The Almanac of New York City »

Kenneth T. Jackson is director of the Herbert H. Lehman Center for American History and Jacques Barzun Professor of History at Columbia University. He is a former president of the New-York Historical Society and is editor in chief of The Encyclopedia of New York City.

A native of New York City, Fred Kameny received his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and a law degree from the University of North Carolina. He is currently the managing editor of Duke University Press.

The Almanac of New York City is an innovative companion for urban enthusiasts. Nowhere else will you find the name of the city's first comptroller (Selah Strong) and Staten Island's most recently designated historic district (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Grotto) next to the city's best-attended cultural institution (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with five million visitors annually) and its lowest recorded temperature (15 degrees below zero in February 1934). The Almanac identifies the borough with the most residents who relocate to Palm Beach (Queens) and the borough with the highest number of Panamanian immigrants (Brooklyn). It lists where New York currently ranks in the cost of apartment rentals, the rate of obesity in each borough, the details of executions dating back to 1639, per capita income by borough, the longest-running Broadway shows, the winners of the Wanamaker Mile, and the location of celebrated grave sites. Compiled by two longtime historians of the city, The Almanac treats readers to a real New York story, a tale that will delight anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Big Apple's complex core.

Savannah Schroll Guz - Library Journal

Despite its title, this Gotham "almanac" tells little about astronomy or meteorological patterns. Instead, it's packed with obscure (but fascinating) data from a city long considered one of the nation's public faces. This one-stop guide to New York statistical information-including public officials' salaries and by-borough obesity rates-is divided into 14 chapters. From population and health-related figures to the materials used in public monuments, no detail that contributes to the definition of New York has escaped Jackson (Crabgrass Frontier) and Kameny (coauthor, There Goes the Neighborhood). Recommended for cultural and urban studies collections.

1 Population

2 Public Health and Safety

3 Housing and Real Estate

4 Crime and Justice

5 Business, Economy, and Labor

6 Arts and Letters

7 Sports

8 Government and Politics

9 Transportation

11 Environment, Flora and Fauna

12 Religion

13 Social Services

14 Memorials and Monuments