by Russell Shorto
A fascinating history which many of us know a little about but forgot long ago.
Read more at Amazon about this book
Read more at Amazon about this Atlas
by Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wallace
I did finish but it took months. It is well written and fascinating. But because this book is such a complete history it is rather long (1383 pages, including index). And even then doesn't cover the last century or so (Yes, a second volume is promised). I may read a few chapters and take a break with another book. And then go back to this for awhile. I am enjoying both the breaks and the reading. And it helps me to keep a map of Manhattan handy. But if you are not up for a very long history book, try Pete Hamill's Forever (see below) for a treatment of NYC history as a novel. Doesn't come close to covering everything in this book but it doesn't try, is throughly enjoyable, and is a much quicker read.Read more at Amazon about Gotham
Pete Hamill is a New Yorker who obviously loves his city. Many of us Irish Americans have ancestors who came through New York. And I think many of you would enjoy these books. Downtown is nonfiction. A book about Manhattan by an man who has lived there all his adult life and clearly loves it. Forever covers some of the same territory but is a novel about an Irishman who lived and loved in Manahattan for several hundred years. Covers much of 1740 or so though modern times. You may need to accept that not everything is explained by our current ideas about reality, but if you are Irish that should not be a problem. I'll leave it at that for now.
by David Von Drehle
Paper
Like the entry above this one, I read this book last year but I hope more people will read it. I decided to add it now after I read Katharine Weber's excellent novel (see below). A well-written account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911 where about 146 workers lost their lives. In addtion to covering this event in detail, he discusses the effects of this tragic event on the labor movement and governnment involvement in labor and safety standards.Read more at Amazon about Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
Katharine Weber / Hardcover / Published 2006 /
A new one from Katharine Weber. I have liked all her books so far. So when a new one came out - a novel based on the Triangle fire, I just had to read it. (For those not familiar with this event, a fire in 1911 at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 146 people, It was the worst work-place disaster in New York City before September 11, 2001. See my opinion of a nonfiction account directly above here.) This novel is not just historical fiction about the event, but rather a much more complex tale of memory and human nature. But it does cover the actual events.Read more at Amazon about Triangle
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page
Riddlestown Irish Bookstore main page