I'm a great fan of the tours of James Kaplan. He's not a professional tour guide, but rather an intellectual who has a fixation on New York City History. By day, he burrows away in the legal department of the city, and then, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, he gives a tour. He's the only tour guide I've ever experienced some of whose talks are so brilliant that I look forward to going on them again. He has a real talent for getting a chronological and explanatory scheme to emerge gradually through individual stories each pegged to a place. Someday I want to be able to deliver his speeches about the formation of Hell's Kitchen or Harlem.
In short, his talks have always been a very enjoyable blend of humor and intelligence. And this month, on October 31st, he's giving a tour entitled "The Great Wall Street Crash From the Inside," which I thought sounded like something other LBOers might be interested in. The tour meets at 1pm (probably on Wall Street), lasts until 4pm and costs $18. I'll be there. And if any other New York LBOers are interested, by all means drop me a line so I'll know to look out for you.
Oh, by the way: the tours are given under the aegis of the 92nd Street Y. They suggest pre-registration. It is conceivably possible for tours to sell out. The phone number of the 92nd Street Y is 996-1100.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com