You Are Here: NYC: Mapping the Soul of the City by Katharine Harmon


You Are Here: NYC: Mapping the Soul of the City
Title : You Are Here: NYC: Mapping the Soul of the City
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1616895268
ISBN-10 : 9781616895266
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 192
Publication : Published November 1, 2016

Maps are magical. Every graphic, like every story, has a point of view, and New York is rife with mapmaking possibilities, thick with mythology, and glutted with history. You Are NYC assembles some two hundred maps charting every inch and facet of the five boroughs, depicting New Yorks of past and present, and a city that never was.

"A Nightclub Map of Harlem" traces a boozy night from the Radium and the Cotton Club to the Savoy and then the Lafayette; "Wonders of New York" pinpoints three hundred sites of interest, including the alleged location of Captain Kidd's buried treasure; the Ghostbusters subway map plots the route from Astral Projections Place to Stay Puft Street; and a rejected proposal of ornate topiaries illustrates a Central Park that might have been. This sequel to the best-selling You Are Here includes original essays by Bob Mankoff, Maria Popova, Sarah Boxer, and Rebecca Cooper, among others.

You Are Here: NYC: Mapping the Soul of the City Reviews

  • Chet Makoski

    This collection of inventive, creative maps and graphics depicting NYC are striking, glorious, amazing, the best way to wander New York City from your favorite chair, wherever you are.

  • Lisa Bianca

    Really enjoyed browsing through this book, so many ways to tell a story of the landscape (in this case New York City) and in the looking I've imagined new ways to tell the story of my own landscapes from 3d to the flat decorative image.

  • K. 🦉

    This book was wonderful!

    How are more people not reading this? I know I'll be sharing this title with others who I think would be interested.

    The people who created the maps are so incredibly talented and imaginative. I enjoyed so many creations, from those made on a computer, to using trash found throughly NYC. You really get a chance to see the city from so many different perspectives, and made from a wide array of materials.

    I only wish the book were larger in size, as it was hard to see some of the illustrations. However, there are citations for each map provided, so I'll be looking into my favorites a bit further.

  • Du

    A cross between an examination of maps, and an art review book. I really liked the information provided. There really is a great breakdown of how we interpret cities through maps and how we represent destinations. NYC is a wonderful case study for this, due to the complexity of the City and the way it can be imagined and owned by so many different people, through its places and communities.

  • Shallowreader VaVeros

    This was an interesting book however my experience of it was crappy as I read my ebook copy from the phone app (Axis 360) which didn't allow for a rich reading experience. The app doesn't allow for images to be zoomed in on (like Libby does), and a phone is not really the place to experience something that has such a depth of detail. I will definitely seek out a print copy or try to use the app on a desk top when I have the chance.

  • Shannis McEwen

    This is a book of super cool and fun maps.

  • Ietrio

    A very pretty book. There is no soul in concrete, but apart from the pointless dialogue, the book is pretty.

  • Michael Powell

    If you like maps, get it.
    If you like NYC, get it.
    A+, thanks Sara

  • Gina

    As is always true with books about New York City, this could use more outer borough action. But it's also lovely seeing the ways that people think of the city without veering too abstract (as some of the works in Mapping Manhattan could be, since it was about people's personal recollections). There's a good mix of data-based and artistic maps here.

  • Jonathan Crowe


    My review on The Map Room.