Off the Beaten (Subway) Track

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July 1, 2008
Publication Date

Off the Beaten (Subway) Track:
New York City's Best Unusual Attractions

by Suzanne Reisman

While it may seem that every possible topic about New York City's attractions has been written about, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York City's Best Unusual Attractions is the first book to focus on the hundreds of off-the-beaten-path destinations in the city. Some are small museums, others are historic places long forgotten, some are stores that sell only odd things, and some are distinguished for their claim to fame as the world's largest/smallest whatever. All of them are notable for the passion with which their proprietors and curators care for them, and all can be visited via the public transportation system.

In other words, this is a book for those seeking something a different - things that are a little bit off the beaten track - in New York City. These are the types of places and things that fit perfectly with New Yorkers' psyches, and satisfy the desire of adventurers to see the unusual. For example, New York is home to the world's tallest Doric column, the world's largest armory, the world's largest cathedral, and the world's largest Reform synagogue. It also has a troll museum, a psychiatric center art gallery, a skyscraper museum, antique toy collections, and a museum of comic and cartoon art. In many cases, half the fun of visiting many of these sites is meeting the people behind them.

Organized geographically to help readers explore the culture and diversity of the city's great neighborhoods, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York City's Best Unusual Attractions offers venues in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and even Staten Island. Each section features main attractions and fun sidebars highlighting places that are particularly interesting to explore.

About the Author

Suzanne Reisman is a Contributing Editor on Feminism & Gender at BlogHer.com. Her writing has also appeared in Metro New York, New York Family, City Limits Weekly, and New York Nonprofit Press. In a previous life, she was an expert on child care facilities finance and development. She has an MPA from Columbia University and a BA from New York University. Unwilling to fully abandon her Chicago-area upbringing, Suzanne lives in Manhattan with her husband and a 13 lb. rabbit, and insists on calling soda "pop" and sneakers "gym shoes."

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