From Library Journal
Cityscapes is an engaging history of New York City from its beginnings in the mid-17th century as a small Dutch trading post at the tip of Manhattan Island to its present position as the nation's largest city and the country's economic and cultural capital. Rock (history, Florida International Univ.) and Moore (religion, Vassar) have assembled a stunning array of paintings, drawings, broadsides, and maps that both enliven the text and illustrate the city's development until the end of the 19th century; thereafter, the text is illustrated by etchings, lithographs, and especially photographs taken by some of the best-known photographers of the time as well as by sharp-eyed if lesser-known observers of the city scene. These images enrich our understanding of the city as it was transformed by successive waves of immigrants, first from Europe and then from all over the world. More detailed than Eric Homberger's The Historical Atlas of New York City (LJ 4/1/95), this is recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
The authors have pulled together a powerful testament to the city's exhuberant past.
(Joel Schwartz
New York History )
A book so beautiful it grows in resonance with every passing month.
(
Forward Magazine )
An engaging history of New York City... Rock and Moore have assembled a stunning array of paintings, drawings, broadsides, and maps that both enliven the text and illustrate the city's development until the end of the 19th century; thereafter, the text is illustrated by etchings, lithographs and especially photographs taken by some of the best-known photographers of the time as well as by sharp eyed if lesser-known observers of the city scene. These images enrich our understanding of the city.
(
Library Journal )
This cultural history is a fascinating amalgam of essays and illustrations that ranges from the city's skyline to life on its streets.
(
New York Daily News )
A well-illustrated... cultural history. It notes that the first skyscraper to excite New Yorkers was the 23-story Flatiron Building in 1903, transformed into 'an almost mystical feature of urban landscape'...But in 1973 the 110-story World Trade Center 'failed to excite public enthusiasm.'
(
USA Today )
This combination of social history and rarely seen images of the city... covers all the bases. But it's the often surprising mid-century photographs that are most compelling.
(
New York Magazine )
Cityscapes uses terrific old illustrations and photos to accompany a history of social, cultural, economic and ethnic changes, from the city's 1623 beginning as a colonial seaport to its evolution as a colossus of business in the last century. The illustrations propel you back to a city you're far too young to remember... But the authors don't skimp on photos, especially of New Yorkers themselves, those who, as we've seen graphically demonstrated in recent weeks, form the city's heart.
(
The Miami Herald )
So well done, you want to linger on every page, walk through it over and over and just be overwhelmed with the maginificent photos.
(Patricia A. Kossmann
America )
As smart as it is beautiful. Cityscapes will thrill New York history buffs.
(Miriam Wolf
San Francisco Bay Guardian )
