The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People, and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present

Front Cover
Zondervan, Sep 7, 2010 - Reference - 944 pages

For a city like no other comes a book like no other. The New York Chronology tells the epic story of how a remote trading outpost and fishing village grew into the "world's capital" as we know it today. In tens of thousands of chronological entries, James Trager marches year by year through both the defining and incidental moments in the city's history, from the arrival of Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524 to the sad closing of Ratner's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side "after 97 years of serving blintzes, kasha, latkes, and matzoh brei."

With impeccable scholarship, humor, and an astonishing level of detail, Trager's information-packed entries straddle 32 separate categories that define this great metropolis. Turn to any year and you'll get a vivid sense of what life was like for New Yorkers at that time -- the political and financial developments that shaped their lives; the books, magazines, and newspapers they read; the restaurants, nightclubs, shows, and sporting events that entertained them; the fitful progress of their neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, public works, transportation systems, and so much more.

Of course, New Yorkers themselves hold center stage, and The New York Chronology is loaded with eye-opening and colorful stories about its famous, infamous, and long-forgotten inhabitants. From society events and publicity stunts to scandals and murders, here are scores of offbeat tidbits that you simply won't find in a more conventional history. Handsomely illustrated with more than 130 photographs and drawings, it is an entertainingand essential book for New York lovers -- a homage as grand as the city itself.

From inside the book

Contents

Preface
Key to Symbols
The Early Years
18th CENTURY
19th CENTURY
20th CENTURY
21st CENTURY
Index
Acknowledgments
Copyright
About the Publisher
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2010)

James Trager has examined world history in The People's Chronology, culinary history in The Food Chronology, and women's history in The Women's Chronology. He is also the author of two histories of New York City, West of Fifth and Park Avenue: Street of Dreams. He has lived in Manhattan for more than fifty years.

Bibliographic information