Governors Island is a 172-acre park just 800 yards from Manhattan. It was a military base for 200 years and only opened to the public in 2004. Today it draws 500,000 visitors a season. This insightful guidebook is for any visitor to the island: a bicyclist who just wants to enjoy five miles of car-free biking, the Civil War enthusiast that wants to visit Castle Williams and see where 1,000 Confederate soldiers were imprisoned, or families on a picnic. The author explores the history of the island, its place in New York and American government, and its long and distinguished military past. More than 80 locations are featured that visitors can explore—from forts to officers housing and much more.

Governors Island in New York Harbor played an important role in history from being a British fort in the 1700s to a station for the U.S. Army and Coast Guard until 1996. This book brings the legacy to life through never-before-published photographs, blueprints, architectural plans, and interviews with former residents. It reveals an evolving penal system, tells the story worldwide contagion and local sanitation, covers ethnic assimilation, reveals the changing roles of women in the military, and takes a look at military and civilian recreational life on the island.

"That is the thing about New York," wrote Dorothy Parker in 1928. "It is always a little more than you had hoped for. Each day, there, is so definitely a new day." Now you can journey back there, in time, to a grand city teeming with hidden bars, luxurious movie palaces, and dazzling skyscrapers. In these places, Dorothy Parker and her cohorts in the Vicious Circle at the infamous Algonquin Round Table sharpened their wit, polished their writing, and captured the energy and elegance of the time. Robert Benchley, Parker’s best friend, became the first managing editor of Vanity Fair before Irving Berlin spotted him onstage in a Vicious Circle revue and helped launch his acting career. Edna Ferber, an occasional member of the group, wrote the Pulitzer-winning bestseller So Big as well as Show Boat and Cimarron. Jane Grant pressed her first husband, Harold Ross, into starting The New Yorker. Neysa McMein, reputedly “rode elephants in circus parades and dashed from her studio to follow passing fire engines.” Dorothy Parker wrote for Vanity Fair and Vogue before ascending the throne as queen of the Round Table, earning everlasting fame (but rather less fortune) for her award-winning short stories and unforgettable poems. Alexander Woollcott, the centerpiece of the group, worked as drama critic for the Times and the World, wrote profiles of his friends for The New Yorker, and lives on today as Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner. Explore their favorite salons and saloons, their homes and offices (most still standing), while learning about their colorful careers and private lives. Packed with archival photos, drawings, and other images--including never-before-published material--this illustrated historical guide includes current information on all locations. Use it to retrace the footsteps of the Algonquin Round Table, and you’ll discover that the golden age of Gotham still surrounds us.

Taking the reader through the New York that inspired, and was in turn inspired by, the formidable Mrs. Parker, the new edition of this guide includes never-before-seen archival photographs to illustrate Dorothy Parker’s development as a writer, a wit, and a public persona. The book uncovers her favorite bars and salons as well as her homes and offices, most of which are still intact. With the charting of her colorful career, including the decade she spent as a member of the Round Table, as well as her intense private life, readers will find themselves drawn into the lavish New York City of the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1917 one million soldiers, sailors, and Marines departed for France to fight in World War I from New York. The city was an important hub during the war as the recruiting and patriotic efforts continued. Following the Armistice in 1918, more memorials were erected to veterans than for any other event, even the Civil War. Now on the centennial, explore more than 50 locations in New York that have ties to The Great War and tell the stories behind each.

This fact-packed book-plus-app is an interactive guide to key planets from the Star Wars galaxy. It contains plenty of information, photographs, and diagrams on the page, and the latest Augmented Reality technology brings many interactive elements to enhance the reading experience. The traveler's guide to some of the key planets, places, and events from the Star Wars galaxy is a unique tool and a fun reference work. Observe, wonder, and engage with these amazing elements and immerse yourself fully into the galaxy that's far, far away.

Whether you’re a visitor or a local looking for something different, New York Off the Beaten Path shows you the Empire State with new perspectives on timeless destinations and introduces you to those you never knew existed––from the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales. So if you’ve “been there, done that” one too many times, forget the main road and venture Off the Beaten Path.