The Brooklyn Nobody Knows: An Urban Walking Guide

Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City--6,000 miles in all--to write the award-winning ''The New York Nobody Knows''. Now he has re-walked Brooklyn--some 816 miles--to write this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city''s hottest borough. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journeys, ''The Brooklyn Nobody Knows'' captures the heart and soul of a diverse, booming, and constantly changing borough that defines cool around the world. The guide covers every one of Brooklyn''s forty-four neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island, providing a colorful portrait of each section''s most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things. Along the way you will learn about a Greenpoint park devoted to plants and trees that produce materials used in industry; a hornsmith who practices his craft in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a collection of 1,140 stuffed animals hanging from a tree in Bergen Beach; a five-story Brownsville mural that depicts Zionist leader Theodor Herzl--and that was the brainchild of black teenagers; Brooklyn''s most private--yet public--beach in Manhattan Beach; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today''s Brooklyn, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home--but it''s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore one the most fascinating urban areas anywhere. - Covers every one of Brooklyn''s 44 neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things - Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; and a lively guided walking tour - Draws on the author''s 816-mile walk through every Brooklyn neighborhood - Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents