A ride on the subway may be the fastest way to get around New York, but the best way to really explore the storied metropolis is on your own two feet. Eloquently and passionately penned by the architecture critic for New York magazine, Magnetic City offers seven walking itineraries in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx - each with maps, directional notes, and brilliantly edifying and entertaining commentary on the historical and cultural significance of what you will see. From an exploration of the city's capitalist roots with a stroll around the financial district ("Here, Peter Stuyvesant's two-story mansion sat beside serried shops, wooden homes, taverns, and warehouses") to a journey over the High Bridge into the Bronx (from which "the view is majestically industrial"), the guided tours are interspersed with illuminating essays on the ever-changing skyline, life in the streets, and more. Whether his book is used to plan peripatetic adventures around New York or as an armchair tour of the city's rich history and culture, Justin Davidson makes an endlessly fascinating guide who's nearly as charming as the "Magnetic City" itself.