Tony

I started this book with high hopes looking forward to hearing interesting tidbits about America from a British perspective. Perhaps that is what I got? However, I could not get past the tone of the book which was too superior and overarching. Perhaps the America that he presents is not the one in which I live? A personal gripe is that he bypassed my home state of Ohio entirely. This one goes into the category of ‘did-not-finish'. I looked at the pictures and read a bit of the text before realizing that there was nothing for me in this book.

Excellent book! Compelling story and well-written. I literally picked it up and could not put it down - to my detriment. I finished it at 2am this morning! Highly recommended.

I am fascinated by Istanbul and harbor a desire to visit some day. In the meantime I content myself with reading accounts of the place. This one is particularly poignant and melancholy. While the author cites many interesting works, a bibliography at the end is missing. Many black and white photographs of the eras described (1950s to 1960s) illustrate the city as it was then.

Started with the audiobook but scrapped that quickly when I discovered that Marguerite Gavin, reader of the previous books, had been replaced. Not being able to take a different voice for the characters, I read this one in print. Thank goodness Marguerite returns to reading the remainder of the series!

RIVETING!! Best book for an airplane journey I have ever found. Keeps me completely distracted during the flight so I do not notice the little bumps and dips.