{"product_id":"the-island-at-the-center-of-the-world-the-epic-story-of-dutch-manhattan-and-the-forgotten-colony-that-shaped-america","title":"The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America","description":"\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJacket Description\/Flap\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records-recently declared a national treasure-are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative-a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Manhattan-that transforms our understanding of early America. \n\u003cbr\u003eThe Dutch colony pre-dated the \"original\" thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief Description\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A New York times notable book\"--P. [4] of cover.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Astonishing . . . A book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"A tour de force. . . . The dramatic story of New York's origins is splendidly told. . . . A masterpiece of storytelling and first-rate intellectual history.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"As readable as a finely written novel. . . . social history in the Barbara Tuchman tradition.\" \n\u003ci\u003e--San Jose Mercury News\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \"Literary alchemy. . . . Shorto's exhaustively researched and highly readable book is a stirring re-examination. . . . Brilliant and magisterial narrative history\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Masterly . . . A new foundation myth . . .Shorto writes at all times with passion, verve, nuance and considerable humor.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Rattlingly well told-a terrific popular history about a past that beautifully illuminates the present.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times \u003c\/i\u003e[London] \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A dramatic, kaleidoscopic and, on the whole, quite wonderful book. . . . This is one of those rare books in the picked-over field of colonial history, a whole new picture, a thrown-open window. . . . [A] full-blooded resurrection of an unfamiliar American patriot.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Observer \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Deserves to be a bestseller . . .narratively irresistible, intellectually provocative, historically invaluable\" - \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A spry, informative history. . . . Shorto supplies lucid, comprehensive contexts in which to see the colony's promise and turmoil. . . . [D]elivers the goods with clarity, color and zest.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eThe Seattle Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"As Russell Shorto demonstrates in this mesmerizing volume, the story we don't know is even more fascinating than the one we do . . .Historians must now seriously rethink what they previously understand about New York's origins . . .\" - \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Russell Shorto fires a powerful salvo on the war of words over America's origins . . . he mounts a convincing case [that], in Shorto's words, 'Manhattan is where America began.' Readers . . find themselves absorbed in what can only be described as a plot, revolving around two strong men with conflicting visions of the future of Dutch North America.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eAmerica: The National Catholic Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Fascinating. . . . A richly nuanced portrait set against events on the world stage.\" \n\u003ci\u003e--Time Out New York \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Shorto brings this . . . deeply influential chapter in the city's history to vivid, breathtaking life [with] a talent for enlivening meticulous research and painting on a broad canvas. . . . In elegant, erudite prose, he manages to capture the lives of disparate historical characters, from kings to prostitutes.\" - \n\u003ci\u003ePittsburgh Post-Gazette\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Remarkable. . . . [C]ompulsively interesting. . . . . Shorto argues that during the brief decades of its Dutch colonial existence Manhattan had already found, once and for all, its tumultuously eclectic soul.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shorto delineates the characters in this nonfiction drama convincingly and compellingly.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eFort Worth Star-Telegram\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[An] absorbing, sensual, sometimes bawdy narrative featuring whores, pirates, explorers and scholars. With clarity and panache, Shorto briskly conveys the complex history of the age of exploration.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shorto's book makes a convincing case that the Dutch did not merely influence the relatively open, tolerant and multicultural society that became the United States; they made the first and most significant contribution.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eAmerican History \u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shorto's prose is deliciously rich and witty, and the story he tells-drawing heavily on sources that have only recently come to light-brings one surprise after another. His rediscovery of Adriaen van der Donck, Peter Stuyvesant's nemesis, is fascinating.\" -Edward G. Burrows, coauthor of \n\u003cb\u003eGotham: A History of New York City to 1898\u003c\/b\u003e, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A landmark work . . .Shorto paints the emotions and attitudes of his characters with a sure hand, and bestows on each a believable, living presence.\" - \n\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London) \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A triumph of scholarship and a rollicking narrative . . . an exciting drama about the roots of America's freedoms.\" -Walter Isaacson, author of \n\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Franklin: An American Life\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMarc Notes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOriginally published: New York: Doubleday, 2004.;A New York times notable book--P. [4] of cover.;Includes bibliographical references (p. 352-372) and index.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRussell Shorto is the author of five books and is a contributing writer at the \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e. His books have been published in fourteen languages and have won numerous awards. From 2008 to 2013, he was the director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReading Line\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdated Edition with a New Preface and Postscript\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIn a riveting, groundbreaking narrative, Russell Shorto tells the story of New Netherland, the Dutch colony which pre-dated the Pilgrims and established ideals of tolerance and individual rights that shaped American history. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUPDATED EDITION WITH A NEW PREFACE AND POSTSCRIPT \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Astonishing . . . A book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records-recently declared a national treasure-are now being translated. Russell Shorto draws on this remarkable archive in \n\u003ci\u003eThe Island at the Center of the World\u003c\/i\u003e, which has been hailed by \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e as \"a book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past.\" \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Dutch colony pre-dated the \"original\" thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Island at the Center of the World\u003c\/i\u003e uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2005 pg. 28 (EAN 9781400078677, Paperback)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKliatt\u003c\/span\u003e 09\/01\/2005 pg. 39 (EAN 9781400078677, Paperback)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eIngram Advance\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2005 pg. 96 (EAN 9781400078677, Paperback)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/span\u003e 11\/04\/2004 pg. 35 (EAN 9780786268351, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/05\/2004 pg. 40 (EAN 9780786268351, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Shorto, Russell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePub Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 2005-04-12\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC:\u003c\/b\u003e History \/ United States \/ State \u0026amp; Local - Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)|History \/ United States \/ Colonial Period (1600-1775)|History \/ Modern \/ 17th Century\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSubjects:\u003c\/b\u003e New York (N.Y.)|History|Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775|Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)|17th century|Dutch Americans|New York (State)|New York|Politics and government|To 1898|Minuit, Peter|Stuyvesant, Peter|Donck, Adriaen van der\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.84 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781400078677\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eASIN:\u003c\/b\u003e -\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSKU:\u003c\/b\u003e SP-9781400078677\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52374522691865,"sku":"SP-9781400078677","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0913\/0380\/5209\/files\/9781400078677_spiral.png?v=1778477054","url":"https:\/\/westbindery.com\/products\/the-island-at-the-center-of-the-world-the-epic-story-of-dutch-manhattan-and-the-forgotten-colony-that-shaped-america","provider":"West Bindery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}