New York City: A Short History

Rating:
Summary: A Succinct History
Review: A Short History is exactly that. Succinct and to the point, structured around the political evolution of the city, using New York's succession of mayors as its main vehicle.

Editing: Four Stars. Simple structure and well managed.

Copy Editing: Four Stars. One or two things slipped by. James, Duke of York, after whom the city is named, is called, oddly, Duke James instead of the Duke of York, or more properly, York. Otherwise clean copy.

Rating:
Summary: A Succinct History
Review: A Short History is exactly that. Succinct and to the point, structured around the political evolution of the city, using New York's succession of mayors as its main vehicle.

Editing: Four Stars. Simple structure and well managed.

Copy Editing: Four Stars. One or two things slipped by. James, Duke of York, after whom the city is named, is called, oddly, Duke James instead of the Duke of York, or more properly, York. Otherwise clean copy.

Rating:
Summary: deadly boring
Review: Having just moved to NYC I bought this dog expecting to get a quick brush up on the fascinating story of America's Greatest City. Instead I was burdened with endless trivia about who was mayor or who ran Tammany Hall at any given moment in New York's history.

Obviously this angle is part of the big picture of The City, but it comes off the page very flat and, sadly, uninteresting. There is scant attention paid to the million and one other details about New York life that one really wants to hear about: art, culture, social life, transportation, etc.

The writing is intelligent enough. The author is clearly a smart person with a lot of interest in his subject. It's just that enduring this book is more like watching someone's vacation slides and less like the inspiring, terse and revealing story you hope you'd get when you bought the thing.