American Metropolis: History of New York City - Softcover

"Writing a complete, detailed, readable history of New York City is a formidable task but George Lankevich has done it! His book is a valuable contribution to the study of our nation's greatest city." -Selma Berrol, Professor Emerita, The City University of New York "The best one volume history of the nation's largest city... Anyone interested in New York should begin with American Metropolis." -David M. Reimers, Professor of History, New York University "Here, as in New York itself, may be found everything and everyone." -The New York Times Book Review

Magnet for the ambitious, lodestone for talented and oppressed alike, Mecca for businessment and immigrants, New York City has stood for over 350 years as the critical center of American life. Emphasizing the cyclical nature of New York's history through tides of crisis and renewal, "American Metropolis" offers the definitive short history of America's most important and vibrant city. By understanding the history of New York, we obtain a vital sense of what America was, is, and can become.