What a wonderful little book that illustrates what so many of us already know; Brooklyn is a magical place. The writing style is particularly apt and evocative.

What a find! I had to buy this book after browsing through it during a visit to a friend - another transplanted Brooklynite. And it was worth the price. This book transports you to a time and place when Brooklyn truly WAS the world. There are sights, sounds and smells that come alive through historical perspective and photographs. This book makes a great contribution to the collective memory of all of us who were lucky enough to have been a part of the Brooklyn that was the world.

It has been 40 years since I have stepped foot in Brooklyn. Being a Brooklynite, who had been away all this time, when I first saw this book I had to sit down and breathedeeply. A friend had suggested this book and indeed, it was a great recomendation. There were the photographs of many of the familiar neighborhoods and places of my youth coming alive. As I read Mr. Willensky's writings suddenly the sounds and smells were coming back and I was beingtransported back to my proud Brooklyn. Again, I felt proud of being a Brooklynite and can't wait to make my first trip back after all my years away from this great place. I have no expecations on what I will find after such a long time. As the book deals with Brooklyn as it was from 1920 to 1957, I will try not to compare what I find with the way Elliot Willensky knew it and I too lived it. Excellent narrative, great photos and a must see and read for ALL former Brooklynites and anyone wanting to learn about the greatest place on earth! LONG LIVE BROOKLYN!!Richard Bender

This is a wonderful guide to many of the thousands of buildings in New York City. It is not, however, strictly an architectural piece. A study of the significant edifices in Manhattan this is not, since the photographs are mostly the size of postage stamps, and the text is limited. What it is is likely the most complete guide to the significant and not-so-significant buildings and monuments in New York's five major boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island). The most surprising aspect of this book is its sheer size and complexity. There are hundreds of small photographs (all in clear black-and-white) of nearly every building mentionned, and dozens of others of a more substantial size. There are also over 100 maps of each area, in sufficient detail to be useful for navigation, and a compehensive glossary and index.

Overall, this is a monumental book, and one which is definitely worth the price for anyone who is interested in the landscape of one of the most exciting cities in the world - New York. For the type of book it attempts to be, The Forth Edition AIA Guide to New York City is virtually without flaw.

This book is amazing in its depth of analysis and thoroughness of its study of the vast amount of architectural treasures in all five boroughs. As a native New Yorker (born in The Bronx, raised in Queens, high school in Manhattan) I was pleasantly surprised to find so many buildings that I admired to have a history behind them. A lot of little tid-bits are included in the book, for example did you know the park benches in the Battery Park Promenade are from the 1939 NY World's Fair? I didn't! Did you know that the same Guastavino tile vaulting found outside the Oyster Bar in Grand Central can be found at the Municipal Building at Centre Street? And at the NY Telephone Building at 140 West Street?

A must-have for anyone who loves New York. A true walker's handbook that includes suggested walking tours all over the city. Find out the story behind that old building you walk by on your way home to your Flushing apartment! I also found it fascinating to compare this third edition with the earlier "revised" edition of 1978 to see how much had changed and been lost. The 3rd edition was almost twice the size by the way! I hope a 4th edition is in the works by now.

If you live in New York or you are fascinated by its architecture, you really should buy The AIA Guide to NYC. It is a remarkable tome, including more than 5000 buildings and 3000 stamp album style photos of structures in all five boroughs, ranging from Brooklyn to far Queens and from Staten Island through Manhattan and up to the extreme Bronx. It will hit your coffee table with a serious thunk, and provide endless browsing enjoyment. If you're visiting New York on a quick trip or want a selective overview, I discovered a new book that makes a good companion volume: The Architecture Traveler, by Sydney LeBlanc, which covers 250 American buildings. The author is evidently a New Yorker. About 60 of the buildings are in and around the city. It presents fewer buildings but presents a full page story on each of them. I bought both books: the AIA guide for comprehensiveness, the more selective Architecture Traveler for it's intriguing stories and for the rest of America, which it also includes.