Gotham’s Car-free Culture

CAR-FREE IN NEW YORK CITY; THE REGIONAL PUBLIC TRANSIT GUIDE, 1994-1995 edition, edited by Robert J. Ravelli (Camino Books, $7.95 paper); FLASHMAPS NEW YORK, edited by Marcy S. Pritchard (Fodor’s, $8.95 paper) and NYC CULTURE CATALOG; A GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY’S MUSEUMS, THEATERS, ZOOS, LIBRARIES, BOTANICAL GARDENS, CONCERT HALLS, HISTORIC HOUSES by William L. Beavers (Abrams/Alliance for the Arts, $12.95 paper).

In fall, many a Californian’s fancy turns to New York. Wouldn’t a quick trip back there be nice right about now? The weather, at least theoretically, is beautiful. The hotels and restaurants are hungry for imported business after the summer doldrums. And then there’s all that culture, culture, culture. That the visitor will be “car-free” in New York City, of course, is understood. Who’d want to fight traffic, scrap for a parking space, worry about vandals and thieves with a rented Ford? “Car-Free in New York City” is a useful guide that goes far beyond mere public transport information and tips for getting around Manhattan. Included are details of free attractions in the city, suggested day trips (by train), interesting neighborhoods, discounts and more.

Fodor’s Flashmaps series (“The Ultimate Street & Information Finder”) is a splendid little (nearly pocket-size) volume that packs a dazzling quantity of information into its tightly formatted, graphically sophisticated design. Here are easy-to-read maps of everything from airports to restaurants to churches to ZIP Codes,with addresses and phone numbers. You won’t get any particulars here, but the hard facts are copious and easily accessible.

“NYC Culture Catalog,” produced by the Alliance for the Arts, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy research, information services and advocacy for the arts in New York City,” is laid out like a catalogue of university extension courses. It’s written like one, too (“Korea’s rich cultural heritage is celebrated through performance and exhibition programs presented by the Korean Cultural Service”). Assuming that this tone doesn’t bother you, it’s a comprehensive, information-packed key to what seems like darned near everything cultural to see and do in Gotham.

A THOUSAND LEAGUES OF BLUE; THE SIERRA CLUB BOOK OF THE PACIFIC; A LITERARY VOYAGE, edited and with an introduction by John A. Murray (Sierra Club Books, $16 paper).

The endlessly enthralling Pacific Ocean, which encompasses everything from the sunny beaches of Southern California to the frozen reaches of the Arctic and the Antarctic, with the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, New Guinea and about 100,000 other places in between, has inspired writers (and preliterate observers) for thousands of years. This rich, delicious collection goes back as far as Capt. James Cook (an account of his visit to Easter Island in 1768) and comes up as close as Barry Lopez on the Galapagos and the volume’s editor on the aforementioned California coast. Also included are Charles Darwin, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Jack London, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard and Peter Matthiessen.

ZOO by Anthony D. Marshall (Random House, $12 paper) and THE ZOO BOOK; A GUIDE TO AMERICA’S BEST by Allen W. Nyhuis (Carousel Press, $14.95 paper).

Some people hate zoos and don’t care who knows it. Zoos exploit animals, say the critics, and subject them to mistreatment. The place of wild beasts is in the wild. True, to an extent. But zoos, especially in the United States also protect animals, both individuals and species, and can engender in us urban humans an appreciation and respect for creatures of the wild that might one day translate to their conservation and preservation. Anthony Marshall’s guide to this country’s zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks addresses the issues of such conservation and preservation, and tells us not just what’s in the places he covers but what gets done there, and by whom, and with what intent. Allen Nyhuis’ book is more concerned with facilities and attractions. Both include directions, opening hours and other practical information.

Quick trips:

NORTHERN CYPRUS; A TRAVELLER’S GUIDE by Eileen Davey (I.B. Tauris Books/St. Martin’s Press, $19.95 paper). Northern Cyprus is Turkish Cyprus, less developed than the Greek-run southern part of the island, and still full of unspoiled landscapes and extraordinary human remains (from Neolithic villages to Venetian walled cities). Eileen Davey is an archeologist and historian, and her account is highly detailed, though it does lack scene-setting romantic flair.

SOUTH DAKOTA by T. D. Griffith, photographs by Paul Horsted (Compass American Guides/Fodor’s, $16.95 paper). With handsome color photography, miscellaneous documentary material (historic portraits, old railway posters), numerous sidebars and asides and a fact-filled but lively text, this new entry in Fodor’s Compass series gives weight and shape to a fascinating state most of us (for shame!) would probably have trouble finding on a map.

Books to Go appears the second and fourth week of every month.