The New York Nobody Knows

"As a kid growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father they called "Last Stop." They would pick a subway line and ride it to its final destination, and explore the neighborhood there. Decades later, Helmreich teaches university courses about New York, and his love for exploring the city is as strong as ever. Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs--an astonishing 6,000 miles. His epic journey lasted four years and took him to every corner of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Helmreich spoke with hundreds of New Yorkers from every part of the globe and from every walk of life, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former mayors Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins, and Edward Koch. Their stories and his are the subject of this captivating and highly original book. We meet the Guyanese immigrant who grows beautiful flowers outside his modest Queens residence in order to always remember the homeland he left behind, the Brooklyn-raised grandchild of Italian immigrants who illuminates a window of his brownstone with the family's old neon grocery-store sign, and many, many others. Helmreich draws on firsthand insights to examine essential aspects of urban social life such as ethnicity, gentrification, and the use of space. He finds that to be a New Yorker is to struggle to understand the place and to make a life that is as highly local as it is dynamically cosmopolitan."--Publisher's description.

A one-of-a-kind walking guide to Manhattan, from the man who walked every block in New York City Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—six-thousand miles in all—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of Manhattan—721 miles—to write this new, one-of-a-kind walking guide to the heart of one of the world's greatest cities. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey, The Manhattan Nobody Knows captures the unique magic and excitement of the island and highlights hundreds of facts, places, and points of interest that you won't find in any other guide. The guide covers every one of Manhattan's thirty-one distinct neighborhoods, from Marble Hill to the Financial District, providing a colorful portrait of each area's most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and things. Along the way you'll be introduced to an elderly Inwood man who lives in a cave; a Greenwich Village townhouse where Weathermen terrorists set up a bomb factory; a Harlem apartment building whose residents included W.E.B. DuBois and Thurgood Marshall; a tiny community garden attached to the Lincoln Tunnel; a Washington Heights pizza joint that sells some of the biggest slices in town; the story behind the "Birdman" of Washington Square Park; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today's Manhattan, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it's almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this fascinating metropolis. Covers every one of Manhattan's neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and things Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; and a lively guided walking tour Draws on the author's 721-mile walk through every Manhattan neighborhood Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents

A one-of-a-kind walking guide to Brooklyn, from the man who has walked every block in New York City Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—6,000 miles in all—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Now he has re-walked Brooklyn—some 816 miles—to write this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city's hottest borough. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journeys, The Brooklyn Nobody Knows captures the heart and soul of a diverse, booming, and constantly changing borough that defines cool around the world. The guide covers every one of Brooklyn’s forty-four neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island, providing a colorful portrait of each section’s most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things. Along the way you will learn about a Greenpoint park devoted to plants and trees that produce materials used in industry; a hornsmith who practices his craft in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a collection of 1,140 stuffed animals hanging from a tree in Bergen Beach; a five-story Brownsville mural that depicts Zionist leader Theodor Herzl—and that was the brainchild of black teenagers; Brooklyn’s most private—yet public—beach in Manhattan Beach; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today’s Brooklyn, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it’s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore one of the most fascinating urban areas anywhere. Covers every one of Brooklyn’s 44 neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; and a lively guided walking tour Draws on the author’s 816-mile walk through every Brooklyn neighborhood Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents

The only neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to New York City's largest borough, from the award-winning author of The New York Nobody Knows Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—some six-thousand miles—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of Queens—1,012 miles in all—to create this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city's largest borough, from hauntingly beautiful parks to hidden parts of Flushing's Chinese community. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey through this fascinating, diverse, and underexplored borough, Helmreich highlights hundreds of facts and points of interest that you won't find in any other guide. In Bellerose, you'll explore a museum filled with soul-searing artwork created by people with mental illness. In Douglaston, you'll gaze up in awe at the city's tallest tree. In Corona, you'll discover the former synagogue where Madonna lived when she first came to New York. In St. Albans, you'll see the former homes of jazz greats, including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. In Woodhaven, you'll walk a block where recent immigrants from Mexico, Guyana, and China all proudly fly the American flag. And much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today's Queens, the book can be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it's almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this captivating borough. Covers every one of Queens's neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and things Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; photographs; and a lively guided walking tour Draws on the author's 1,012-mile walk through every Queens neighborhood Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents

'These essays ... live and grow in the mind' James Campbell, Independent Being a writer, says James Baldwin in this searing collection of essays, requires 'every ounce of stamina he can summon to attempt to look on himself and the world as they are'. His seminal 1961 follow-up to Notes on a Native Son shows him responding to his times and exploring his role as an artist with biting precision and emotional power: from polemical pieces on racial segregation and a journey to 'the Old Country' of the Southern states, to reflections on figures such as Ingmar Bergman and André Gide, and on the first great conference of African writers and artists in Paris. 'Brilliant...accomplished...strong...vivid...honest...masterly' The New York Times 'A bright and alive book, full of grief, love and anger' Chicago Tribune

Cassie Sheridan has all a television news reporter could want: an important beat in Washington D.C., a skyrocketing career, and a talent that everyone acknowledges. But then, she makes a critical mistake. Suddenly, her career is in shambles, her credibility is questioned, and her teenaged daughter makes her realize just how much time she hasn't spent with her. The repercussions of ambitious reporting have now derailed the career of KEY News justice correspondent Cassie Sheridan. Cassie is transferred to Miami, to wait out the end of her contract-separated from her family, her friends, and the familiarity of Washington. But in an unsuspecting south Florida town, a killer is watching...and waiting. While covering a hurricane that's moving up Florida's west coast, Cassie meets 11-year-old Vincent, who has just made a grisly discovery on the beach. In one week, Cassie traces the connection between Vincent's newfound "treasure" and a secret operation in the dark shadows of sunny Sarasota-a story that has national significance and maybe, just maybe, will win back her reputation. But nobody knows how fierce the coming storm will be. Nobody knows how far a psychopath will go in pursuit of twisted pleasure. Nobody knows if a young woman's murderer will stop at nothing to keep the crimes a secret. And nobody knows if Cassie will get out alive. . . .

Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.

It should not surprise us when we see God use the common things of life--snow, streetlights, a rented suit, a mop--to accomplish the incredible. But it should inspire us. From the depths of near obscurity at the turn of the last century, a young African American man rose to fame through those ordinary things--listening intently out in the snow as a child to beautiful music in an elegant hall, listening to his grandfather sing the old slave songs as he lit the streetlamps, sweating through a rented suit during an audition for a musical scholarship, a chance meeting with a musical legend as he was mopping the halls of his school. Through the seemingly insignificant pieces of life, God led Harry T. Burleigh along the path to fame and through him preserved the songs that would form the basis of a uniquely American music. Now Harry T. Burleigh, once world-renowned for his career as a beautiful baritone soloist, an arranger of Negro Spirituals, and a composer in his own right, is lifted once more out of obscurity by Craig von Buseck. This inspiring true story will take readers back in time to Southern plantations and Northern boom towns, to minstrel shows and soaring sanctuaries, and into the heart of a man who never suspected that God had destined him for greatness.