William Helmreich died of coronavirus in March 2020. He had three volumes of urban walks in Brooklyn (2016), Manhattan (2018) and Queens (2020). They are great books to dip into if you are interested in New York City, and they may serve as a record of the city at its peak of wealth, before it was hit by the effects of coronavirus. Now, many people have left the city because of the virus, and businesses may embrace employees working from home, so they don’t have to pay for expensive office space. Tax revenues have plunged, and rents in some places have gone down. There is talk of the city becoming more affordable to live. It may be that some of the populations driven out by gentrification may be able to return. 

Manhattan gets divided up into 27 different regions, with a separate guide to each. Each region has its own map, marked with circles with A, B, C, D etc and a list of which locations the circles mark. There are black and white photos taken by Helmreich. In each section, he gives some history, describes the population who currently lives there, notes some landmarks, recounts some of the conversations he had when he was there, and recalls some of his memories of the area.

Some memories are dramatic. In his youth, Feb 21, 1965, Helmreich was at a bus stop when two men ran past him. It was the day that Malcolm X was assassinated nearby. He never found out whether the two men were connected with the killing, but it was a vivid memory for him. In Harlem, he reports that his father once chased a mugger there. There are plenty of personal touches which add to the charm of the book.

Even residents of areas that Helmreich discusses will probably discover some places or facts that they didn’t know. The book is not encyclopedic but it is quirky. I browsed through several areas I know reasonably well, and there was much that was unfamiliar to me. It is particularly interesting to choose an area that one already knows and see what Helmreich says about it. 

As with the previous volume, this isn’t a great book to actually go walking around with — it is too big and it is hard to keep it open at the right page. You could find an app for your phone that can give you a better guide, though the app reviews tend to be unenthusiastic. You might do better to use a map app such as Google Maps ahead of your trip and note some of the places Helmreich marks out on it as places you want to visit. 

The Manhattan Nobody Knows is a great book to dip into, whether or not you will be actually going to the areas in question. The text stands up on its own. These days most people all over the world have at least a passing familiarity with Manhattan since it figures so prominently in movies and TV shows. Helmreich’s book will give those who are curious about the city a great deal more information. 

Christian Perring is editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews.

Categories: General

Keywords: Manhattan, walks