Rating: 
Summary: Revenge of the Dutch
Review: I purchased this book because one of my ancestral lines traces directly to Joris Rapalje and Catalina Trico, the "Adam and Eve" of the original 1624 Dutch settlement in America. But "The Island at the Center of the World" is so loaded with revelations about the forgotten colony of Manhattan, and it is such an enjoyable and important read, that my poor ancestors lost their luster in the presence of Adriaen van der Donck, Peter Stuyvesant, and others. As far as I can tell, this is one of the first instances of popular history utilizing original sources to discuss New Netherland in depth, and it's certainly the first that relies on the crucial and painstaking translation of archaic Dutch colonial records currently being done by Dr. Charles Gehring and the New Netherland Project.
Bibliographies reveal a lot, and the bibliography for "Island" shows an extraordinary amount of original research. Russell Shorto consulted not only the sheaths of parchment that comprise the colony's nascent records, and which form the bulk of the work being done by Gehring, but he used letters, pamphlets, maps, and journals to paint a detailed, full-scale portrait of this forgotten colony. In particular, the town of New Amsterdam, which would eventually transform into lower Manhattan, blooms with vivid portraits of people like the tragic Bogaert, who ventured further inland than any white man; idealists like Cornelis Melyn, who risked his life to gain independence for the colony; as well as the "Turk," the "(...)," and the colorful and dogmatic governor, Peter Stuyvesant. And like all good novels, there's a hero. His name is Adriaen van der Donck, and until now he was a footnote lost to history. Although he would eventually be crushed under the weight of politics, war, and indifference, van der Donck made a brief, shining stand, and his struggle for independence from the West India Company and his belief in free trade, democracy, and individual rights foreshadows America's ideas of governance after it rebelled against England over a hundred years later.
Be aware, however, this is a book that begs for controversy. Though he's not shy about skewing the bigotry and narrow-mindedness that existed in the Puritan colonies to the north of New Netherland, his contrast between the colonies occasionally appears forced, just a little too stark. Shorto also reaches when he argues that New York City multi-ethnicity has its foundation in the Dutch colony, ignoring the fact that the city's present polyglot makeup is due not so much to 17th century racial and ethnic tolerance, but to the fact that it was the major port of entry for millions of immigrants who arrived in the more than two centuries that followed. Lastly, although he praises New Netherland to the heavens for being the first colony to tolerate religious heterogeneity, he devotes only one sentence, at the end of the book, to the colony that was founded on the concept of religious liberty: Rhode Island. He doesn't mention either Roger Williams or William Penn, nor does he reveal that the Quakers were welcomed to Rhode Island only after being shunned by the New Netherlanders.
Nevertheless, this is a revolutionary addition to the literature of colonial America. The payoff comes with the last few chapters, and Shorto's final anecdotes about the history of the manuscripts, his gazing upon Peter Stuyvesant's spiky handwriting, and learning about the alcoholic secretary at Fort Orange, are incredibly powerful. Most importantly, any book that helps destroy the myth that America grew strictly from the seed of Puritan piety and work ethic deserves as much attention as possible. The fact is, the Puritans WERE narrow-minded and intolerant, and unrelentingly vicious toward those who didn't agree with them (kind of like a certain political party today). And Shorto correctly surmises that the reason the Dutch get such short shrift, and the Puritans are extolled as being exemplary people and the wellspring of American virtues, is because the histories have all been written in English, by the English! It's only in the last several years, after researching my Puritan, Quaker, Anabaptist, and Huguenot ancestry, studying the beliefs of Roger Williams (on my own efforts), and now learning about the Dutch colony of Manhattan, that I can see the whitewash that's occurred regarding colonial American history. And in a time of faith-based initiatives where the separation of church and state gets narrower every day, it's important we teach our kids that America's roots spread out a heck of a lot farther than the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving feast.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesing, but dry
Review: I thought this history of New Netherlands was very interesting, coming from a perspective of someone who has not read a lot about that time period. I did stay interested in the book, but it moved too slow for me, taking time on details that weren't really pertinent to the subject matter. You could tell that the author was passionate about his subject, and that shone through enough to make the book worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific read about a lost chapter of History
Review: I was very pleased to come across this book. It takes a look at the true founding fathers of New York. This book supplies an answer to the question "where did New York get it's the liberal sensibility from ? Certainly not from Boston with it's Puritans." It came from the Dutch. This is a captivating story told in a spellbinding manner. By turns it is humorous, tragic,moving, and breathtakingly exciting.
I would rate this book as enjoyable as anything by Walter Isaacson,Stephen Ambrose,Edmond Morris.
I read it in one sittting just because I couldn't put it down. It is a must read for History fans. I never thought I would find myself cheering on someone with a name of Adrian Van Der Donck. In fact I did. A testiment to the skillful writing of Russell Shorto.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific read about a lost chapter of History
Review: I was very pleased to come across this book. It takes a look at the true founding fathers of New York. This book supplies an answer to the question "where did New York get it's the liberal sensibility from ? Certainly not from Boston with it's Puritans." It came from the Dutch. This is a captivating story told in a spellbinding manner. By turns it is humorous, tragic,moving, and breathtakingly exciting.
I would rate this book as enjoyable as anything by Walter Isaacson,Stephen Ambrose,Edmond Morris.
I read it in one sittting just because I couldn't put it down. It is a must read for History fans. I never thought I would find myself cheering on someone with a name of Adrian Van Der Donck. In fact I did. A testiment to the skillful writing of Russell Shorto.
Rating: 
Summary: Ruthless editor wanted!
Review: I'll get the quibbles out of the way first: there is lazy and self-indulgent writing which should have been ruthlessly blue pencilled. At one point the author describes someone as having a ``soothing, caramelly baritone'' (yech) and describes a seventeenth-century Dutch businessman as ``right-wing'' - a meaningless term in that context. Maybe he's trying to be funny, but it comes across as slovenly.HOWEVER...despite this it's a fascinating read, bringing to life the unlikely founding fathers of a Dutch trading post and the ragtag assemblage of people who were its first settlers. It was completely unlike the Puritan theocracy to the north and the dumping ground for wastrel younger sons to the south - New Netherlanders were there to trade with the Indians, make as much money as they could, and enjoy life with the proceeds. Imagine wolves and waterfalls in northern Manhattan; imagine tobacco farms in Greenwich Village, imagine when religious tolerance in a colony (anathema almost everywhere else) was encouraged because, after all, it was good for business. Thanks to Mr. Shorto, we can do so with ease. I give it four stars - it would have been five but for the annoying literary tics mentioned in the first paragraph. Otherwise, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best history books I've ever read
Review: I'm an old New Yorker, so take my review with a grain of salt, since I am not objective enough. That said, this book is one of the most thrilling books of American history I have ever read. It puts the spotlight on a largely lost but incredibly important chapter in early American history, the influence of the Dutch and especially their tradition of religious and cultural tolerance in building New Amsterdam. In an age of brutal religous intolerance and economic "hoarding", New Amsterdam offered a different model. It was one of first places on earth where anyone, regardless of religous or cultural background, could settle and become part of society. These included people fleeing Puritans in New England, Jews fleeing persecution in Europe, pirates of dubious background from the Caribbean or simply poor folks looking for economic opportunity. Together, they helped build a new economy and society based not on class but on merit and hard work - a truly radical concept at the time.
In many ways, the model of New Amsterdam becomes the model of the US - because it works. The unsung hero of this story and book is a wonderful lawyer named Adrian Van Der Donck who fought the corporate interests represented by Peter Stuyvesant to bring the Duth model of religous tolerance and free markets to New Amsterdam. I am grateful that his name will finally become known to more Americans, as he is clearly one of the great early patriots.
All Americans owe Shorto a debt of gratitude for finally bringing this story to light. His writing is thrilling and he makes the story unfold like a page turning novel. I can say without doubt that the way I view the world and especially the city I live has changed permanently since reading this book. Buy it for everyone that loves history, New York and the cause of human freedom.
Rating:
Summary: Shorto's Errors
Review: In an otherwise excellent book, the author fell short in his historical research. In fact, the first charter from the Dutch West Indies Company for exploration and settlement of what would be Manhattan Island was granted to Jesse DeForest. DeForest was a French Walloon (protestant) who left Avenes in the north of France and settled in Leyden about 1618. In 1623 he fulfilled his charter and began the settlement of New Amsterdam. I suggest a reading of The DeForests of Avenes (And of New Netherland)by J.W. DeForest a well known late 19th C. novelist. This book was published at New Haven in 1900 by The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing Look at Colonial History
Review: It is hard to picture Manhattan as the Dutch first saw it. It is hard to picture the Dutch here at all, as a matter of fact. Colonial history has always had such a strong Anglo bias that the Dutch (and New York, itself) never make much impact in the histories of America in the seventeenth century, focusing as it does so often on the Puritans and Pilgrims of New England. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto is a successful attempt to correct that for a pop history reading public. He makes a strong case for the importance of the early Dutch settlers as a harbinger of the future of New York (and hence America) as a multicultural nation that values individual liberties and respect religious freedoms, not values shared by the Puritans farther up north. His case is frequently overstated and not always backed up with the stongest evidence (cole slaw is mentioned a number of times as a prime example of Dutch influence) but the story he tells of this early colony is a fascinating one that deserves telling. By the end of the book, it is no longer quite so difficult to picture Manhattan as the Dutch first saw it and fought for it, with the natives, with the English, but, mostly, with each other. A wonderful slice of New York history.
Rating:
Summary: Stick with it
Review: My heart sank when I started the first chapter of "Island at the Center of the World": "On a late summer's day in the year 1608, a gentleman of London made his way across that city." Yo Russell, I spent good money on your book, I don't like being served up warmed-over literary devices like the "you are there" intro. Slang uses of words like "weird" and bitchy" sprinkled over the first dozen or so pages also rang false, as per other reviews. But Shorto's enthusiasm, humility and the intrinsic originality of "Island's" thesis eventually won me over. I would have liked to have read more about daily life in the colony and heard a bit less about prostitutes (have a good time researching in Amsterdam, Mr. Shorto?), but in all this is a worthy and enjoyable book. The author makes a strong case for the lasting impact of the Dutch legacy of diversity and religious toleration on American society, and the roots of that legacy in Dutch and European history. Judging by the recent brouhahas over Janet Jackson and Howard Stern, however, it may be too soon to downgrade Puritan legacies like prurience and hypocrisy as cultural mainsprings. Overall, a well-written and interesting work.
Rating:
Summary: Stick with it
Review: My heart sank when I started the first chapter of "Island at the Center of the World": "On a late summer's day in the year 1608, a gentleman of London made his way across that city." Yo Russell, I spent good money on your book, I don't like being served up warmed-over literary devices like the "you are there" intro. Slang uses of words like "weird" and bitchy" sprinkled over the first dozen or so pages also rang false, as per other reviews. But Shorto's enthusiasm, humility and the intrinsic originality of "Island's" thesis eventually won me over. I would have liked to have read more about daily life in the colony and heard a bit less about prostitutes (have a good time researching in Amsterdam, Mr. Shorto?), but in all this is a worthy and enjoyable book. The author makes a strong case for the lasting impact of the Dutch legacy of diversity and religious toleration on American society, and the roots of that legacy in Dutch and European history. Judging by the recent brouhahas over Janet Jackson and Howard Stern, however, it may be too soon to downgrade Puritan legacies like prurience and hypocrisy as cultural mainsprings. Overall, a well-written and interesting work.
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