MANDATORY!
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It should be MANDATORY that every person strolling the streets of Manhattan, and every cab driver in NYC (either fully licensed or "gypsy") should have in their possession a copy of this little pocket and purse sized gem. I have visited Manhattan many times, but never have I felt so confident as I have felt since discovering my way courtesy of Tauranac and his book of maps. Public Libraries, churches, playgrounds, theatres, statues of Mother Goose and Robert Burns, a former residence of Jackie Kennedy, etc., are all easily located, and much anecdotal information is provided. Buy it and enjoy Manhattan!
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Simply the greatest! Still the best value around!
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I don't know why it took so long for me to discover this little "fits-in-your-coat-pocket" book. During our first trips to Manhattan, we used all those "other" fold-out maps and guides and BOOKS, even the old-fashioned "gas-station" variety maps that unfurled like huge posters that blow away while walking between tall buildings. Carrying those, you might as well walk around with a huge sign on your back that says, "tourist who's lost, please take advantage of me." Well, we've made about six trips to Manhattan since 9/11 alone, and this book (recently updated, hence retiring the other we used) has joined us every time. It has more than just landmarks. It identifies nearly every building, hotel and best of all, street numbers, north to south, east to west. This is really handy when you have an address but you have no idea where so-and-so block number is (and I'm too old to use those so-called "easy formulas" locals use to figure out where the numbers start and end depending upon the intersection you stand). Moreover, the subway maps are great. Not just weekday routes, but weekend and holidays are here too. Again, it's so much better to have a fits-in-your-hands booklet like this than even that huge subway map the MTA dishes out for free. Even outbound trains taking you outside Manhattan and into the boroughs are featured. I guess my only quibble for us visitors is how to grab a subway and train combo to get to other side of the Hudson, you know, like to Liberty State Park in New Jersey? Routes to the other NYC boroughs are well and good (someday it would be great to have a map of the main streets in Queens, the Bronx and especially Brooklyn included, but please don't make the book much thicker; who wants to carry an almanac?; leave that for Frommmer's and Fodor). But it'd be nice to find a map book that doesn't feel like the world stops and ends in Manhattan. This Tauranac still serves its purpose though, and if you're ever on the island, it's near impossible to get lost. Highly recommended to visitors (and to locals) alike!
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Want to find that elusive street address? Look no further!
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I have the Streetwise guides, I have Flash Maps, I have the five-burrough atlases, I have Not for Tourists, all of which are good in different ways. But Manhattan Block by Block is by far my favorite. Are you looking for an address on one of the Avenues and want to know more than what three-block area it might be in? Are you going south of Houston Street and have no idea what the street addresses do down there? Do you want to set out for your destination with absolute confidence that you know precisely where you're going? And do you want something that fits neatly in your purse or your pocket that you can read at a glance? This is the guide for you. While I'd never get rid of my other maps, this is the atlas of my heart.
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essential resource - easy to read and compact
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I love this little atlas, I use it constantly for finding addresses and apartment hunting. The maps are well designed graphically and easy to read, streets show direction, and you can clearly see where the bus and subway routes travel over and under the streets. Manhattan is a collection of neighborhoods, and they are well defined on the maps. I like the fact that many buildings are named and the street numbers are shown on every corner. I also appreciate how the maps overlap from page to page. I withheld a star for 2 criticisms: First and foremost is the way the binding obscures part of each map, this is a problem when an avenue falls in the crease (I have the first edition with the cool cover, I hope they will correct the binding in a later edition). Second, there is no zip code map. Putting a bookmark on the index page and reading the symbol page will help you navigate this atlas, then get out there and enjoy my beloved city!
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Helpful Pocket Atlas but flawed
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I have been using John Tauranac's Manhattan Street Atlas and it is very helpful, but flawed. The binding is such, that the book cannot be fully opened, so information in the center cannot be retrieved, unless one cracks-open the binding.This is the most annoying flaw. Also, many things were omitted. For example, 515 Madison Ave. is the DuMont Building, but no mention is made of that fact. I had to research that building over the Internet to get it's name.Other interesting buildings go un-named,too. I was surprised that the monument where Peter Minuet supposedly sold Manhattan for $24 in Inwood Hill Park, is also omitted; as are other interesting monuments. Finally, I'd like buildings under construction to be named,e.g. Bloomberg Tower, etc. Overall, it's the best detailed guide to Manhattan out there, and I recommend it.
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