Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, Encyclopedic History of New York City
Review: This is an excellent, well-written distillation of New York City's history from its founding to 1898. The book is somewhat encyclopedic--I agree with other comments that, while I read it cover to cover, if one had specific interests or was totally uninterested in certain subjects or periods, one could focus on certain chapters and skip others.While the authors maintained a focus on New York City throughout, the city's nexus with the rest of the country and the rest of the world was not ignored. In summary, albeit lacking a "theme", Gotham is one of the best books of history I have ever read. I am looking forward to volume two on the history of the city in the 20th Century. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I'd read a thousand more pages
Review: When I see a 1,000+ page book on any subject, I really have to wonder if it will be worth the time I'd have to invest reading it. I am happy to say that Burrows and Wallace's GOTHAM was worth every second I spent poring through its pages. BOTH TIMES! GOTHAM is very compelling and very witty, and, at the same time, terrifying and troubling when you read about some of the atrocities committed on this tiny island. The treasure-trove of illustrations along the way only add to the enjoyment of the narrative. I can't recommend it highly enough. To me, however, the book is an important reminder that the history of New York City is richer, older, and more complex than the other US cities we tend to think of as historic, like Boston, Philadelphia, or DC. The history of New York City, laden with hope and tragedy, friction and cooperation, tolerance and intolerance, greed and charity, has never been given the majestic yet human voice it deserves, until now. GOTHAM lets you celebrate the history of New York as you learn about it. To me, that's worth every second of reading.
Rating:
Summary: I Love New York
Review: It is much easier in life to find fault and to be critical: one can point to specifics, and be relentless. It is harder to praise. So I find myself praising this work in cliche superlatives: it is a great book, wonderfully absorbing, fascinating, "well put together" (as New Yorkers say about smartly dressed women), and entertaining. And it is accessible without being dumbed down - so have your dictionary handy. I do have two minor criticisms, however. First, the absence of sufficient maps and provision in the table of contents for maps, which caused me to constantly flip around to what few maps there are, often leaving me lost and confused in unfamiliar parts of the city. Second, the book is unwieldy. Hopefully the next segment - 1898 to the present - for which I can't wait - will be easier to cart around.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive history of the great metropolis
Review: Burrows and Wallace bring the history of New York to life in this wonderful readable book. Many might complain that it is too long, but I think that its great detail is a tremendous strength. The Authors cover a wide range of topics over a long period of time, any one of which could have been a book unto itself. Race relations, urban planning, politics, business, fashion, all are covered in this book. One of the great advantages is that you see how these topics fit together. In addition, the authors add considerable social theory and philosophy that only adds to the text. No doubt, reading this takes a major committment (and risks considerable chairopractic vists). Still, if you are interested in any of a range of topics or are a history buff, this is well worth the risk. Last note: You can learn many details in this that will serve you well in cocktail party conversation. Who knew that my first Manhattan apartment was built on the site of the last NYC public gallows?
Rating: 
Summary: I thought the Pulitzer was for good writing....
Review: Detailed? Yes. Accurate? Probably. Well written? Um, not really. This book has a lot to recommend it in the way of byzantine detail. The flow is, however, sorely impaired by the fact that at least one of the authors refuses to adopt a perspective. I say "one of the authors" because this book is very unevenly written: one section will be great while the section immediately following will be mediocre at best or repetitious and confusing at worst. This book has two authors and that is unfortunately apparent in the text. These two guys should have done themselves a favor and either hired a ghost-writer to author a single, unified book or made their editor do his job. But simply taking the pages of two different works and randomly coalating them into a single book is not the best way to write a history. Now, the only question remaining is: who was on the pulitzer committee?
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable, Remarkable, fascinating
Review: This is the definitive book on New York City history and is a remarkable accomplishment for it's authors. You'll find in Gotham not only a history of New York City (and an exhaustive one at that) but by default, a companion to the study of the foundations of this nation. Gotham is remarkably colorful in it's portrayal of the many characters that make up the history of this great city but doesn't skimp on poignant, and sometimes sobering, detail. An ambitious read, but worth every word. This is the kind of book that spawns the reading of ten more! A sure cure for the unfortunate predisposition of the popular media to portray the history of New York as beginning with the first immigrant who set foot on Ellis Island (the book terminates prior to 1900). Read Gotham and become immersed in the richness of the mostly untold New York story.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-Written Social History
Review: Compellingly written social history of what my Korean friends jokingly call "a country in itself." The breadth and depth of this narrative gives weight to that description -- Burrows and Wallace present details and facts mingled with a sense of what it was like to live in the city. The book's strength is the effortless weaving of customs and lifestyles of notables and the less famous within the more salient factual material. For anyone who loves the city or a well-written single volume history. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop reading it
Review: Reading this book is like making love to an instatiable lover.
Its energy and enthusiasim are boundless - page upon page of clean, clear expression that offers far more than history.
From begining to end, its 1200 pages of sustained dialectic reveals the essential (and occassionally unattractive) nature of human beings, showing how and why we are as we are - needing and striving for more perfect union. Even its dark sides provide pleasant reassurance for they show that the scandals and corruption of the 21st century are not new. We have survived similar events (terrorism, economic failure, massive unemployment, widespread corruption, etc.) in the past, and we will survive the current crises too. Like good novelists, the authors are invisible to the reader. Characters, not the authors, predominate.
However, the real hero of this book is the historical process itself -- and the resiliance of a great city. This will be an enduring classic.
Rating:
Summary: A tome worthy of the greatest metropolis of all
Review: This is the best work of popular history I've ever read. I've just finished it, and will surely read it again soon. The narrative is basically driven by New York's boom-and-bust cycles, and the authors cover all aspects of social change these economic roller coasters wrought. The middle chapters on the Irish and German immigrants' struggles against exploitation and the corrupt machinations of Tammany Hall particularly stand out. Anecdotes are artfully woven throughout; this approach has actually made a narrative as compelling as any good work of fiction. (And the volume's ample weight gives one a physical workout should you cart it along to work every day, as I have). Prof. Wallace is working alone on volume two, which covers the 20th century, and I can't wait.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent social narrative
Review: Burrows and Wallace have put together an excellent narrative of the social history of New York City. They relay the events from the first European discovery of Manhattan to the unification of the Five Burroughs with clarity and concision.
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