The island at the center of the world
the epic story of Dutch Manhattan and the forgotten colony that shaped America
by Russell Shorto · first published 2004
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In a landmark work of history, Russell Shorto presents astonishing information on the founding of our nation and reveals in riveting detail the crucial role of the Dutch in making America what it is today.In the late 1960s, an archivist in the New York State Library made an astounding discovery: 12,000 pages of centuries-old correspondence, court cases, legal contracts, and reports from a forgotten society: the Dutch colony centered on Manhattan, which predated the thirteen "original" American colonies. For the past thirty years scholar Charles Gehring has been translating this trove, which w
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…It provides some historical context to the problems of Katrina, especially the levee system Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - This is the current book to read on Lincoln The Island at the Center of the World - If you're interested in NYC history this is one of the books to read. American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation This is a must-read if you're interested in religion in…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite history books?” ↗The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto. Before the English took New Amsterdam, it was a thriving settlement full of interesting economic ideas…
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗…as a large single picture instead of tiny disjoint sets of data. I don't know what approach would have worked best to get a younger me more interested in history. Maybe something in the style of "The Island at the Center of the World" would have worked--I do find that readable and interesting now.
on “David McCullough on the "history gap"” ↗Im currently reading Island at the Center of the World about dutch new york, new amsterdam. And the source material is basicly one or two books because the dutch west india company sold their records as scrap paper. Rooms full of records, granted yhe papet…
on “500-year-old library catalogue reveals books lost to time” ↗