Ian Frazier’s book is awesome. For a NYC Ex-Pat like me it is perfect. It captures the crazyness and amazingness of New York amazingly well, and reminds you of all the little things that make new york what it is. My only issue in recomending it is that I fear for any non-new yorkers it will simply read as a work of fiction. Why would anyone go through the trouble of making up such odd stories? The trouble is, of course that based on my own experiences they are all true. There in lies the trouble. New York is sometimes really hard to explain, and the fantastic stories you tell of it to friends are often met with looks saying “stop exagerating.” No matter, if you don’t believe Ian and I, then just read this as an amusing collection of short stories. For the rest of us with first hand experiences of the madness and wonderfulness that is NYC, this will be an excellent reference book.