Christmas in New York
This short book is centered around a somewhat unusual theme: Christmas time in New York City. Pool, a lawyer and author of What Jane Austin Ate and Charles Dickens Knew (LJ 7/93) and Dickens' Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters (LJ 4/15/97), describes the history of several New York traditions, including the Christmas trees and decorations on Fifth Avenue. We learn how "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" developed, where Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer came from, and the story of Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Pool also tells us about Park Avenue, the museums, movies, and all those Santa Clauses. He even goes a little beyond Christmas with the Thanksgiving parade and the New Year's Eve Times Square celebration. This lighthearted book may be of some national interest, partly because of television, but it is not an essential purchase.?George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.