Jefferson and Monticello

Moorhouse, a British travel writer closely associated with the Indian subcontinent ( Calcutta and To the Frontier ), has turned his sharp eye for nuance and detail to the New World in this entertaining volume. His portrait of New York City displays a journalist's flair for combining history with observation and anecdote in lively chapters about the city's many facets. Among the subjects covered: architecture, ethnic diversity, Jews, blacks, Wall Street, the struggle for success, social mobility, crime, politics and the alarmingly decayed infrastructure. Moorhouse has written an evocative account of the Big Apple's powerful urges, frantic endeavors, enormous determination and insatiable appetites. (September)