"The delight is definitely in the details in William B. Helmreich's The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City. Professor Helmreich, a sociologist at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, invites readers on a romp through largely unexplored neighborhoods that is as entertaining as it is enlightening."鈥擲am Roberts, New York Times
"Helmreich set himself a formidable task: he walked every block in New York City over a four-year period, producing what he calls an 'ethnographic study' comprised of vignettes based on interviews with hundreds of residents on sidewalks, streets, and even in private homes. The result: a magisterial work that examines how people live in this large, complex, and evolving urban landscape. . . . This is a landmark achievement, for those wanting to dig deeper than The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson. Highly recommended to sociologists, urban demographers, New York historians, and all walking enthusiasts in the city."鈥擱ichard Drezen, Library Journal
"An excellent introduction to one of the most ethnically diverse and vibrant cities in the world, and a model of urban sociology."鈥�Christian Century
"The author exudes great love and admiration for his hometown on every page, and this collection of anecdotes brings New York to life with unprecedented humanity and detail. This book is pure joy; even the most dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker will learn something new about this vibrant city."鈥�Kirkus Reviews
"To know a man, you have to walk a mile in his shoes. To truly know New York, you may have to walk 6,000. Or, you can just read Helmreich's account of visiting every inch of the city. His journey from the Bronx to Staten Island allowed him to mingle with plenty of fellow fl芒neurs, like Mayors Bloomberg and Ed Koch."鈥�New York Observer
"[The book] recognises the fact that the everyday experience of the city鈥攖he people you meet, the odd things that happen鈥攁re important. . . . For me, the best bits are Helmreich's detailed descriptions of chance encounters. . . . He gives a powerful depiction of the numbing dullness of some people's jobs, from the security guard in the museum to the man waving a flag outside a garage. These are described with tenderness and not a little wry humour."鈥擣lora Samuel, Times Higher Education
"Fascinating."鈥擬ichael Potemra, National Review
"An uncommon portrait of the city in 2013: a look at its diverse neighborhoods and the urban issues鈥攍ike immigration, community, use of public space and gentrification鈥攖hat run through all of them. The book is not a guidebook, but a very accessible sociological study, full of color and anecdote."鈥擲andee Brawarsky, Jewish Week
"By necessity, given the size of the city, Helmreich calls his book no more than a much-needed 'introductory work' to the diversity of New York City. His method is, in some ways, a throw back to a much earlier form of social criticism, when walking was curiously in vogue for the self-styled intellectuals and elites of 19th century Europe. Think of Charles Dickens's night walks through London or the well-dressed fl芒neurs of Paris. And it's one that anyone can learn from. 'If I accomplish anything besides sociology,' Helmreich says, 'it's to encourage people to walk through what I call the greatest museum in the world.'"鈥擲tephanie Garlock, The Atlantic
"The New York Nobody Knows is not a walking tour or a mere list of city highlights. The book is a 450-page sociological examination of New York through the eyes of a keen observer. It is segmented into parts on the city's ethnic composition, gentrification, environs and what the future may hold for America's melting pot. And yes, there's a section on what makes New York fun, too. . . . The New York Nobody Knows is gratifyingly deep with analysis on the city's history and demographics while also reading like a survival guide at times."鈥擟olin Devries, Daily News
"[E]xcellent. . . . [T]he voices and stories of the people [Helmreich] encounters are what make this book so memorable. . . . It's refreshing to read a book that celebrates so unreservedly the ethnic diversity of a city and entirely fitting that it should be about a metropolis that has always been defined by its cosmopolitan culture."鈥擯D Smith, The Guardian
"It's a story of Helmreich's encounters with hundreds of New Yorkers from every walk of life and from every part of the globe, including Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. His observations鈥攁ll touching on various aspects of the multifarious lives of the estimated 8.3 million people wgi live, work, survive and thrive in the world's greatest metropolitan city鈥攁re poignant and insightful, heartfelt and charming."鈥�Amsterdam News
"In the genre of 'books tallying mammoth heroic self-imposed feats' comes William B. Helmreich's engaging account of how he logged 6,000 miles on foot through all the boroughs of NYC, accumulating many insights into the eternal, multi-ethnic metropolis."鈥�Barnes and Noble Review
"If Walt Whitman contained 'multitudes' within himself, this fine book contains multitudes more鈥攖he beating, dynamic heart of New York is here."鈥�City-litcafe
"Helmreich's shoe leather was worth it; the book is a thorough study."鈥擥race Lichtenstein, PopMatters
"[E]ngaging . . . easily-read and nicely-paced."鈥擳ommy Barker, Irish Examiner
"This exploration of New York City is built from the souvenirs of a formidable journey. Sociologist Helmreich presents the city as a richly diverse place whose residents are eager to share insights and opinions. At its best, the volume reflects the author's willingness to listen, to observe, and to be amazed. . . . [T]his is an original study, and one that will inspire others to set out to walk, and talk, their way across the city."鈥�Choice
"The New York Nobody Knows really does (socially) traverse the New York nobody knows; while in so doing, invariably opening a menagerie of colourful doors I suspect most people didn't even know existed. Myself wholeheartedly included."鈥擠avid Marx, davidmarx.co.uk
"Helmreich's book is clearly a labor of love for both the city as a collective project and the city of individual human lives and stories."鈥擬ichael Minn, Geographical Reviews
"The New York Nobody Knows exemplifies the richness that the ethnographic approach affords. . . . It must be read with a flexible mind-set, but once read that way, can be revisited and mined for its rich data. Helmreich added to the knowledge base typically gleaned from categorical analysis, and overcame many of the blind spots usually present in such research. Helmreich's work inspires social scientists to lace-them-up and do it elsewhere."鈥擠avid B. Broad, Ph.D., International Social Science Review
"The ultimate walking guide to the city."鈥�Curbed
"[A] valuable initial reconnaissance of a difficult terrain."鈥擳ony Filipovitch, Journal of Urban Affairs
"A modern-day flaneur, ethnographer William Helmreich moves engagingly through the streets and neighborhoods of New York, making pithy and substantive observations that place the everyday lives of the city's diverse peoples in a peculiarly revealing light. The New York Nobody Knows is a brilliant representation of everyday lives of New Yorkers, and as such鈥攚hat Baudelaire did for Paris, Helmreich's work promises for New York."鈥擡lijah Anderson, author of The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life
"Helmreich's original and incredible book shows what every nook and cranny of this city looks like from the inside. I have never seen a work that amasses so many observations from so many scenes and deploys them with such elegance. It is a monumental and inspiring achievement."鈥擬itchell Duneier, author of Sidewalk
"William Helmreich has walked everywhere and read everything pertinent on New York, and has many astute observations about both the essential spirit of the Big Apple and its rapid changes. Recommended to all lovers of this particular city, and cities in general."鈥擯hillip Lopate, author of Waterfront: A Walk around Manhattan
"The book offers an intriguing journey through the jagged patchwork of New York neighborhoods. Helmreich is a native son who has never lost his love for the city, its unusual characters, and its capacity to absorb change."鈥擲haron Zukin, author of Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places
"Original and important, The New York Nobody Knows presents a picture of the inner life of the city, bit by delightful bit, as a complete whole. The book is enchanting in a wonderfully old-fashioned way."鈥擯eter Moskos, author of Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District
"In a clear storytelling manner, Helmreich makes the case that New York is a vibrant, complex, and diverse municipality grappling with a range of social conditions and different forms of social change, all of which are affecting America's major cities. I know of no other work comparable in scope."鈥擜lford A. Young Jr., author of The Minds of Marginalized Black Men: Making Sense of Mobility, Opportunity, and Future Life Chances
