The Landscape of Modernity: New York City, 1900-1940 [Paperback]

David Ward (Editor), Oliver Zunz (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801856094 | ISBN-13: 978-0801856099 | Publication Date: March 27, 1997

New York City stands as the first expression of the modern city, a mosaic of disparate neighborhoods born in 1898 with the amalgamation of the five boroughs and shaped by the passions of developers and regulators, architects and engineers, politicians and reformers, immigrants, entrepreneurs and corporate builders. Their labor, their ideals, and their often fierce battles established the physical and social dimensions of the modern city. The Landscape of Modernity tells the compelling story of the growth of New York City from 1900 to 1940, from the beginnings of its skyscraper skyline to the expanding reaches of suburbanization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

First-class urban history.

(Journal of Historical Geography )

There is much in this collection to ponder, and the extensive notes and brief bibliography should lead the interested reader well beyond the essays. Because the changing urban landscapes in New York City and other cities still owes a great deal (for better or worse) to the decisions made and the buildings constructed in the first decades of the twentieth century there is much that is relevant today.

(New York History )

[The] attention to the complexity of urban development, the new research reported in most of the essays, and their typically interdisciplinary character, combined with the generous use of maps and photographs and the abundant cross-references within the articles, will make this a valuable collection of articles on New York City.

(Journal of American History )

The achievement of this volume is to provide exceedingly useful essays on selected topics and to pose broad questions about the formation of the modern urban landscape.

(Environment and Planning )

Book Description

The compelling story of the growth of New York City from 1900 to 1940, from the beginnings of its skyscraper skyline to the expanding reaches of suburbanization.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801856094
• ISBN-13: 978-0801856099
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,790,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)