Michael Kimmelman

I loved this book. Kimmelman is The New York Times' architecture critic, and as COVID largely shut down the city, he invited architects, engineers, urban planners, landscape architects, and others to take walks with him through various neighborhoods of New York. The resulting conversations cover natural history, cultural and social history, land use issues, public vs. private space, among other things. It was fascinating. I learned so much from the journey(s) - whether about the natural history of the Bronx, the development of Rockefeller Center, the use of green space in Forest Hills.... I could go on. Every single entry was eye-opening. My only quibble, as the best friend of a Staten Islander, is that the Forgotten Borough was once again ignored - not a single walk covered it.

For anyone who loves New York, this is a must read. It would also be a great guide for visitors to the city to move beyond the usual tourist areas.

I listened to this on audio and I think the format worked well with the conversational style of the book. That said, I plan to get a hardcover edition for my permanent library.

5 stars… (plus d'informations)

The book is a series of essays each one taking a slightly different perspective on life as art. Although the material is substantive it reads smoothly and with a gentle ease often lost in this type of philosophical art critic. The content was entertaining and could lead to an extended lunch in order to complete the last few pages of a chapter. But in the end the overall book was not memorable. I can recall to you high level themes; art of collecting, simple pleasures or the art of making a world, but int he end the imprint this book made on me was shallow. Is was an entertaining but not a life changing read. http://nicolevlozano.blogspot.com/2008/01/recent-read.html… (plus d'informations)