I'm not exactly this book's demographic (the author - Nora Lum - is young enough to be my granddaughter), but the information in here is insanely useful - not politically correct, not reverent, not necessarily polite (her profile of Staten Island includes the information that Ben Franklin probably pooped there) - USEFUL. Like the kid in the "Emperor Has No Clothes" story, Lum is observant, direct, unvarnished, knowledgeable, and confident. She was born in New York of Chinese and Korean parents, and grew up there, so she knows the place well. Much of the text is lists and short vignettes, interspersed with some critical street knowledge - where to pee, how to make money recycling bottles and cans if you're broke, how to eat a soup dumpling, and brief descriptions of the human characters (subway, homeless, new arrivals) - you're likely to meet, but most of the book covers some genuinely interesting and offbeat parts of the City in ten walking tours (each includes subway directions, brief history, appropriate warnings, and sights to see). For example, the one she calls the Men in Black Tour gives directions to Flushing Meadows Park, site of two worlds fairs and some filming in the movie. I had to look up some of the urban slang (betch?) and I'd want an experienced New Yorker as a companion on most of these jaunts, but well worth a read.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of the paperback version in exchange for a review. (The Kindle version is much cheaper). The image above links to the book's Amazon page.
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