It Happened in New York City: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (It Happened In Series) [Paperback]

Fran Capo (Author), Art and Susan Zuckerman (Author)

Book Description

Series: It Happened In Series | Publication Date: January 6, 2010

A fascinating collection of thirty compelling stories about events that shaped Gotham, It Happened in New York City describes everything from the installation of the Statue of Liberty to the construction of the new Yankee stadium.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The City That Never Sleeps can surely lay claim to more extraordinary occurrences than most other cities combined, and It Happened In New York City goes behind the scenes to tell its story, in short episodes that reveal the intriguing people and events that have shaped New York City and, indeed, America.

 

• Discover life on the moon—brought to you by the man who, in 1835, pulled off the most successful hoax in the history of American journalism.

 

• Be awed by an unforgettable, history-making speech in February 1860 by a “tall, unattractive” man named Abraham Lincoln.

 

• Learn how the miraculous survival of St. Paul’s Church on September 11, 2001, was only the most recent example of its more than 200 years of incredible luck.

About the Author

Fran Capo, the author of It Happened In books for New Jersey, New York State, and Pennsylvania, is the cohost of the TV talk show Live it Up! With Donna Drake and Fran Capo, broadcast in the tri-state region. She is also the Guinness Book of World Records’ Fastest Talking Female.

 

Art & Susan Zuckerman host “Z” Travel and Leisure for New York’s WVOX Radio and are reporters for a local newspaper chain, writing about New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; First edition (January 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762754214
• ISBN-13: 978-0762754212
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Guys,

Fran Capo here. Thought I'd say hello and thank you for checking out my books. Okay, I figured I'd tell you a little about myself. I'm a stand up comic, motivational speaker, TV host of a show called, Live it up! (liveituptvshow.com), author of 14 books (I even did a book signing at the top of kilimanjaro and another one down by the wreck site of the Titanic), an adventurer who has bungee jumped, dove with sharks, eaten fire, driven race cars, gone tornado chasing and slept in an ice hotel. I also hold 5 world records and am most known at the Guinness Book of World Records Fastest talking female. I'm a divorced mom, and my son, Spencer does a bunch of these adventures with me. I'm presently in a 10 year relationship. To check out more about me visit my website www.francapo.com. I'd love for you to follow me on facebook/francapo and on twitter. And if you google or you tube me you can see a bunch of video's that you may get a kick out of. Love to hear from you and I will happily autograph books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book By Captivating Writer, April 23, 2010

By 

Patricia Riches - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Happened in New York City: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (It Happened In Series) (Paperback)

I originally picked-up a copy of "It Happened In New York City" because I've really enjoyed other works by the author Fran Capo. She has a great way of captivating the reader with an imaginative and clever style.

I'm from New York but I have to say I was totally surprised by some of the events I read about. That made it a great read and very hard to put down. This book gave me the educational and entertaining feel of the History Channel, only better...much better.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in traveling to New York or learning about this great city's past. Kudos to Miss Capo once again!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "IT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY" WOW! WHO KNEW?, February 17, 2010

By 

Nancy Lombardo "Comedy Concepts Blog Talk Radio" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Happened in New York City: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (It Happened In Series) (Paperback)

"IT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY" By Fran Capo and Art and Susan Zuckerman , Is an absolute delight!
Not one of your run of the mill history books, this book is filled with Pirates, gangsters, a romantic triangle that became the crime of the century, from a secret subway to Tammany Hall, this book has it all!Giving a backdrop to the flavor, people and places of one of the most iconic cities in the world.
Written in a wonderful smooth narrative fashion, I felt at any given moment the characters might leap off the page and become part of a Martin Scorsese Film. So informative and entertaining I had to finish the book in one sitting. I highly recommend this book to those who dare go behind the scenes of what really did "Happened In New York City".

Nancy Lombardo Host: COMEDY CONCEPTS BLOG TALK RADIO

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth Your Time, January 29, 2012

By 

Gerardine L Ranft "Gluran" (PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: It Happened in New York City: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (It Happened In Series) (Paperback)

What a disappointment. I am preparing for visitors to NYC from three countries and was hoping to share with them some interesting stories about the City that they may have not otherwise heard. Unfortunately, for the most part, this book is not a source for those stories. The title, It Happened in NY begs the questions So What, to which this book has no answer. That these events happened in New York doesn't make them interesting or certainly not Remarkable.
Jenny Lind, a Swedish opera singer is featured in one story. She had an amazing voice but was also generous and donated a significant portion of her earnings to NYC charities. OK, that was nice but certainly other talented musicians throughout history have also donated money to charity. That she made as much as she did was probably the better part of the story but little other info about her life is presented. Victoria Woodhull accepted the nomination to run for president (before women had the right to vote). Anyone familiar with women's history in the US would be familiar with Ms. Woodhull. The story includes a brief reference to actions taken by Ms. Woodhull and her sister that, today, would be considered insider trading, actions that funded her candidacy but also increased the wealth of the famous Vanderbilt family. Now that would have been an interesting story to explore but, alas, it is only given a sentence or two. The first plunge of America's first polar bear club gets a few pages...not much to it really. I am sure the author missed the opportunity to list a number of famous New Yorker's who were club members throughout the years. Very few of the stories presented actually have "shaped history" as the subtitle states.
The first story presented is probably the best and most noteworthy. It centers on the history of plight of the first Jews to come to the New World. This group of 23 Sephardi Jews were part of a larger group fleeing Brazil in the 1600s after the region was seized by the Portuguese and persecuted. Sixteen ships of Jewish refugees fled the region, made found safe passage to the Netherlands but one ship was blown off course by a storm. After being set off course, the ship was attacked by pirates (literally of the Caribbean). Hoping for some pirate booty of their own, a French shipped "rescues" the captives only to hold them hostage in New Amsterdam. There, a group of charitable settlers held an auction to pay what the French wanted to save the captives...and this small group of Jewish refugees started the first synagogue in the New World that remains an active community of worship to this day. There, now you have read the most interesting story in this slim volume.
I should have had a clue about the lack of substance in the book when it was noted that the author is a writer for the Guinness Book of Records, interesting factoids but not really ones that shape history...and this book certainly isn't nearly as much fun to read as the Book of Records.
Take a pass on this scant volume.