Review by Booklist Review
Rutherfurd, best-selling author of the novel London (1997), has penned a lush, lavish tribute to the Big Apple. Sweeping in scope, this fictional biography of New York City stretches back in time to the city's origins as an Indian fishing village coveted by Dutch settlers to the aftermath of 9/11. As he marches through the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, two world wars, multiple waves of immigration, and the phoenix-like reemergence of a downtrodden New York as the vital center of the economic, social, and cultural universe at the end of the twentieth century, he interweaves the fascinating stories of a multitude of characters, all of whom were profoundly affected by the evolution of the largest and most complex American city. New York's growing pains, its tragedies and triumphs, are reflected in the experiences of a range of ordinary and extraordinary citizens from varying backgrounds, with a wide spectrum of ambitions and expectations. Although it is hard to do justice to a city with such a throbbing pulse, Rutherfurd's homage is compulsively readable.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
