Paradise Alley

Three remarkable women have nothing but one another to rely on as they seek to protect their homes and families from the brutality of a city -- and a nation -- gone mad.

The New Yorker

This follow-up to "Dreamland," Baker's 1999 novel about Coney Island, is both an example of his talents as a historian and, occasionally, a warning about the power of facts to upend the delicate balance of fiction. With painstaking accuracy, the author re-creates the 1863 Draft Riots, in which President Lincoln's announcement of a new conscription law provoked thousands of New Yorkers, primarily Irish immigrants, to rampage through the city, looting and murdering. The principal characters, a trio of working-class women, furnish a rich domestic perspective that complements the public record. Unfortunately, Baker's liberal use of other voices -- including those of a reporter, a thug, and a fireman -- ultimately proves distracting.

Kevin Baker is the bestselling author of the novels Dreamland, Paradise Alley, and Sometimes You See It Coming. He is a columnist for American Heritage magazine and a regular contributor to the New York Times, Harper's, and other periodicals. He lives in New York City with his wife, the writer Ellen Abrams, and their cat, Stella.