At sea in the city
Subtitle: New York from the water's edge
By: by William Kornblum ; with a foreword by Pete Hamill ; illustrations by Oliver Williams
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Chapel Hill, N.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
ISBN-13: 9781565122659
Subjects: Travel; Waterways; Description and travel; Sailing; History
Description: "New York is a city of well-known streets and blocks that ramble on and on, into our literature, dreams, and nightmares. We know the city by the byways that split it, streets like Broadway and Madison and Flatbush and Delancey. From those streets, peering down the blocks and up at the skyline, the city seems immense and endless." "But long before Broadway was a muddy cart track, the water was the city's most distinguishing feature and the rivers the only byways of importance.".

"For people like William Kornblum, the city is shaped by the water and the people who have sailed it for goods, money, pirate's loot, and freedom. For them, the city is ever an island, and Kornblum - New York City native, longtime sailor, and urban sociologist - has spent decades plying its waterways in his ancient catboat, Tradition.".

"In At Sea in the City, he takes the reader along as he sails through his hometown, retelling the history of the city's waterfront and maritime culture and the stories of the men and women who made the water their own."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-232).
Table of contents: title: Home Waters --; title: Up on the Rolling Sea --; title: Jamaica Bay, Gateway --; title: Into the Narrows --; title: Concrete --; title: East River Passage --; title: The Hell Gate --; title: At the Throgs Neck.