“Mom! Mom! Wake up!”

 

“Gah….! Wha… Huh?” Crash. Stumble. Stubbed toe. “Dadgum it!”

 

Mom’s nothing if not quick. Especially when it’s 0500. And I’ve got a  cool new book to show her! It’s like an illustrated time travel thingy. Through New York City! I’m don’t know where that is. But it sounds good. So does a soon-to-be-released book, 400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide.

Author Sasha Vosk says, “400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide reconstructs and brings to life New York’s distant past through its amazing illustrations.” Like:

 

Sasha explains that he “created the book for everyone who wants to know much more about New York’s history than meets the eye on the streets of Manhattan, something that hasn’t been possible before the benefit of 21st century art technology.”

 

Mom is still mumbling Must. Find. Coffee. Not me! I’m wide awake. Ready to let Sasha tell you how and why he wrote this book:

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Sasha:

 

My love affair with New York started a long time ago.

 

As a young man living in the Soviet Union, I dreamed of traveling the world and settling in America. I was especially attracted to New York City, because to me it represented the ultimate environment of an abundance of world culture with no limits on creative self-expression (that was important to me as a performer and a fine artist), as well as the opportunity to become well-off financially. Intuitively, I felt that only there could I find fulfillment.

 

I stubbornly carried my dream through the years of school, the College of Architecture, service in the Air Force, and the long, torturous wait for permission to immigrate to the US. Finally, in 1981, my dream came true, and I found myself wandering in awe on the streets of New York with the broadest smile on my face. My romantic long-distance love transformed into a life-long relationship.

 

New York, New York!

I was educated as an architect and fine artist. I also studied theater and variety arts. Greatly enjoying my newly-acquired freedom of professional choice in New York, I successfully pursued several career paths, ranging from being a sought-after illustrator and a muralist to an award-winning filmmaker and entertainment producer.

 

Life in New York seemed to be as good if not better than I was imagining it, almost. One thing saddened me though: all these years, from the first time when I looked for wonderful sites from the past, I was shocked that most of them had disappeared.

 

Inseparable

I’ve always believed that the past and present are inseparable because they are parts of the same progress towards the future. But looking at New York then and today, that connection seems to be lost under the skyscrapers. As someone who understands the feeling of losing his roots, since I had to leave Russia in search of a better life, I can relate.

 

Today, after almost 40 years being a New Yorker, and achieving expert status in photo-realistic imagery with more than 30 years of experience, I put everything aside to research and write this book, 400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide, which reconstructs and brings to life New York’s distant past through its amazing illustrations.

 

About Sasha Vosk

Sasha Vosk is an expert on photo-realistic imagery, with over thirty years’ experience in the field. His book covers 400 years of New York City history. It’s the first book in the Vosk Time Travel Guide Series, offering readers an opportunity to “view history that has not been possible thus far by offering a visual guide that bridges the distant past to the present.”

Sasha explains:

“My professional experience as an architect, realistic illustrator, and producer/director as well as my enthusiasm for New York history, gave me a strong creative arsenal to reconstruct what is a largely unknown visual past of the world’s capital city, and the people that made it their home.”

 

400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide is Sasha’s first book. It’s scheduled for release in November. Find out more at Sasha’s web site.

 

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Hey, Mom! Found the Folgers! And the band-aids!

 

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Cheers!