Only in Boston: A Guide to Unique Locations, Hidden Corners and Unusual Objects ("Only In" Guides)

I went to college in Boston (eons ago) and returned a few times over the years, but this book makes me want to return for an in-depth visit. I really like the author's writing style and the photos are nice, plus the various places are not "touristic" and I never would have heard about them without this book.

Yes, I bought a travel guide for a city that only 2.5 hours away and that I've visited probably a hundred times. And while it does have a few of the "classic" Boston area tourist attractions like Old Ironsides (number 3), the Bunker Hill monument (number 4), the Paul Revere Monument (number 14), Mother Goose's burial plot (number 32), or the Prudential observation deck (number 79), or the Maparium (number 82), it also eschews some of the more common advice, with nary a mention of the Duck tours, and the Freedom Trail is only mentioned in passing. Like his other guides, this isn't a full standalone guide or a replacement for doing a Google or Wikitravel search, but instead focuses on the sorts of gems that, even if you lived in Boston, you've likely not experienced.Some of the particular items mentioned by Duncan J.D. Smith that I thought were particularly good gems included remnants of the old Charlestown Navy Yard (number 2), a particularly good walking tour of the old Shawmut Peninsula before large-scale earth-moving literally reshaped what we now know as Boston (number 8), the old Ether Dome operating theater (number 22), a good survey of the various buildings and relics of the Puritan era still remaining (number 31), and a discussion of why some of the streets are so crooked (number 38). It's also got a good selection of memorial, including one to Radio Operators (number 11), the 54th African American Regiment of <i>Glory</i> fame (number 29), and the skull and memorial plaque for Phineas Gage, the famous survivor of having a iron rod driven through his skull (89).There are also quite a few architectural delights of the sort you literally can walk by without noticing, like the home designed by Tiffany (the Ayer Mansion, number 80), the ornate doors of the Salada Tea company (number 68), and reused grand staircases (Exchange Place, item 37).Throughout, the guide is well researched, and most attractions are accompanied by good photographs as well. Further more, the attractions are arranged in a reasonable order for a walking tour (Boston is, in fact, quite compact and walkable).So, if you're considering a trip to Boston, especially if you've already been to Boston and seen all of the usual sights, it's time to consider picking up Only in Boston for some insights on what you may have missed.

i am used to Frommers or Rick Steves guide books. This book " Only in Boston" has no walking tour maps. So for example, as you are walking around in Chinatown, you have find the three words in pages fill with words where you should be walking next. Not really practical. " Only in Boston" is more a book to have on a shelf than a guide book. However, a lot of good, interesting info in it. I wish it had been presented in a Frommer's/Rick Steves walking tour guidebook style.

Duncan J. D. Smith, the Urban Explorer, is known for his excellent “Only In” guides to European cities, aimed at travelers who want to get off the beaten tourist path. This is his first American guide. The book offers informative mini-essays on 106 attractions, organized by neighborhood. As you would expect, they cover in detail Boston’s top colonial and Revolutionary War sites, heritage trails, and museums. But what distinguishes this guide is its focus on less famous places: old and new architectural treasures; the remains of the city’s industrial and maritime past; cultural, scientific, sports, and culinary landmarks; and discoveries on walks in Boston’s diverse neighborhoods. Plus the unexpected and the odd, from the skinniest house and the jail that became a hotel to the skull of Phineas Gage and the Salem Witch Bureau. As a certified bookworm, I enjoyed “Boston for Bookworms” as well as entries on the Boston connections of Edgar Allan Poe, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, and Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet. And I was especially intrigued by “The Great Boston Molasses Flood,” “Old Stones and Bones” (17th-century cemeteries), “The Oldest Food and Drink,” “Candy Capital of America,” South End’s “Red Brick and Cast Iron,” and “Where Retro Rules in Boston.”While Smith tells you how to get everywhere on public transportation, you’ll need to look elsewhere for basic visitors’ info. But to explore your Boston, to discover the aspects of the city that appeal to your interests and passions, there’s no better guide than this one. I wish I had had it on previous trips. How could I have missed Bell In Hand, America’s oldest tavern? Brattle Book Shop? The Peabody Museum at Harvard and Frank Gehry’s Stata Center at MIT? And what a surprise to find that a desk belong to my husband’s Puritan ancestor is on display at the Congregational Library and Archives. Next time….

Gave some suggestions but nothing staggering.

Written well good variety of different places. Haven’t been to Boston in many years (at least 25) so I don’t know how accurate the book is.