Seeing Central Park: The Official Guide to the World's Greatest Urban Park

I gave this as a gift to a High School graduate who will be going away to college in NYC. Her 'thank you card' was sincere and lovely, I am hoping that the book takes her to Central Park locales which inspire her art studies. Lovely, well sized (smallish) book with photo plates of nice quality and printed well. Not coffee table book but rather one that you can stick in a tote (approx ipad size!).

I enjoyed reading "Seeing Central Park". I had a tour of the park around 2004 or 2005 and loved it. This is most interesting park. Having grown up in Boston, I had not had chance to go to NYC too many times, though I have been to NYC about 3 times in the past several years. Brenda Gordon, Owner of Houston Precious Pet Care

What an incredible little book!! If you enjoyed Sara Cedar Miller's "Central Park: An American Masterpiece" you'll definitely enjoy "Seeing Central Park". Miller's knowledge of the park is unparalleled, and her intelligent and tender writing humanizes the park even for those of us who live in New York, and walk through the park and enjoy it on a regular basis. I rarely review things but having recently given this book as a gift to a few friends and getting even for those who don't live in New York, learning about the history and contribution to the city which Olmstead and Vaux made when they designed the park. I've bought a case of the books as Christmas presents for various friends who have seen my copy of the book and marveled over the beauty of the pictures of the park and the city which surrounds it. Its a true gift for any lover of NYC. Most importantly - the content and production of the book are stellar - the photos are beautiful and unlike most traditional 'guidebooks' the quality of printing is exquisite. The book is arranged in sections of ascending segments of the streets and then by the individual areas which are contained in that 10 block chunk of streets. There is also an adorable and useful map printed on the inside of the dust jacket so you can orient yourself in the park as you read through the book. Miller's photography and writing are stellar - witty and informative, the book seems more like an informative conversation than a lecture. An excellent purchase to be sure!

The inside cover is a map. Inside the well organized book there are chapters on each section of the park going south to north with individual section maps and historical and current descriptions of what to see. Everything you need to heighten your enjoyment of the park. My 5 year old grandniece uses the pictures as a guide and check offs of what she has seen. I have lived here 30 years and the book is educating me.