Gotham: A History of New York City
to 1898 (The History of New York
City) by Mike Wallace
A Panamoric History Of New York City
Like the city it celebrates, Gotham is massive and endlessly fascinating.
This narrative of well over 1,000 pages, written after more than two
decades of collaborative research by history professors Edwin G. Burrows
and Mike Wallace, copiously chronicles New York City from the primeval
days of the Lenape Indians to the era when, with Teddy Roosevelt as
police commissioner, the great American city became regarded as Capital
of the World. The sheer bulk of the book may be off- putting, but the
reader can use a typically New York approach: Those who dont settle in
for the entire history can easily commute in and out to read individual
chapters, which stand alone nicely and cover the major themes of
particular eras very well. While Gotham is fact-laden (with a critical
apparatus that includes a bibliography and two indices--one for names,
another for subjects), the prose admirably achieves both clarity and style.

What is our take, our angle, our schtick? ask the authors, setting a
distinctly New York tone in their introduction. No matter what its called,
their method of weaving together countless stories works wonderfully. The
startlingly detailed research and lively writing bring innumerable
characters (from Peter Minuit to Boss Tweed) to life, and even those who
think they know the history of New York City will no doubt find surprises
on nearly every page. Gotham is a rarity, reigning as both authoritative
history and page-turning story. --Robert McNamara
Personal Review: Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898
(The History of New York City) by Mike Wallace
It took me quite a while to read this book - several years, in fact. I was
determined to read it through to the end, primarily because it was co-
written by my second cousin. I am proud of my association with this
Pulitzer Prize winning historian, and I am proud to have read the length of
this book, a panoramic overview of the history of New York City from its
earliest times up until the 20th century, and the creation of the metropolis
out of what were formerly independent communities.
I am at a loss of what to say about this book, because it says it all. The
authors present a complete, and not overly detailed, account of New York's
growth and development. The emphasis is on power and politics, as in
most histories, but there are side trails taken into various cultural
situations. The diversity and ever-evolving nature of the place, as well as
its sometime brutality, are displayed well. The knowledge imparted here is
so full as to make it impossible to summarize, and the work itself is in the
nature of a summing up of the work of other historians. There were
numerous fascinating anecdotes and quick sketches of complicated
situations, some of which will stay with me. For example, I recall reading
with surprise about the free Black folks of NYC, who were here long before
the Emancipation Proclamation, rubbing shoulders with their white
neighbors. There is a lot about old, old New York and some of its
fascinating characters and leaders, such as Dutch populist Jacob Leisler,
someone who deserves to be better remembered. And it is not easy to
forget the unsung tragedy of the draft riots that occurred during the Civil
War, once one has read about it. Political corruption, particularly under
Boss Tweed and his Tammany Hall organization, and the fight against it is
discussed at some length. Also interesting to learn about are the
numerous devices that make modern life possible which were invented in
NYC, such as the elevator and the steam engine, the creation of New
York's excellent public water system, and some of the entertaining and
partying that went on in the 1800s.
The city's growth from being a city with about the same population and
influence as Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s into America's
leading metropolis and business center is the real main theme of this book,
and of course, New York's growth went hand in hand with America's.
There is also much here about the waves of immigrants, from Germany,
Ireland, Italy, and the Jewish shtetls of Eastern Europe, and about the

ongoing conflicts between the upper crust and the working class, and
between the proper and the licentious. Gotham is pretty well illustrated
too, with numerous drawings and (mostly from the New York Historical
Society) that add a great deal to the overall effect.
This will sit on my shelf, a Christmas gift from my father (I got him the
exact same thing that year), and I will dip into it from time to time when I
feel the need to understand New York City a little better, and I will reflect
on this amazing achievement of my kinsman and his fellow historian.
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