Customer Reviews

New York

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I have never taken the time to write a review on a book before, but I felt so compelled after finishing this book I could hardly wait to write. It is so amazing, it gives you this unbelievable insight into our very own american history. You gain this renewed sense of knowledge from events that some of us haven't studied since high school or maybe even middle school. The characters are compelling, and the family history that is brought to life seems real, you simply hope that all of these characters really exsited. I cannot say enough about it, but I promise it will not be a novel you regret reading and you will be wanting to turn the page right up until the end. Hope you all enjoy!

Being Dutch I was interested in the origins of the Big Apple. I bought 'New York' and wasn't disappointed at all! But there is so much more in this book. From the start on you learn about all the key moments in USA history. Indians, Dutch, British, French, Civil War, the generals, trade, life in general, architecture, the Italian section, the Irish, the Germans etc. etc. Even 9/11 is part of this gripping tale. The general line is the tale of the Dutch/British Van Dijck/Master clan. It helps you to understand the emotions and circumstances of living in those particular ages. It keeps the storyline alive. A fine book!

As Rutherfurd's other novels do, New York traces the history of the title's place based on imaginary family lines through the years. I think this actually works better here than it did in the European-based books. From beginning to end was less than 350 years, so the connections between the people presented was clearer than with a book like Sarum that covered thousands of years.

I wondered how a Brit would cover the Revolutionary War, & was a bit surprised how much coverage it received. Being told the story from the Loyalist point of view, I learned some things. The one I think is most important is that one of the reasons that the British government didn't want to give more power to colonial assemblies was that Ireland would have wanted the same local power.

After the Revolution period, the Dutch/English/African families were joined by Italian & other European families, Hispanic Americans, etc. to make the city what it is today.

I Loved this book! I was entertaining andere very nicely written. I even learned a lot about he great city of New York.