William B. Helmreich – författare

The only neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to New York City''s largest borough, from the award-winning author of The New York Nobody KnowsBill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—some six-thousand miles—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of Queens—1,012 miles in all—to create this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city''s largest borough, from hauntingly beautiful parks to hidden parts of Flushing''s Chinese community. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey through this fascinating, diverse, and underexplored borough, Helmreich highlights hundreds of facts and points of interest that you won''t find in any other guide.In Bellerose, you''ll explore a museum filled with soul-searing artwork created by people with mental illness. In Douglaston, you''ll gaze up in awe at the city''s tallest tree. In Corona, you''ll discover the former synagogue where Madonna lived when she first came to New York. In St. Albans, you''ll see the former homes of jazz greats, including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. In Woodhaven, you''ll walk a block where recent immigrants from Mexico, Guyana, and China all proudly fly the American flag. And much, much more.An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today''s Queens, the book can be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it''s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this captivating borough.

A neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to New York City’s northern borough, from the award-winning author of The New York Nobody KnowsBill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—some six thousand miles—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of the Bronx to create this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city’s northern borough, from Mott Haven to City Island. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey through this fascinating, diverse, and underappreciated borough, Helmreich highlights hundreds of facts and points of interest that you won’t find in any other guide.In the West Bronx, you’ll discover the spot where DJ Cool Herc is believed to have given birth to hip hop in 1973, at a party on Sedgwick Avenue overlooking the Harlem River. In Concourse East, once home to a vibrant Jewish community, you will learn about a beautiful, perfectly preserved, hidden synagogue. In Allerton, you will visit a family-run Italian bakery where the third-generation owner still makes his own cannoli and uses the original recipe for their famous rainbow cookies. In Pelham Parkway/Pelham Gardens, you will explore the city’s largest park, the stunning 2,700-acre Pelham Bay Park. And much, much more.An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today’s Bronx, the book can be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it’s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this captivating borough.

An intimate portrait of the Big AppleAs a child growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father called "Last Stop." They would pick a subway line, ride it to its final destination, and explore the neighborhood. Decades later, his love for exploring the city was as strong as ever.Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs—an astonishing 6,000 miles. His journey took him to every corner of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Helmreich spoke with hundreds of New Yorkers from every part of the globe and all walks of life. He finds that to be a New Yorker is to struggle to understand the place and to make a life that is as highly local as it is dynamically cosmopolitan.Truly unforgettable, The New York Nobody Knows will forever change how you view the world''s greatest city.

A one-of-a-kind walking guide to Brooklyn, from the man who walked every block in New York CityBill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—6,000 miles in all—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked Brooklyn—some 816 miles—to write this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city''s hottest borough. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journeys, The Brooklyn Nobody Knows captures the heart and soul of a diverse, booming, and constantly changing borough that defines cool around the world. The guide covers every one of Brooklyn’s forty-four neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island, providing a colorful portrait of each section’s most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things. Along the way you will learn about a Greenpoint park devoted to plants and trees that produce materials used in industry; a hornsmith who practices his craft in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a collection of 1,140 stuffed animals hanging from a tree in Bergen Beach; a five-story Brownsville mural that depicts Zionist leader Theodor Herzl—and that was the brainchild of black teenagers; Brooklyn’s most private—yet public—beach in Manhattan Beach; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today’s Brooklyn, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it’s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore one of the most fascinating urban areas anywhere.

A one-of-a-kind walking guide to Manhattan, from the man who walked every block in New York CityBill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—six-thousand miles in all—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of Manhattan—721 miles—to write this new, one-of-a-kind walking guide to the heart of one of the world''s greatest cities. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey, The Manhattan Nobody Knows captures the unique magic and excitement of the island and highlights hundreds of facts, places, and points of interest that you won''t find in any other guide.The guide covers every one of Manhattan''s thirty-one distinct neighborhoods, from Marble Hill to the Financial District, providing a colorful portrait of each area''s most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and things. Along the way you''ll be introduced to an elderly Inwood man who lives in a cave; a Greenwich Village townhouse where Weathermen terrorists set up a bomb factory; a Harlem apartment building whose residents included W.E.B. DuBois and Thurgood Marshall; a tiny community garden attached to the Lincoln Tunnel; a Washington Heights pizza joint that sells some of the biggest slices in town; the story behind the "Birdman" of Washington Square Park; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today''s Manhattan, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it''s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this fascinating metropolis.

In this in-depth exploration of the dumb things we all do and why, Helmreich sheds new light on the well-known foibles of Martha Stewart, Bill Clinton, Britney Spears, Don Imus, Eliot Spitzer, Tiger Woods and Bernie Madoff, as well as common missteps like road rage, telling your boss off, cheating, shoplifting, and lying. But this is far more than an entertaining read. Based on hundreds of interviews and exhaustive research, Helmreich concludes that this behavior isn’t only a result of psychological problems. It’s also based on our very culture, history, and values. Only when we understand these causes, the author says, can we begin to address our behavior and improve our lives.