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New Yorkers

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As someone that has NYC high up on their travel destinations wish list I was excited to read New Yorkers. I wanted to see the state through the eyes of a resident and pick up some useful tips for when I visit. However this book just wasn't what I expected.

I rushed through the first 10% intrigued by the residents and quirks of the city. After that the book just fell flat and I didn't see how NYC featured, ultimately it became a memoir of someone I do not have any prior knowledge of.

DNF at 25%

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As a former New Yorker who misses the city this is a wonderful nostalgic read.The author brings the city alive a very fun entertaining memoir.#netgalley #booksgosocial.

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This book unfortunately didn't do it for me. I'll be the first to say I wasn't born and raised in New York, so I can't be considered a "real New Yorker". However, as accurate as this book was, it was a love letter from New York to the people who have never experienced it. If you dream of coming to the Big Apple and seeing the lights, the people, and the excitement, then sure give it a read. As someone who's lived this life, it just didn't add anything different to the city for me. It's not a terrible book by ay means, but I do think that it has a limited target audience.

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Enjoyed this one, but felt it was mostly a look at the history of New York and then the place in decades well before the 2000s came in (as such, it is very much a memoir of the author's life in New York during his youth and middle age and not much about now and even current times). So this 'historical' aspect was a bit of a let-down, especially if you didn't come to learn obscure facts about the history of the place. The content did get entertaining at times, but it felt a lot like a 'in my days...' type of rendition and not very pertinent to the world now

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Full Disclosure: I received a copy of New Yorkers: A Feisty People Who Will Unsettle, Madden, Amuse and Astonish You by Clifford Browder from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley.

As a fellow Midwesterner transplanted to such an iconic city as New York, I was interested in Mr. Browder's take on the experience. Granted, he has lived in New York quite a bit longer than I have. The book is a mix of travel guide, history, and social commentary. I learned some really cool things and noted some places I need to check out as I get to know the city. If you have a connection to NYC or just enjoy reading about it, check this book out.

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I was expecting more of a factual travel book but it was more anecdotes and opinions. Disappointing and not for me.

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More like tidbits about people, places and things in New York. Fun book more than anything. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

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Much like the author of this book, I have claimed New York as my home despite being born and raised someplace else (and despite my not having spent a comparable number of decades there--that Browder published this book at 93 years of age is an accomplishment in and of itself). Given that context, I was so excited to read these reflections and historical insights about the city I love so much and its people. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed.

The book can't seem to decide if it wants to be informative or a diary--frankly, I think Browder brandished his age, wrote whatever the hell he wanted, and managed to have it published anyway. Certainly, Browder's life is full of interesting stories and anecdotes that brought New York to life, and it was entertaining to read about his time engaging with Broadway chorus boys and eventually falling in love with his partner, Bob; however, most of these stories were stuck in semi-randomly, only tangentially related to the topic at hand or shoved between two unrelated chapters as a placeholder. Likewise, though the historical information that Browder provided, specifically about the variety of building philosophies and designs in various neighborhoods over time, was often fascinating, it was unstructured and often interrupted by statements of opinion that added little to--and sometimes detracted significantly from--the story being told. Browder repeated himself frequently and relied upon "telling" to communicate that the topic might be shifting: "This chapter shows this." "Now I will demonstrate....".

I'm disappointed to give this book such a low rating because it is chock-full of fun facts about New York, including many stories that I had never heard or even considered before. Sadly, though, I think this book is only worth powering through if you are as passionate about New York as the author, and even then, I think it is best read by flipping it open at random to read a couple pages before putting it away for several weeks or months until the urge strikes again.

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It's hard to say just one thing about this book! It is delightful, fun, colorful. It is not a travel book, you will not read it necessarily for it's information but just for fun.

It's like asking your favorite neighbor about the city and you get tons of his stories and experiences he, his partner and various acquaintances have gone through, nuggets of historical facts and events and all kinds of ideas concerning New Yorkers and their city these days.

While at times it feels like it's composed of author's blog posts, it is easily read and fun. I believe it is also a matter of taste, some pieces of information may seem a bit too gossipy, too judgy, but some scenes are so delightful. For a lover of New York - passages of this book filled my heart with joy and longing. I can only hope people who haven't experienced this incredible city will find it charming by reading these pages.

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Man-about-town Clifford Browder has penned a work that is equal parts travel guide, history and memoir. He brings up little-known tidbits of New York history, such as now-vanished landmarks, the recruitment of Mohawk Indians in the 1940s to work construction in the Big Apple (where they continue working to this day, commuting from their reservation in Upstate New York); the rise of a Nepali enclave in Queens in 1980s, the anti-Semitism and anti-Quaker bigotry of Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant, the cholera outbreak of 1832 that led to the creation of a modern water-supply system in New York City, and much, much more. Browder includes such interesting bits as identifying different kinds of New York architecture, the Roma in New York City, the multiplicity of religions in the alleged sinful city, whether New Yorkers are really rude, plus a lot of fun facts.

Browder infuses the book with stories about his own life as a gay man in New York City. He came to the City in 1953 to study French at Columbia University, and never returned to Evanston, Ill. Eventually, Browder became a freelance editor, and he seems to have made a good living at it. Which brings me to the irony of this book: Browder really could have used a good editor. He wanders around from one thing to another without rhyme or reason. A chapter on his life as a freelance editor is sandwiched between a chapter on New York billionaires and a chapter on gay Broadway chorus boys and their fun nightlife. Readers will have to work harder than they ought to in order to get through "New Yorkers," which is a pity, as it’s full of really fun anecdotes and facts. As a New York native, I really wanted to like this more.

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I adored this. I used to live in New York and have been feeling such nostalgia for it recently. What a vibrant, fantastic read.

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This is a quirky book giving a unique insight into various aspects of New York life. New York is a melting pot of many cultures, nationalities & personalities - of course much of what is discussed will be found in other major cities, but this gives a flavour of New York specifically from someone who has lived there for many years. I initially though this was by a younger person but the author recounts tales from the 50s & 60s right through to present day.
The book is full of anecdotes and personal observations drawn over many years, but there is also a surprising amount of historical fact – who knew that there is a long tradition of Mohawks working on high steel projects (skyscraper construction, bridges etc) – and I did enjoy the hotchpotch of information and the way it had been structured into the “who we are” , “how we live” type sections. It’s a chatty book, broken into short paragraphs but with the author being a former teacher & editor, I was surprised how choppy the writing was, and how grammatically/structurally poor with sentences such as “And again, that’s just a beginning.” I suppose the author is trying to maintain that chatty fast paced “New York-ish” vibe but it makes it harder to enjoy. For all the emphasis on diversity, I was surprised by how people were categorised and the generalisations that were made in places. The author is an older gay male, and it is interesting to see the city & its changes through his eyes, but he makes little effort to look at New York through other eyes.

Overall, I enjoyed the insight into New York city (as a foreigner who has never visited) and I learnt some quirky facts, but it’s not a must read or one I will return to.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#NewYorkers #NetGalley

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This book wasn't at all what I was expecting. I thought it would be more anecdotal, quirky and personal, but in reality it was more historical and data-driven. In the end it didn't really feel like a book about the people of New York at all, but just another book about New York City history. The one time it did get personal, when the author talked about the death of his partner, it felt uncomfortable & out of place. Some of the sections, most notably ones about architecture, needed photographs. It's hard to really immerse yourself in the author's world when you can't get a clear picture of it. The writing also was not very strong. There was too much of the author saying "now I'm going to tell you about this" instead of smoothly transitioning from topic to topic.

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Anecdotes and Opinion Not Fact or History
I enjoy New York City. I enjoyed my time there and am planning a return. I was hoping this book would be simpatico with the huge diversity I found there. Each neighborhood is its own world, but the author does not touch that at all. This book has fewer facts than anecdotes. And fewer anecdotes than unsubstantiated opinions. It also has a bigoted slant that set me on edge from the beginning. The author seems to have forgotten that people make up the entire world, not just his world. He speaks very highly of New York and New Yorkers, as to be expected. Not expected is his building up of New Yorkers by tearing down other groups. He lists well-known American Sikhs but ignores the famous and popular Sikh, Nikki Haley a former governor and US Ambassador to the UN. Just as unexpected were his disparaging remarks about The Heartland and its Republican and WASP nature. Almost every group he extolls is paired with a group he reviles. Not even 20% into the book, he went on an extremely vile rant about our President. Without proof or even anecdotal evidence, he made vile claims that are his opinion only and not historical facts. That is the point I stopped reading this book. It is more a manifesto of what the author thinks of NYC versus the rest of the country and less about the facts of what makes NYC what it is. There are no footnotes to substantiate any of his claims. I would rather spend my time and brain cells elsewhere. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

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I read about one-eighth of this book before setting it aside for good. I found it to be a boring recitation of facts. It was like reading an encyclopedia. While these facts are well-researched and could have been fascinating reading, sadly, that was not the case. I was struck by the fact that while the author proclaims how diverse the city is, he demonstrates this diversity by describing categories of people. Very disappointed.

I received this book book from NetGalley and the publisher.

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I wanted to read this book as I have been to New York and loved everything about it. I can still visualise everywhere we went. It is an unforgettable magical city. I thought that there was too much packed into this book. I feel it is a book to dip into. There are too many facts to take in at one go. I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if there had been fewer facts in it or if it was compiled differently.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

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Disappointingly this book just did not capture for me the excitement and quirkiness of New York. The writing style was too repetitive and often felt that the author was either paying or the word limit or just had too many facts he wanted to share when instead a little more editing and analysis would have improved the book enormously.

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A memoir-style book by Clifford Browder detailing the history and vibrancy of New York City, a city I love and currently miss visiting. This book will be well loved by history buffs as the author takes you through centuries of facts & stories and does a wonderful job of tying them back to present day NYC. The reader could easily take notes from this work and turn them into a brilliant tour of the city. In this current state of COVID it was nice to read a book that brings back vivid memories of one of the most famous cities in the world. I often found myself pausing to recall seeing certain monuments, streets and structures.

At times it is a lumbering read filled with far too many commas as Mr Browder goes a little list crazy at times, so much so I skipped to the end of the commas often and didn’t feel I missed anything. My only other criticism is he gives off the uncle at the holiday table vibe in trying to make funny comments to relate to you, but it falls flat. We all have that relative and Mr. Browder is trying hard to get an invite.

I would read this again to fulfill my wanderlust but not sure I would do so cover to cover.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

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I thought this was going to be more like a People of New York type book.
I enjoyed the history of NYC but as a New Yorker living in Texas, I just wanted something a little more city like and this just didn't do it for me. It could make a nice coffee table book though.

Thanks to Netgalley for my ebook copy.

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