Scan barcode
A review by moreteamorecats
Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wallace
3.0
A sprawling subject needs an angle. Wallace & Burrows', I was surprised to find, is ideological: Their history of New York City is the history of its class struggle. Almost every chapter takes on the POV of a class formation (capital, labor, or the middling classes), then follows it through a change in some facet of political, social, or economic life. I'm on board with this method, but franker cover copy would be a favor to the reader.
The result is a very full-fiber, whole-grain sort of history. I learned a tremendous amount. What I'll retain is probably through prior familiarity with the city's institutions and landscape. The pleasures are familiar, low-key but constantly repeated-- especially that of marking origins (e.g.: "That's who Hoyt and Schermerhorn were!" "That's how we got Northern Boulevard!"). That's appropriate for a book that wants to center morally on the value of everyday life and everyday people.
The result is a very full-fiber, whole-grain sort of history. I learned a tremendous amount. What I'll retain is probably through prior familiarity with the city's institutions and landscape. The pleasures are familiar, low-key but constantly repeated-- especially that of marking origins (e.g.: "That's who Hoyt and Schermerhorn were!" "That's how we got Northern Boulevard!"). That's appropriate for a book that wants to center morally on the value of everyday life and everyday people.