No one wants to be standing on a street corner in New York City, nose buried in a cumbersome guidebook. You'll make yourself a target for sure! So this pocket guide is a great alternative. It's a compact version of the Lonely Planet New York City guide.
The guide is divided into four sections: QuickStart Guide, Explore NYC, The Best of NYC and Survival Guide. The QuickStart section gives the highlights of tourist sites, local life, neighborhoods, a day planner and a "need to know" section. The Explore segment breaks the city into neighborhoods and examines them more closely (e.g., Greenwich Village, Midtown, Upper East Side, etc.). The Best of includes best walks, entertainment, restaurants, museums, parks and more. The survival guide imparts wisdom about pre-planning your trip, arriving in the city, getting around, money, emergency situations, information booths, transportation tips and more.
In the back is a pull-out folding map with a transit guide. As with any guide, the up-to-date ones are best, particularly because restaurants come and go so quickly.