Connie’s Book Club - Fall 2011
The Dogs of Central Park
(Universe Publishing; 2011)
By Fran Reisner
The green center that is the heart—and lungs—of New York City has a special kind of magic, the words themselves, Central Park, a tonic of sorts, for it seems an improbable oasis in the bustle of Manhattan, spat out as you are from the congestion of Midtown into the higher digits (and pay cheques) of the Upper East Side before the pavement drops away and the green acreage begins. New Yorkers and tourists alike flock there, but it is perhaps the dogs, busting free of the sidewalks and traffic, that best embody the miracle of the park, reveling in the space, the grass, the trees, and, yes, the squirrels. In The Dogs of Central Park, Fran Reisner, an internationally award-winning photographer and speaker, captures the joyous dogs who frequent it. The book features canines of all sizes and shapes, from Mikimoto and Gem, a Standard Poodle couple, to Scheki the three-legged rescue pup from Israel, all shot against the incomparable backdrop the park offers up, from John Lennon’s “Imagine” memorial to the skyscrapers in the distance marking its perimeter.—JN
By Fran Reisner
The green center that is the heart—and lungs—of New York City has a special kind of magic, the words themselves, Central Park, a tonic of sorts, for it seems an improbable oasis in the bustle of Manhattan, spat out as you are from the congestion of Midtown into the higher digits (and pay cheques) of the Upper East Side before the pavement drops away and the green acreage begins. New Yorkers and tourists alike flock there, but it is perhaps the dogs, busting free of the sidewalks and traffic, that best embody the miracle of the park, reveling in the space, the grass, the trees, and, yes, the squirrels. In The Dogs of Central Park, Fran Reisner, an internationally award-winning photographer and speaker, captures the joyous dogs who frequent it. The book features canines of all sizes and shapes, from Mikimoto and Gem, a Standard Poodle couple, to Scheki the three-legged rescue pup from Israel, all shot against the incomparable backdrop the park offers up, from John Lennon’s “Imagine” memorial to the skyscrapers in the distance marking its perimeter.—JN