A defining American story, never before told with such breadth of scope, lavish research, and resounding spirit.
TYLER ANBINDER is a professor of history and former chair of the History Department at George Washington University. His first book, Nativism and Slavery, won the Avery Craven Prize of the Organization of American Historians. His second book, Five Points, won the New York City Book Prize of 2001. He served as a consultant to Martin Scorsese for Gangs of New York. His ancestors came to New York from southwest Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.
"In publishing as in politics, timing is everything. Tyler
Anbinder's sweeping City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of
Immigrant New York scores big on both counts. A richly textured
guide to the history of our immigrant nation's pinnacle immigrant
city has managed to enter the stage during an election season that
has resurrected this historically fraught topic in all its
fierceness."
--New York Times Book Review "The story of how those waves of
millions cascaded upon American shores is told brilliantly, even
unforgettably...while this is a New York story, it really is an
American story, one that belongs to all of us."
--Boston Globe "Mr. Anbinder has provided a valuable service by
crafting a single volume that focuses solely on New York as a
gateway, a haven and a crucible that forged the fates of millions
of immigrants who in turn shaped the destiny of our nation."
--Wall Street Journal "City of Dreams is a rich, rewarding history
of New York's master narrative: the expansive story of the city's
immigrant past and present. It's a necessary book for any reader --
New Yorker or not -- curious to know the astonishing sweep of
transforming migrations that have made the city the polyglot
extravaganza that it is."
--PHILIP ROTH "A masterful achievement, City of Dreams is the
definitive account of the American origin story, as told through
our premier metropolis. Bold, exhaustive, always surprising,
Anbinder's book is a wonderful reminder of how we came to be who we
are."
--TIMOTHY EGAN, author of The Immortal Irishman "At last! A history
of New York's immigrant experience from Peter Minuit right up to
the present day, meticulously researched and wonderfully
well-written. City of Dreams will captivate readers and historians
alike."
--KEVIN BAKER, author of The Big Crowd "Enlightening, impressive,
and thorough, City of Dreams is a monumental endeavor: a great
resource that fills in many historical blanks, and a riveting saga
with something for everyone. And in these times of so much
divisiveness and xenophobia, a necessary book, too. Tyler Anbinder
reminds us that the dreams that brought my Dominican family to
Nueva York are the very bedrock and foundation of this
country."
--JULIA ALVAREZ, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
"Like the City of New York itself, Tyler Anbinder's City of Dreams
is a marvel -- a work of astonishing breadth and depth that weaves
many threads into a compelling whole. Anbinder's vibrant narrative
stretches from the Dutch of New Amsterdam to the Fujianese of
Sunset Park, from the Draft Riots to the Crown Heights riot,
depicting waves of immigrants who have overcome persistent nativism
to transform the city, the nation, and themselves."
--T.J. STILES, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies
Custer's Trials and The First Tycoon
"A tale of tragedy and triumph that comes with political
teeth...Anbinder is a master at taking a history with which many
readers will be familiar--tenement houses, temperance societies,
slums--and making it new, strange, and heartbreakingly vivid. The
stories of individuals, including those of the entrepreneurial
Steinway brothers and the tragic poet Pasquale D'Angelo, are
undeniably compelling, but it's Anbinder's stunning image of New
York as a true city of immigrants that captures the
imagination."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review "This thoroughgoing work offers
a host of immigrant sagas that were integral to the creation of the
New York City cauldron...[Anbinder] impressively conveys the sense
of a city truly forged by the people who were determined to live
and work there... An endlessly fascinating kaleidoscope of American
history. A fantastic historical resource."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Full of fascinating, rock-solid
history and provides compelling texture behind the larger trends...
balanced and excellent."
--Booklist, starred review
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