Customer Reviews

Island at the Centre of the World

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The subtitle of the book is The untold story of the founding of New York. Shorto credits as inspiration and reference, amongst others, the translations of Dr. Charles Gehring from the New Netherland Project. Gehring started the translation of the newly discovered archives of the Dutch colony in 1973 and is still busy at present.

Shorto describes the documents as "twelve thousand sheets of rag paper covered with the crabbed, loopy script of seventeenth century Dutch, which to the untutored eye looks something like a cross between our Roman letters and Arabic or Thai - writing largely indecipherable today even to modern Dutch speakers."

Shorto's enthusiasm for 17th century Amsterdam and The Nederlands does not overshadow his broader appreciation of the colonial geo-politics in the 17th century. He places the birth of New York amidst the waning of the Spanish Empire and the great rivalry between the current Dutch and upcoming English Empire.

His description of Dutch culture in that era and life during the first few decades of New Amsterdam is vivid and enticing. However, it's when he combines this with the actual citizens, characters and heroes, the first Manhattanites, that you are carried away to the unthought-of origins of New York. The tolerance, freedom of speech & religion, and capitalist inclination of the young entrepreneurs, so unique only to Amsterdam at the time in Europe, were transplanted lock, stock and barrel to New Amsterdam - and into the rest of the USA.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the book for me is the recognition of the cultural contribution the Dutch made to New York. My first language is Afrikaans, derived from Dutch, so I felt a familiarity throughout the book with my Dutch influenced surroundings here in Cape Town, South Africa.

The original name for Brooklyn was Breukelen, Bronck's Plantation is today The Bronx, Vlissingen became Flushing, Deutel Bay is now Turtle Bay. Shorto mentions an array of common American words with their origin from Dutch, my favourite being koekjes for cookies.

For anyone with an appreciation of Dutch culture or the Dutch language this book will be a treasure. For anyone with an appreciation of the uniqueness of New York, and what made it so great, this book will shed light on that first street with its 20 houses, fort and local drinking house.

Shorto makes a valuable contribution to the true understanding of the origins of New York and the Dutch contribution to American culture and he presents it in a fun, enjoyable, easy readable format.

The index has five main parts - the Prologue: The Missing Floor, Part 1: "A Certain Island Named Manathans"; Part 2: Clash of Wills; Part 3: The Inheritance and the Epilogue: The Paper Trail. The illustrated map of Manhattan and Long Island with the current and original Dutch names of the various locations is fascinating. The eight colour pages include an original text about the purchase of Manhattan from the Indians, one of the 12 000 pages of the translated manuscript, the beautiful Jansson-Visscher map that became the definitive map of the American north-east for more than a century and some drawings of New Amsterdam and the Manhattan harbour from 1660. The extensive bibliography and notes consist of 75 pages.

This book is a must-read. As a history book it brings the period alive in a way no history lesson ever did for me. In history lessons we were taught about the English, the Pilgrim Fathers. But the ever adventureous Dutch had already claimed Manhattan. They hacked a livelihood from the landscape, traded with the Natives, made allies and enemies. Broadway may not mark the exact Indian Trail, but it highlights the path that history took to lead us to a modern street, full of Theatres; just as Wall Street tells us of a wall built, not to keep out the marauding Natives as, surely most of us imagine, but to keep out the troublesome English, growing stronger, moving in from the North. And as a drama what a cast of characters: Peter Stuyvesant, "peg-legged, cantankerous", fighting to rule the Dutch Colony his way, while others, thinking to make Manhattan their home, fought to rule it alone, without him. Adriaen van der Donck, forgotten by history, but not in this book. He led the settlers, took on Stuyvesant in a battle of wits, took his fight for freedom home, and nearly won - but for the English, causing trouble again! An incredible book. If Russell Shorto wrote all the history books, all of us would be thrilled and inspired, with no excust to be ignorant of the past, the rich, exciting past, that shapes the way we live today, brought to life so brilliantly in this book. 5 Stars go to you Russell Shorto.

THIS INCREDIBLE BOOK IS SO VERY WELL-WRITTEN AND BRINGS SOME NEWLY DISCOVERED HISTORY TO THE NEW YORK AREA. IT IS OUTSTANDING!