Elizabeth Hawes traces the development of the New York apartment house, beginning with the Stuyvesant (1869), and then discussing the earliest middle-class and upper-class buildings of the 1870s. As Hawes explains how design evolved through the decades, she examines such classic buildings as the Villard Houses (1885), the Dakota (1884), and the Osborne (1885), as well as others of lesser fame. My favorite chapter is the 13th (of 14 chapters), in which Hawes compares three famous architects of the 1920s: Roth, Carpenter, and Candella. As the title indicates, the book's coverage ends at 1930. The author has done more than merely catalogue buildings; instead, she shows how changes in design reflect changes in society and an effort to learn from past design errors. There are 5 floor plans and approximately 50 photographs. As much as I enjoyed this book, I prefer Cromley's 'Alone Together,' which struck me as a slightly better treatment of the same material, with more illustrations. However, Hawes' 'New York, New York' covers the 1920s, a pivotal decade in New York apartment architecture, which was not covered in Cromley's book.

There's a thread of Raymond Carver running through these stories. Especially "Foley as Crabman." It'd be interesting to see the author's original vision for the collection, but the book is a worthy read despite the edited structure.

A fantastic collection of comtemporary short shorties. Chiarella is definately one of America's future literary stars. Foley's Luck is a fantastic read, I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Dialogue is the hardest thing to write. A story shines when it is done well. When the dialogue is bad, no one can wait to put the book down. Many of us never realize that dialogue happens all around us every day. The number one lesson that Tom Chiarella teaches in this book is learn to listen to this dialogue. Listen to how people talk. Write down what people say. Write down what you say. Listen.

This book was the best that I have read on dialogue yet. Chiarella writes with a simple style that feels like you're actually talking to him about dialogue while sitting over a cup of coffee. At the end of each chapter he provides a few exercises to practice the ideas that he talked about.

Pay particular attention to his first chapter on learning how to listen, and his "Nuts and Bolts" chapter. His chapter on "Writing for Radio, TV and Movies," provides some good ideas even if you are not writing for that medium. This is one of the better texts on writing, and I will hold on to this one for some time.

Mr. Chiarella's conversational style and his honest approach to writing dialogue reminds me a great deal of Gary Provost (a high compliment to Mr. Chiarella). This book doesn't just tell you how, it literally teaches you a new skill, which starts to become ingrained. Great stuff. Read it.

I have purchased and read perhaps two dozen of the books on writing linked through the Amazon and bookfinder searches. Mr. Chiarella's book on dialogue gave me more help in its niche that any of the others. It is clear, to the point, and worth buying and reading. There are other more comprehensive treatments such as Janet Burroway's or E.M. Forster's. I enjoyed David Lodge's , The Art of Fiction. Some may even read Greek and like to start with Aristotle's Poetics. But for good understanding of dialogue, Mr. Chiarella has given us a sound, brief treatment easily worth the price.