The Epic of New York City

Rating:
Summary: For New York snobs and other lovers of "the city"
Review: A great book by noted American Diarist, E. R. Ellis, shows the humble birth of New York to the the great city it came to be. Not one to hide the seedy part of New York's past, he also includes the historical figures which made it great. If you don't know the origins of Knickerbocker, Bronx or Brooklyn, you will find them in these pages. Written in good narrative, it sounds more like a story then a history.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: As several other reviewers have noted, this book was published in 1966 and so it doesn't contain any recent history. Nonetheless, it's an excellent introduction to NY from it's founding in the early 1600s to the 1960s.

I disagree with the reviewer who said that there are no colorful characters in this narrative and that the narrative is boring -- I found the book full of interesting characters (politicians like Boss Tweed, reporters such as William Randolph Hearst, and influential people like John Jacob Astor). Moreover, I found the narrative engaging enough to make it difficult to put down at times.

My only complaint is that the editing job is shabby. Not so much with typos or grammatical errors, but the sentence structure and the narrative flow is a bit awkward at times. Every now and again, Ellis will switch gears without any warning or explanation. It gets a bit frustrating.

Also, there are NO maps in this book. I used 4 different contemporary maps -- 2 for Manhattan/Queens, 1 for Brooklyn, 1 US map (for references to Boston, DC, and the south). At a minimum, you'll need a Manhattan street map and a NY state map to accompany your reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not contemporary but still informative
Review: There are many newer. more contemporary histories of NYC--but, especially if you are interested in the early twentieth century period, this is still the best overview. Especially good for those who are intrigued by NYC but have a scant knowledge of its history.

Rating:
Summary: Epic of New York City by Ellis
Review: This is an excellent work for any student of New York City.
It recites the history dating back to the 1600s and marching
forward. The thrust of the book is good. The author attempts
to tell the long history of the city throughout some key
periods of the American experience. This book would be
very useful to any student writing a book report on the
City of New York. There are so many facts recited that a
few may be in error. The work is a "must read" for students
of government, history, world culture, city planning and a
host of other academic specializations.

Rating:
Summary: Give Mr. Ellis a Break
Review: Yes, I agree: Mr. Ellis may have bitten off more than he should've tried to chew in 1966. The book would have been best served if it had ended in 1898, at the time of the consolidation of the five boroughs into New York City. (This was what Burrows and Wallace did when writing GOTHAM, a book of similar length.) I also agree with other reviewers that a few maps and illustrations would've benefitted the work. But give the guy a break.
THE EPIC OF NEW YORK CITY is as good an introduction to the long, complex history of the city as anything else out there. In fact, it's better than most, in spite of its few historical errors. This is an enormous subject that would've daunted most historians. Mr. Ellis' passion and fascination for NYC history is evident on every page.
THE EPIC OF NEW YORK CITY is written in short, digestible chapters that make for sprightful, snappy reading. While uneven in terms of style, many of the segments are memorable. In particular, I enjoyed the sections that centered on Peter Stuyvesant, New York during the American Revolution, and the Blizzard of 1888. Those chapters alone were worth the price.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points Concluded, a Novel