Not For Tourists
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Not For Tourists (abbreviated NFT) is a series of guides to major cities (thus far, all American ones). Unlike guide books (such as the guides put out by Time Out, Frommer's, and Lonely Planet), NFT guides are designed for people who live in or commute to cities, rather than people who are visiting on vacation (though they can be used for this purpose). As such, they differ in several ways from the typical guide book. In addition to highlighting landmarks, restaurants, bars, etc., NFT guides point out "essentials" like supermarkets, parking lots, pharmacies, and banks. Many are pocket-sized and, to save space, cut out most review text and introductory text.
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[edit] History
NFT was started in 1998 by founders Jane Pirone and Rob Tallia. The first edition, the Not For Tourists-Guide to Manhattan 2000, was released in April 2000. The name was changed to the "Guide to New York City" in 2002, which also saw the release of NFT's second city, Los Angeles. Currently there are 10 titles, with the 11th, Seattle, slated for release in the fall of 2007.
[edit] Unusual Aspects
In addition to having absolutely no introductory/orientation material (every NFT simply begins with an introductory letter, a table of contents, and then a map of each neighborhood for that city), NFT differs from other guides in that its trim size is variable--the New York City guide is pocket-sized, while the Los Angeles guide is quite larger as it is meant to be used as a driving/navigational tool in addition to a basic reference. Cities such as Chicago and Washington, DC have a trim size that is in between that of the pocket guides and the larger Los Angeles guide. NFT states that each of its guides' sizes is based solely on the "coverage area" for each city--San Francisco being only 40 square miles, for instance, and Los Angeles stretching out over hundreds of miles.
NFT also has absolutely no photography in any of its guides, including its covers, which are all black with a simple silver "NFT" logo.
[edit] Current NFT guides
NFT has released guides to:
Seattle will be the next city to receive a guide.
