New York Block by Block: An illustrated guide to the iconic American city Hardcover – September 19, 2023

Love these books! I have all 3! The illustrations are beautiful but also great advice based on the different areas of NYC.

Concise and beautiful. This guide will help even long-time residents discover something new about the city.

This is a truly lovely book, and makes for a great gift, but as one of those “fast-talking, swift-walking” locals referred to in the blurb on the back cover, I have a few reservations. The book is as notable for what it leaves out than for what it recommends. Look, she obviously can’t include everything, and some of my personal favorites were bound to be left out. But there is a certain arbitrary and puzzling nature to the recommended hotspots. There are at least a couple of dozen or more venerable NYC institutions of which there is no mention in this otherwise enjoyable and lavishly illustrated tome.By the way, “Midtown” is a pretty imprecise location for a neighborhood! Listings run the gamut in that brief section from the Empire State Building on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue to a fairly new purveyor of meatballs on Ninth and 55th. That’s quite a long stretch! And that’s not really a neighborhood! And it doesn’t exactly provide a “block by block” overview of New York.While you’re in Hell’s Kitchen, it would be a shame to miss a showbizzy bakery in Broadway’s backyard. But you might, because it’s not mentioned in this book! Nor are a whole bunch of other unique and/or legendary and/or trendy attractions/restaurants/shops/venues. There’s a “Christmas” section that doesn’t mention the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree or visiting Santa at an iconic department store, a “pizza” section that notes that some popular restaurants have multiple locations (while only listing one location for others), a “dessert” section that has no listing for arguably the best Italian pastries in NYC and there’s a “New York By Interest” section that doesn’t mention a single theatre or film venue or festival.The illustrations are plentiful and playful and a great asset to this little book. I’d buy a book of oversized illustrations of iconic NYC attractions! The words get in the way here, to be perfectly frank. But the book, as I said, makes for a great gift. Let’s be clear, however… this is a highly curated exclusionary volume of recommendations seen through a very narrow lens.

If you’re going to New York you must buy this book! It is one of the best travel books I have ever read. I will definitely buy her other books. I hope she writes more.

Bought as as a gift for a friend. She devoured it in one sitting and has ear-marked numerous pages for her next visit to the city.

This book is produced by an artist, not a travel writer, and likely published by a vanity press. But that is its charm. Don't expect the details you'd find in a typical travel guide, like when is the best time to catch the ferry to Liberty Island.For me, it's more like strolling through the city with a friend, who shares their opinions of each restaurant, coffee shop, gallery or boutique we pass. There is very little on each locale other than the physical address and a brief comment with no links to websites, no open hours, and no "nearest subway stop." It is that rare thing: a book that wants to be a book. One that entices the reader to navigate the city and figure out the details in the process. And the volume itself is quite attractive, with small illustrations throughout, many of which are simply inventive icons. There are no photographs and the maps are really images that the mind would retain rather than what a cartographer would see.While the book is meant to help the traveler --- or resident New Yorker -- decide which neighborhoods to visit, it can also serve as a glimpse into the variety that NYC has to offer. If there is any omission I would say it is light on the Bronx and Staten Island, with concentration on the other boroughs being its bias. Perhaps as the artist, Cierra Block, ventures beyond her comfort zone she will treat us to her thoughts on those neglected boroughs. In the meantime, we should thank her for sharing her personal Big Apple with the rest of us.

I ordered this thinking something completely different. It is a cute coffee table book or gift for someone moving to/living in NYC. It has a nice hard cover. However, it really is an illustrated directory by specific categories picked by the author. I like the idea, but I wish there was just a little more information about each place. I guess maybe that is the point of the book. To peak curiosity and get people out exploring The City. I was a little dissatisfied by the “maps”. They really don’t help in getting you to any of the places. It is just an adorable illustration for each categories first page fold.

This is an interesting guide. It’s a very quick glimpse on a way to read recommendations. There are addresses and business names flooding this book. Then what I like is under each business, there is a little recommendation on maybe food to try or some popular facts about the spot. I would say that it’s definitely a user-friendly way of attacking a travel book. It’s a helpful book that really covers everything from food to sightseeing. It’s quite a unique way to write a travel book and I find it less tedious to flip through and read. I would definitely recommend this as it’s a user-friendly type of guide. If you want to know more or dig deeper into a spot or restaurant, you have the name and address you can always hit the web for that information.