Secret New York: Exploring the City's Hidden Neighbourhoods Book

Picked up a wonderful new tour book of New York City by Michelle Haimoff. Her book Secret New York: Exploring the City's Hidden Neighborhood's (Northampton: Interlink Books, 2008) offers 17 wonderful walking tours of the city. The tours are laid out simply first with straightforward, nicely illustrated maps, then written walking directions and information and photographs for everything along the way. (My only quibble with the layout is it would have been nice to incorporate the detailed information about each site in the actual text of the walking tour, rather than afterwards). I have always enjoyed such self-guided tours, I think they are much more fun than professionally guided tours, and can be filled with a sense of discovery and entertainment. It is rare to find such books so well written and filled with a wealth of information. New York City has always been one of my favourite places. A spot filled with majesty and wonder, and both good and bad memories. It has for so long been one of those special places and to discover it anew, even at a distance, through Haimoff's walks is enjoyable.