New York 400 or The Snow Leopard

New York 400: A Visual History of America's Greatest City with Images from The Museum of the City of New York

Author: The Museum of the City of New York

The year 2009 is a landmark in the history of New York, and America. It’s the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s arrival along the river that bears his name. With public initiatives and media attention on commemorative events and exhibits at a fever pitch throughout the year, the stage is set for New York 400, a one-of-a-kind celebration of the greatest city in America.

With unprecedented access to the Museum of the City of New York’s vast archive, this is a visual history of the city of New York like none other, focusing not merely on landmarks but also on everyday life in the city over the past four centuries. The people, arts, culture, politics, and drama unfold through hundreds of rarely seen photographs and a fascinating profile of the city that never sleeps. Featuring essays from leading historians of the distinct epochs of Gotham, this volume takes us from the days of Director-General Petrus Stuyvesant in the seventeenth century through to mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg in the modern melting pot that is New York in the twenty-first century.

The Museum of the City of New York has a unique mandate—to explore the past, present, and future of New York, and to celebrate the city’s heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. Its unparalleled collections, including photography, sculpture, costumes, toys, and decorative arts, enable the museum to present a variety of exhibitions, public programs, and publications investigating what gives New York its singular character.

The Snow Leopard

Author: Peter Matthiessen

An unforgettable spiritual journey through the Himalayas— now celebrating its thirtieth anniversary

IN 1973, Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Z en Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest—to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds, Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one, with a deepening Buddhist understanding of reality, suffering, impermanence, and beauty.

The Nation - Jim Harrison

A magical book, a kind of lunar paradigm and map of the sacred.

The Washington Post Book World

Stunning . . . Fiercely felt and magnificently written.