he has continued to explore the city on foot for decades. A professor of sociology at the City University Graduate Center (CUNY) and City College of New York, he has shared this passion with students in his popular graduate sociology course on the city for almost forty years.
Profiled in The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal, Helmreich is charismatic, funny, and knowledgeable—a wonderful guide for an afternoon’s exploration. I hope you will consider going for a walk with him.
THE NEW YORK NOBODY KNOWS
Walking 6,000 Miles in the City
William B. Helmreich
ISBN: 9780691144054
480 pp. | 6 x 9 | 30 halftones. 6 maps.
eBook | ISBN: 9781400848317
Audio version will be available through Audible in Fall 2013
Pub date: November 6, 2013
