Empire City: New York Through the Centuries
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Overview
As perhaps never before in its extraordinary history, New York has captured the American imagination. This major anthology brings together not only the best literary writing about New York -- from O. Henry, Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Paul Auster, and James Baldwin, among many others -- but also the most revealing essays by politicians, philosophers, city planners, social critics, visitors, immigrants, journalists, and historians.
The anthology begins with an account of Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609 and ends with an essay written especially for this book by John P. Avlon, former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's speechwriter, called "The Resilient City," on the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center as observed from City Hall. The editors have chosen some familiar favorites, such as Washington Irving's A History of New York and Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," as well as lesser-known literary and historical gems, such as Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for Central Park and Cynthia Ozick's "The Synthetic Sublime" -- an updated answer to E. B. White's classic essay Here Is New York, which is also included. The variety and originality of the selections in Empire City offer a captivating account of New York's growth, and reveal often forgotten aspects of its political, literary, and social history.
Columbia University Press
Synopsis
This anthology begins with an account of Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609 and ends with an essay by John P. Avlon, former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's speechwriter, called "The Resilient City," on the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center as observed from City Hall.Included are favorites, such as Washington Irving's A History of New York and Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," as well as lesser-known gems, such as Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for Central Park and Cynthia Ozick's "The Synthetic Sublime" — an updated answer to E. B. White's classic essay Here Is New York, which is also included.
Editorials
New York Sun -
Fine... a well-wrought anthology.
The Historian -
This volume is an anthology to be savored...Empire City is a treat for anyone who is interested in New York.
New York History -
A monumental documentary history of New York City... These documents illustrate much of the American experience beyond the five boroughs. This collection is of value to anyone who seeks to add eyewitness understanding to his or her perception of the development and growth of the United States.
New York Times Magazine -
[Kenneth Jackson and David Dunbar's] excellent anthology of New York writings.
New Yorker
The city, in all its confounding glory, is the subject of Kenneth T. Jackson and David S. Dunbar's anthology, Empire City.
New York Magazine
A huge -- but readable -- collection of nearly 400 years of writing about New York.
New York Sun
Fine... a well-wrought anthology.— Fred Siegel
The Historian
This volume is an anthology to be savored...Empire City is a treat for anyone who is interested in New York.— Barbara Blumberg
New York History
A monumental documentary history of New York City... These documents illustrate much of the American experience beyond the five boroughs. This collection is of value to anyone who seeks to add eyewitness understanding to his or her perception of the development and growth of the United States.— John A. Grigg
New York Times Magazine
[Kenneth Jackson and David Dunbar's] excellent anthology of New York writings.— Russell Shorto