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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The two guys, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, who conceived, and drove through against all odds the creation of the wondrous 'urban park on stilts' on the west side of Manhattan, were described by a journalist writing about the High Line's unlikely success as "A pair of nobodies who undertook an impossible mission." In their book they readily admit this was true and that they knew next to nothing about preservation, architecture, community organizing, horticulture, fundraising, working with City Hall, or running a park.
This lack of expertise in these areas was the key to the High Line's phenomenal success as it forced them to bring in other people to help them, and bring the dream into reality.
The book gives a potted Time Line from 1847 to 1999 (when Messrs David and Hammond started their quest), charting the history of street level and elevated train tracks in NYC. The authors then give a detailed but highly interesting account of the struggle to overcome all of the many obstacles, frustrations and challenges to a successful conclusion. They freely admit that they had an enormous amount of help from many people and organisations without which there would probably be no High Line today, but it is also self-evident that they were the most important reason for the projects triumphant outcome. The latter part of the book is taken over with many great photographs showing the before, during conversion works, and after of this unique green city leisure space.
In a short time, if not already, the most famous attractions in NYC will be Central Park, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero Memorial, The Empire State Building and The High Line. This elevated parkway is truly a marvel of urban regeneration which serves as an object lesson to City Politicians and Planners worldwide.
Henry David Thoreau, the renowned natural and environmental historian, was perhaps prescient of the creation of The High Line Parkway when he wrote "If you have castles in the air, your work need not be lost: that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." Joshua David and Robert Hammond and their friends did just that.
This lack of expertise in these areas was the key to the High Line's phenomenal success as it forced them to bring in other people to help them, and bring the dream into reality.
The book gives a potted Time Line from 1847 to 1999 (when Messrs David and Hammond started their quest), charting the history of street level and elevated train tracks in NYC. The authors then give a detailed but highly interesting account of the struggle to overcome all of the many obstacles, frustrations and challenges to a successful conclusion. They freely admit that they had an enormous amount of help from many people and organisations without which there would probably be no High Line today, but it is also self-evident that they were the most important reason for the projects triumphant outcome. The latter part of the book is taken over with many great photographs showing the before, during conversion works, and after of this unique green city leisure space.
In a short time, if not already, the most famous attractions in NYC will be Central Park, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero Memorial, The Empire State Building and The High Line. This elevated parkway is truly a marvel of urban regeneration which serves as an object lesson to City Politicians and Planners worldwide.
Henry David Thoreau, the renowned natural and environmental historian, was perhaps prescient of the creation of The High Line Parkway when he wrote "If you have castles in the air, your work need not be lost: that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." Joshua David and Robert Hammond and their friends did just that.
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in the back ground story into how the High Line in New York City came into being. Highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
A must-read for true New Yorkers
20 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I considered myself to be in-the-know on the history and creation of The High Line, after 13 years of living in Manhattan and reading endless press in Time Out NY, New York Mag and The NY'er. Now that I've finished reading "The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky", I realize how little of this remarkable story I actually knew. We are so often promised "behind the scenes" glimpses into famous people and pop-culture storylines yet are left disappointed by lackluster revelations and glossier-than-actual trips down memory lane. I found this book to be a brutally honest tale of two regular guys who lacked experience, resources and time yet somehow managed to keep their partnership and dream alive in spite of repeated challenges, fights and, what seems like, an entire city of naysayers.
In addition to sharing a great story in candid, often hilarious voices, the photos in the back half of the book are worth the $19 price tag alone. I suspect the next time I walk along The High Line, I'll recognize it even more as the greatest gift to New Yorkers, and all Americans, since the Statue of Liberty.
In addition to sharing a great story in candid, often hilarious voices, the photos in the back half of the book are worth the $19 price tag alone. I suspect the next time I walk along The High Line, I'll recognize it even more as the greatest gift to New Yorkers, and all Americans, since the Statue of Liberty.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A fascinating, fun read
15 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback
This book is a compulsively readable and surprisingly (at times shockingly) honest account from the two guys, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, who took on the High Line project and saw it through over the last 12 years. It begins with the chance meeting of the project's co-founders in 1999, and is written in their own voices as they give a loosely chronological account of the project up to the opening of the first section of the park in 2009.
Along the way, the book gives a truly "insider" perspective with plenty of juicy details. What did Edward Norton think of the High Line when he lived in the neighborhood? Who do you have talk to to get in front of designer Diane von Furstenberg? What does a property owner who traded swords with Arnold Schwarzenegger have to do with the High Line? How did Friends of the High Line almost lose a staff member over an Aeron chair? And why did Jean-Claude (of Christo and Jean-Claude, the famous artists) scold Robert over his formatting of a letter? All these questions (and many, many more) are answered in this "who's who" of New York activists, officials, architects, powerful figures, and neighborhood characters.
This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the High Line, but also anyone who's interested in New York, urban planning, architecture, or the way cities change over time. Even people who know "everything" about the High Line will be surprised by some of the revelations! I could also see this being an essential road map for people who have "big ideas," as it explains all the steps that Robert Hammond and Josh David took to make the High Line "dream" into a reality. There's enough information here to be a school textbook for anyone who wants to be a planner or a social entrepreneur - but, unlike a textbook, it's actually fun to read.
Also - the second half of the book is full of incredible color photographs, including photos of the High Line under construction, historical photos, and beautiful landscape shots of the converted park. The visual story presented by the photographs is just as compelling as the text.
I think this would be a good holiday gift for anyone who likes the High Line park, or also anyone on your gift list who already owns these: The Death and Life of Great American Cities (50th Anniversary Edition) (Modern Library) The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture Joel Sternfeld: Walking The High Line Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark AIA Guide to New York City Designing the High Line: Gansevoort Street to 30th Street Steve Jobs Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
Along the way, the book gives a truly "insider" perspective with plenty of juicy details. What did Edward Norton think of the High Line when he lived in the neighborhood? Who do you have talk to to get in front of designer Diane von Furstenberg? What does a property owner who traded swords with Arnold Schwarzenegger have to do with the High Line? How did Friends of the High Line almost lose a staff member over an Aeron chair? And why did Jean-Claude (of Christo and Jean-Claude, the famous artists) scold Robert over his formatting of a letter? All these questions (and many, many more) are answered in this "who's who" of New York activists, officials, architects, powerful figures, and neighborhood characters.
This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the High Line, but also anyone who's interested in New York, urban planning, architecture, or the way cities change over time. Even people who know "everything" about the High Line will be surprised by some of the revelations! I could also see this being an essential road map for people who have "big ideas," as it explains all the steps that Robert Hammond and Josh David took to make the High Line "dream" into a reality. There's enough information here to be a school textbook for anyone who wants to be a planner or a social entrepreneur - but, unlike a textbook, it's actually fun to read.
Also - the second half of the book is full of incredible color photographs, including photos of the High Line under construction, historical photos, and beautiful landscape shots of the converted park. The visual story presented by the photographs is just as compelling as the text.
I think this would be a good holiday gift for anyone who likes the High Line park, or also anyone on your gift list who already owns these: The Death and Life of Great American Cities (50th Anniversary Edition) (Modern Library) The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture Joel Sternfeld: Walking The High Line Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark AIA Guide to New York City Designing the High Line: Gansevoort Street to 30th Street Steve Jobs Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
INSPIRATIONAL!
28 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback
The two guys, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, who conceived, and drove through against all odds the creation of the wondrous 'urban park on stilts' on the west side of Manhattan, were described by a journalist writing about the High Line's unlikely success as "A pair of nobodies who undertook an impossible mission." In their book they readily admit this was true and that they knew next to nothing about preservation, architecture, community organizing, horticulture, fundraising, working with City Hall, or running a park.
This lack of expertise in these areas was the key to the High Line's phenomenal success as it forced them to bring in other people to help them, and bring the dream into reality.
The book gives a potted Time Line from 1847 to 1999 (when Messrs David and Hammond started their quest), charting the history of street level and elevated train tracks in NYC. The authors then give a detailed but highly interesting account of the struggle to overcome all of the many obstacles, frustrations and challenges to a successful conclusion. They freely admit that they had an enormous amount of help from many people and organisations without which there would probably be no High Line today, but it is also self-evident that they were the most important reason for the projects triumphant outcome. The latter part of the book is taken over with many great photographs showing the before, during conversion works, and after of this unique green city leisure space.
In a short time, if not already, the most famous attractions in NYC will be Central Park, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero Memorial, The Empire State Building and The High Line. This elevated parkway is truly a marvel of urban regeneration which serves as an object lesson to City Politicians and Planners worldwide.
Henry David Thoreau, the renowned natural and environmental historian, was perhaps prescient of the creation of The High Line Parkway when he wrote "If you have castles in the air, your work need not be lost: that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." Joshua David and Robert Hammond and their friends did just that.
This lack of expertise in these areas was the key to the High Line's phenomenal success as it forced them to bring in other people to help them, and bring the dream into reality.
The book gives a potted Time Line from 1847 to 1999 (when Messrs David and Hammond started their quest), charting the history of street level and elevated train tracks in NYC. The authors then give a detailed but highly interesting account of the struggle to overcome all of the many obstacles, frustrations and challenges to a successful conclusion. They freely admit that they had an enormous amount of help from many people and organisations without which there would probably be no High Line today, but it is also self-evident that they were the most important reason for the projects triumphant outcome. The latter part of the book is taken over with many great photographs showing the before, during conversion works, and after of this unique green city leisure space.
In a short time, if not already, the most famous attractions in NYC will be Central Park, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero Memorial, The Empire State Building and The High Line. This elevated parkway is truly a marvel of urban regeneration which serves as an object lesson to City Politicians and Planners worldwide.
Henry David Thoreau, the renowned natural and environmental historian, was perhaps prescient of the creation of The High Line Parkway when he wrote "If you have castles in the air, your work need not be lost: that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." Joshua David and Robert Hammond and their friends did just that.
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