Visions of the city that never sleeps

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The Hobermans, father-and-son photographers from South Africa, have captured the exclamation points that are NYC from the air and at street level. Focusing mainly on Manhattan, the familiar sights are here: the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Empire State Building, and, as this book was published prior to the events of September 11, the World Trade Center.

But also included are wonderful nook-and-cranny shots of the city off the tourist trail, such as craftsmen at the Steinway piano factory in Queens, Hasidic children in Brooklyn, and the arched undersides of the West Side Highway.

The color photos in "New York" practically leap off the page, so sharp and crisp is the reproduction, almost as if the original prints themselves had been glued into this book. Insightful, literate text by local author Ray Furse accompanies each picture, giving the reader short history lessons. If you're a first-time visitor, or have been to the Big Apple a hundred times, you'll appreciate the detail that the Hobermans have put into their photography book of America's greatest city.

• Greg Palmer is on the Monitor's photography staff.