Greater Gotham

Mr Wallace's lively style turns an invaluable work of reference into a gripping read. His swift portraits of New York's heroes and villains are vivid and memorable. And like every great work of history, his book casts light on the present: he writes lucidly, for example, of Puerto Rico's economic travails in the aftermath of the Spanish-American war, his account of American colonialism still resonant in 2017. The book is enriched by those who lived in tenements, skyscrapers or Fifth Avenue palaces. Like the city itself, Greater Gotham contains multitudes. * Economist *
Nobody knows New York history like Wallace, and his tightly organized tome is a masterwork on a crucial period in the city's history. New York as we know it now was forged during this time, and Wallace translates Gotham's grit and gusto to the page perfectly. * Publishers Weekly, Best Books 2017 *
Eloquent... dynamic. * Jane Ciabattari, BBC Culture *
Wallace, a professor of history at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, tells the story of those two decades with encyclopedic sweep and granular detail, but with enough verve and wry humor to make this doorstopper immensely readable. Even weathered aficionados of city lore will find moments of revelation. Newcomers will be fascinated by how it all came to be... New York has always been a work in progress. But the particular years recounted in this essential, absorbing and mostly sprightly history went a long way in shaping the pulsating city we know. * New York Times Book Review *
A brightly hued kaleidoscope of themes, facts, stories, and characters. Every turn of its cylinder rearranges the shiny bits into new configurations, fresh ways to consider the blink-of-an-eye transformation of New York City into an imperial metropolis... Use the book as an almanac or read it straight through for its many pleasures. The kaleidoscope dazzles with every move of the hand. * American Scholar *
True to its subject, [Greater Gotham is] a monumental work of myriad vantage points. * Kirkus *
An unprecedented feat, the new gold standard of urban history, Greater Gotham both extends and enhances the achievement of Gotham. Employing considerable analytical acuity, Mike Wallace has uncovered the through-lines in New York's story, cutting through the tangle of competing interests with wit, skepticism, nuanced judgment and masterful understanding. It's a tour-de-force of research, synthesis and literary clarity, and is full of surprises and the illumination of dark corners. * Phillip Lopate *
From Wall Street to immigrant slums, from vaudeville to the Metropolitan Opera, from Tammany Hall to union radicals, Mike Wallace expertly offers a kaleidoscope of New York life in the two pivotal decades in which it emerged as the nation's largest city and center of commerce, culture, and political radicalism. The writing brings it all vividly to life. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the city, or the nation. * Eric Foner *
The bounty continues! With Greater Gotham, Mike Wallace advances his impossible-to-put-down chronicle of New York City. Combining unmatched knowledge, striking narration, and analytical power, this stunning book is more than a portrait of a city, but a fresh vantage from which to consider the making of twentieth-century America. * Ira Katznelson *