
Gotham
A History of New York City to 1898
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Narrated by:
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Victor Bevine
About this listen
To European explorers, it was Eden, a paradise of waist-high grasses, towering stands of walnut, maple, chestnut, and oak, and forests that teemed with bears, wolves, raccoons, beavers, otters, and foxes. Today, it is the site of Broadway and Wall Street, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, and the home of millions of people, who have come from every corner of the nation and the globe.
In Gotham, Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace have produced a monumental work of history, one that ranges from the Indian tribes that settled in and around the island of Manna-hata, to the consolidation of the five boroughs into Greater New York in 1898. It is an epic narrative, a story as vast and as varied as the city it chronicles, and it underscores that the history of New York is the story of our nation. Listeners will relive the tumultuous early years of New Amsterdam under the Dutch West India Company, Peter Stuyvesant's despotic regime, Indian wars, slave resistance and revolt, the Revolutionary War and the defeat of Washington's army on Brooklyn Heights, the destructive seven years of British occupation, New York as the nation's first capital, the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, the Erie Canal and the coming of the railroads, the growth of the city as a port and financial center, the infamous draft riots of the Civil War, the great flood of immigrants, the rise of mass entertainment such as vaudeville and Coney Island, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the birth of the skyscraper. Here too is a cast of thousands - the rebel Jacob Leisler and the reformer Joanna Bethune; Clement Moore, who saved Greenwich Village from the city's street-grid plan; Herman Melville, who painted disillusioned portraits of city life; and Walt Whitman, who happily celebrated that same life. We meet the rebel Jacob Leisler and the reformer Joanna Bethune; Boss Tweed and his nemesis, cartoonist Thomas Nast; Emma Goldman and Nellie Bly; Jacob Riis and Horace Greeley; police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt; Colonel Waring and his "white angels" (who revolutionized the sanitation department); millionaires John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt, August Belmont, and William Randolph Hearst; and hundreds more who left their mark on this great city.
The events and people who crowd this audiobook guarantee that this is no mere local history. It is in fact a portrait of the heart and soul of America, and a book that will mesmerize everyone interested in the peaks and valleys of American life as found in the greatest city on earth. Gotham is dazzling, a fast-paced, brilliant narrative that carries the listener along as it threads hundreds of stories into one great blockbuster of a book.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©1999 Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace (P)2018 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In 1664, England decided to invade the Dutch-controlled city of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, had dreams of empire, and their archrivals, the Dutch, were in the way. But Richard Nicolls, the military officer who led the English flotilla bent on destruction, changed his strategy once he encountered Peter Stuyvesant, New Netherland’s canny director general.
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Outstanding story of the shaping of early New York
- By Montclair 65 on 04-21-25
By: Russell Shorto
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The Start
- 1904-1930
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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William L. Shirer was a CBS foreign correspondent and renowned author of New York Times best-selling nonfiction about World War II, and this is the first part of his three-part autobiography. A renowned journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer chronicles his own life story in a personal history that parallels the greater historical events for which he served as a witness.
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Clouds gathering on the horizon in Europe
- By Nancy on 08-12-20
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The Year 1000
- When Explorers Connected the World - and Globalization Began
- By: Valerie Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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People often believe that the years immediately prior to AD 1000 were, with just a few exceptions, lacking in any major cultural developments or geopolitical encounters, that the Europeans hadn’t yet reached North America, and that the farthest feat of sea travel was the Vikings’ invasion of Britain. But how, then, to explain the presence of blond-haired people in Maya temple murals at Chichén Itzá, Mexico? Could it be possible that the Vikings had found their way to the Americas during the height of the Maya empire?
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Long on Speculation, Short on Evidence
- By Phyllis on 10-10-20
By: Valerie Hansen
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Five Points
- The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum
- By: Tyler Anbinder
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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All but forgotten today, Five Points was once renowned the world over. Its handful of streets in lower Manhattan featured America's most wretched poverty, shared by Irish, Jewish, German, Italian, Chinese, and African Americans. It was the scene of more riots, scams, saloons, brothels, and drunkenness than any other neighborhood in the new world. The story that Anbinder tells is the classic tale of America's immigrant past, as successive waves of new arrivals fought for survival in a land that was as exciting as it was dangerous, as riotous as it was culturally rich.
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Great historical piece
- By Jim Braunstein on 08-19-19
By: Tyler Anbinder
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Inside the Apple
- A Streetwise History of New York City
- By: Michelle Nevius, James Nevius
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Lively and comprehensive, Inside the Apple brings to life New York's fascinating past. This narrative history of New York City is the first to offer practical walking tour know-how. Fast-paced, but thorough, each of its bite-size chapters focus on an event, person, or place of historical significance. Rich in anecdotes, it whisks listeners from colonial New Amsterdam through Manhattan's past, right up to post-9/11 New York. This energetic, wide-ranging, and often humorous book covers New York's most important historical moments but is always anchored in the city of today.
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Best walking tour
- By Kris Seymour on 11-12-23
By: Michelle Nevius, and others
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The New York Nobody Knows
- Walking 6,000 Miles in the City
- By: William B. Helmreich
- Narrated by: Mark Cabus
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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As a kid growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father they called "Last Stop." They would pick a subway line and ride it to its final destination, and explore the neighborhood there. Decades later, Helmreich teaches university courses about New York, and his love for exploring the city is as strong as ever. Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs - an astonishing 6,000 miles.
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Borderline offensive.
- By kate on 12-06-17
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George Washington, Volume 1
- Young Washington
- By: Douglas Southall Freeman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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George Washington, a Biography by Douglas Southall Freeman was the second great historical masterpiece by him to win the Pulitzer Prize, awarded posthumously in 1958. Freeman completed six volumes of this magnificent biography, but died before finishing the seventh and final volume, concluded for him by his research associates in 1957. In Volume One, Young Washington, we follow the development of George from childhood to young manhood. It is an extraordinary tale of youthful vigor and determination.
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Fine work on Washington
- By lps562 on 03-29-21
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Grant Moves South
- By: Bruce Catton
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 17 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian's acclaimed Civil War history of the complex man and controversial Union commander whose battlefield brilliance ensured the downfall of the Confederacy. Preeminent Civil War historian Bruce Catton narrows his focus on commander Ulysses S. Grant, whose bold tactics and relentless dedication to the Union ultimately ensured a Northern victory in the nation's bloodiest conflict.
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Riveting history with a great narration
- By Roberta Rothwell on 01-11-18
By: Bruce Catton
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Roman History, Volume 1
- By: Dio Cassius
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 29 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Dio Cassius was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent founding of Rome (753 BC), the formation of the republic (509 BC), and the creation of the empire (31 BC). The history continues until AD 229.
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Charlton Griffin is amazing as usual!
- By Placeholder on 07-12-18
By: Dio Cassius
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Old New York
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Spanning four decades in the mid-19th century, the interconnected novellas of Old New York lay out in vivid detail the complex and inscrutable codes, customs, and taboos of New York society in classic Wharton style.
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narration
- By Alma on 01-31-23
By: Edith Wharton
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The Bowery
- The Strange History of New York's Oldest Street
- By: Stephen Paul DeVillo
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the street your mother warned you about - even if you lived in San Francisco. Long associated with skid row, saloons, freak shows, violence, and vice, the Bowery often showed the worst New York City had to offer. Yet there were times when it showed its best as well.
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Fantastic!
- By Bart Saint Bart on 05-10-23
What listeners say about Gotham
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- Joseph Jaffe
- 05-04-19
the most comprehensive and inspiring history.
loved this book. read it first, then listened to it. unparalleled. should be the starting point for any amateur historians entry into the world of nyc history.
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- Eugene Smith
- 09-09-20
Looking to understand America, this is a must!
If you want to understand this country and what roles American’s played init this is the book for you! If you want to know New York City roles in making America great again this book is for you. Looking just to know more about the city and the surrounding area it’s for you. Your a New Yorker but don’t know much about our history this book is just great!
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- chris
- 12-27-19
Everything you wanted to know about NYC history
Wow. This book has so many details that some may find it trivial. The book has been well researched and some will find it uninteresting at times but stay with it if you are a fan of the Big Apple. Be ready for lots of history from 1626 to 1840. LEarn what Peter Stuyvesant had for breakfast.
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- Ford Trojanowski
- 12-27-23
a wonderful history...
a wonderful history that reinforces the idea that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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- H. Singh
- 03-31-25
what a story!
Anyone interested in NYC story, must read this book. So many details, if you ever had question how this metropolis was born. evolved and who were the main players, this is the book for you.
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- Tom Wilson
- 11-17-18
I found it factually interesting how NY evolved
I wasn't sure what to expect and devoting 67 hours is considerable. I was fascinated by how the authors took us from almost of the very beginning of lower Manhattan by the Dutch to the tremendous growth northward. Every aspect of the growth is detailed from politics, living conditions, transportation, class structure, financial, the constant struggle between 'capital' and the 'working man', women's roles, healthcare, poverty, disease living in close, putrid surroundings, media (newspapers, cable, telegraphs, telephone, electric lighting -- how these all evolved over time).
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8 people found this helpful
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- JK
- 01-04-25
A MUST READ
This a a very comprehensive and excellent book.
It should be mandatory reading for high school students.
I have studied American and world history for many years and I rate this book among one of the best.
The history is fascinating.
I, myself, am an immigrant, arriving 65 years ago in New York by boat on my way to California, taking the train across America,
All but 22 years old, never regretted the move.
It is important that the “now” generation realizes what an amazing nation this is and how many people before us have shaped our country.
I am off to book number two.
The narrator, mr. Victor Bevine, is a pleasure to listen to.
My thanks to all involved, JK.
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- Siren East
- 11-18-18
Must read for anyone interested in New York
This book is fantastic. Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace paint New York in unbelievable detail, and Victor Bevine does an amazing job narrating. This book is honestly a must read/listen for anyone interested in New York in general or in what daily life was like in America before 1900.
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- Amy Evans
- 01-24-24
Loved the narrator
I’ve been listening to this for 5 months and I’ve started to read other things in his voice. It’s authoritative and inflects when I like it. Very epic and now i walk around nyc and see all the names and places I would’ve never understood, but now i know. On to the next one!
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- MAC24211
- 01-22-19
Thorough and interesting.
A very in-depth look into the history of NYC. I wish there was a way to download just one file rather than 6 though.
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