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As a Southerner stuck below the Mason-Dixon line, I was glad for a glimpse at the storied NYC landmark through the eyes of the people who know it best- New Yorkers.
Perfect anthology!Took me forever to finish, not because it is in any way laborious but because I refused to read any of the stories when I wasn't actually sitting IN Central Park. Because I'm a purist like that.Anyway, this book is the absolute ultimate blend of education, humor, heart and New York, and I love the girl in me whose very proud to be a New Yorker was so happy to read it. I am one of those people who finds the park genuinely magical - there are always signs of unity and hope and ec...
The book sounds like a great idea - having a group of New York writers pen memory pieces and stories about an icon as dynamic as Central Park. The implementation of the idea didn't wow me as much as the concept. I enjoyed the introduction by Adrian Benepe, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the epilogue by Doug Blonsky, president of the Central Park Conservancy. Their words reinforced why Central Park is important. What lay in between underwhelmed me...
Bill and I (rubes to the core) once took a long trip into New York JUST to see Central Park. It was wonderful, even though we only saw about 3 of the 843 acres. This anthology has some marvelous stories by really terrific writers and also some not so good stories by some pretty mediocre authors. Hey, that's life isn't it? This one is worth the read.
This is a sweet anthology of memories, stories, explorations, and fantasies in Central Park. I especially liked the one about hidden things (Wilkinson), and of walking through the park at night (Buford) and of birdwatching (Knowler), and of the zoo (Dolnick). A lot of them sort of romanticized the grittier days of high danger in central park, which felt weird.
A Wonderful Anthology recommended to be read by any New Yorker who has lived in the City and enjoyed Central Park during their youth. Having been born and raised in the City, we lived in a two bedroom walk-up apartment, on the fifth floor, overlooking the park on Central Park West between 103rd and 104th Street for about 10 years during the late 30's through the 40's. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the rememberances of the contributors to this Anthology as it brought back memories of many childhoo...
I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.Like any anthology this one was like the Clint Eastwood movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". First the Bad: The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead and The Sixth Borough by Jonathon Safran Foer were so bad they were difficult to even finish. I was thankful they were short stories. The Good: Fogg in the Park by Paul Auster and The Goodbye by Buzz Bissinger. The others could be added to each category but to leseer degrees.I have walked t...
This is a WONDERFUL anthology of short stories about Central Park, a must-read for anyone who likes New York! Highlights are Marie Winn's "About Those Ducks, Holden" that answers his recurring question about where the ducks go when the lakes freeze over (under Balcony Bridge, for the record) and "Goodnight Moon" by Ben Dolnick, about his short tenure as a keeper at the Central Park Zoo.
Exalts the magic of Central Park while offering snapshots of its evolution. An impressive list of contributors - Francine Prose, Adam Gopnik, and Colson Whitehead, among others. Definitely would recommend, especially to New Yorkers.
A wonderful collection of short stories- all of them about Central Park. As a New Yorker born and bred, each story touched my heart, even if the storytellers experience was greatly different from my own.
This is a nice anthology. It makes me wish I had spent more than just a couple of hours in Central Park. Maybe I will get another chance to see it someday preferably on a day that is a touch cooler than 97 degrees.
Very good collection of mostly essays (some short stories) about growing up near Central Park
Definitely a book for New Yorkers!
*Note: I won this advance copy in one of the Goodreads giveaways. I enjoyed the anthology. It looks like I took forever to read it, but the last few months were really busy at work, and it was actually perfect for that time period - small stories/reflections/essays, usually written very well. I don't live in NYC, but whenever I have visited I usually end going to Central Park, and I love it. I appreciated that the editor had the Director of Parks and Recreation (and former director of Central Pa...
I loved this collection of short essays and stories centered on Central Park. The Park is definitely my favorite part of the City and I loved reading different perspectives and learning about different experiences people have had with and in the Park and the transformational impact the Park has had on this city and community.
Review copy won on Goodreads.com on 4-20-12.
I had such hope for this book. I love Central Park, it's one of my favorite places in the world. I so wanted to love this book and hoped it would bring back wonderful memories for me. Sadly, it fell far short. A couple of the stories were cute or okay (but clearly not enough for me to remember their names), but most of them were just odd or had no purpose and some were hardly about Central Park at all. Very disappointed.
I received this book from Goodreads. I did enjoy all the many stories of Central Park. I got a sense of the history and many faces of the Park over the Years. 20 plus stories telling of the parks history, the people swho go the specifically and as a whole. Nicely done I want to go there.
Delightful book about this iconic landmark for hard-core city-philes/New Yorker.
Four stars for those who have lived their own Central Park stories. The intro and first story set the bar too high for those that followed.