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A review by loonyboi
Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wellace
4.0
Okay, so let's get this out of the way up front: this book is very, very large and intimidating. It took me over twelve years to muster the courage to read it. I picked it up in 2003, wanting to read a really good history of New York City, and for all that time it sat on my shelf, taunting me.
So I finally read it. And it is indeed great.
Here's the thing about Gotham - while there are almost certainly more comprehensive histories of the founding of New Amsterdam, the Revolutionary War, the New York Civil War draft riots, the creation of the Brooklyn bridge, the rise of Boss Tweed and Tammany hall, the Railroad barons and financiers like J.P. Morgan, and the 1898 unification of the boroughs that ultimately created what we call New York City, it is safe to say that there is no single book that covers all of these events (and much, much more) with as much detail as this one. It's really quite remarkable, and well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize it won.
Having said all that, I knocked a star off because good lord is this book dense. I never take a break from a book, but I had to stop halfway through to read something else. It was just too much for me. This book is so impossibly comprehensive it just boggles the mind. Every labor dispute, every street, every major building, the founding of every church, they're all in here. Plus every newspaper, all the big name citizens...if it happened in NYC from its earliest days all the way up to 1898, it's in here.
The fact that this is called Volume 1 is a bit ominous, but I'm up for the challenge of a second volume that covers the 20th century. I'm even looking forward to it. Although given that this book took over two decades to write, I'm not expecting it anytime soon.
Bottom line is this: if you're up to the challenge, read Gotham. It's terrific. Just get comfortable, because you're not going anywhere for a while.
So I finally read it. And it is indeed great.
Here's the thing about Gotham - while there are almost certainly more comprehensive histories of the founding of New Amsterdam, the Revolutionary War, the New York Civil War draft riots, the creation of the Brooklyn bridge, the rise of Boss Tweed and Tammany hall, the Railroad barons and financiers like J.P. Morgan, and the 1898 unification of the boroughs that ultimately created what we call New York City, it is safe to say that there is no single book that covers all of these events (and much, much more) with as much detail as this one. It's really quite remarkable, and well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize it won.
Having said all that, I knocked a star off because good lord is this book dense. I never take a break from a book, but I had to stop halfway through to read something else. It was just too much for me. This book is so impossibly comprehensive it just boggles the mind. Every labor dispute, every street, every major building, the founding of every church, they're all in here. Plus every newspaper, all the big name citizens...if it happened in NYC from its earliest days all the way up to 1898, it's in here.
The fact that this is called Volume 1 is a bit ominous, but I'm up for the challenge of a second volume that covers the 20th century. I'm even looking forward to it. Although given that this book took over two decades to write, I'm not expecting it anytime soon.
Bottom line is this: if you're up to the challenge, read Gotham. It's terrific. Just get comfortable, because you're not going anywhere for a while.