New York

The Novel

By: Edward Rutherfurd

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 37 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling master of historical fiction weaves a grand, sweeping drama of New York from the city's founding to the present day.

Rutherfurd celebrates America's greatest city in a rich, engrossing saga that showcases his extraordinary ability to combine impeccable historical research and storytelling flair. As in his earlier, best-selling novels, he illuminates cultural, social, and political upheavals through the lives of a remarkably diverse set of families.

As he recounts the intertwining fates of characters rich and poor, black and white, native born and immigrant, Rutherfurd brings to life the momentous events that shaped New York and America: the Revolutionary War, the emergence of the city as a great trading and financial center, the excesses of the Gilded Age, the explosion of immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the trials of World War II, the near-demise of New York in the 1970s and its roaring rebirth in the '90s, and the attacks on the World Trade Center. Sprinkled throughout are captivating cameo appearances by historical figures ranging from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln to Babe Ruth.

New York is the book that millions of Rutherfurd's American fans have been waiting for. A brilliant mix of romance, war, family drama, and personal triumphs, it gloriously captures the search for freedom and prosperity at the heart of our nation's history.

©2009 Edward Rutherford (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Like James Michener and Leon Uris, Rutherfurd does a magnificent job of packaging a crackling good yarn within a digestible overview of complex historical circumstances and events." (Booklist)

"History has never been so fun to read.... Rutherfurd's research is exhaustive...fun.... This is history, but with a very readable story line." (USA Today)

Well researched

The author worked hard to research the story line of this book and produced a bit of a masterpiece

The breath of the story.

My first book by this author. I thought the story of New York told through the lives of the families was exceptional.

I love Edward Rutherfurd's Books

Would you listen to New York again? Why?

I read the book when it first came out and loved it. Listening to it was superior. I have listened to all of Rutherfurd's books more than once, and plan to listen to them again.

What other book might you compare New York to and why?

Rutherfurd's works are well researched and the research documented. While "Sarum" and "The Forrest, are my favorite Rutherford books, "New York" runs close behind.

Any additional comments?

Rutherfurd is one of my all time favorite writers. I'll purchase anything he writes. Any of his works is well worth the Credit. The Narrator is a master! He has a wonderful voice that makes the book's character's come alive.

Would of given 4 credits

what a great novel.... makes me want to move to >New York ... great novel!

THIS IS AN AWESOME SAGA OF MY FAVORITE CITY, NEW YORK CITY

After reading the book and listening to the Audible I have to say whyI gave the outstanding performance of the reader only four stars. After the panic of 1907 when there was a bailout, a full hour of audio was skipped so I read this without the benefit of the audio. Why had the reader skipped this large portion?

I gave the overall story four stars four rather than five stars because the author totally omitted the huge Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe and Russia into New York. My four grandparents emigrated to New York and settled in the Lower East Side Of New York City. They all went through Ellis Island but the author only showed an Italian family going through this process.

The capital of Jewish America at the turn of the century was New York's Lower East Side. This densely packed district of tenements, factories, and docklands had long been a starting point for recent immigrants, and hundreds of thousands of the new arrivals from Eastern Europe settled there upon arrival.

When a new Jewish immigrant first set foot on the Lower East Side, he or she stepped into a Jewish world. The earliest Eastern European Jews to settle there had quickly established synagogues, mutual-aid societies, libraries, and stores. Every major institution, from the bank to the grocery store to the social club to the neighborhood bookmaker, was Jewish-owned or Jewish-run, and everyone a Jewish immigrant might speak to in the course of daily business would likely be Jewish.

More than one-half of all Eastern European Jewish immigrants worked in manual occupations, predominantly in the garment industry. The Jewish neighborhoods of New York were home to countless tiny, airless sweatshop factories, where women, teenagers, and children worked long hours cutting, sewing, and finishing clothing for pennies per piece.

Sweatshops were not only unpleasant and exploitative—they could also be lethal. In the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire of 1911, nearly half of the 146 workers killed were Jewish teenage girls. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory in the book followed Anna, an Italian girl even though half the girls killed were Jewish. I find this to be very remiss on the part of the author.

The Lower East Side was a very crowded place to live. By the year 1900, the district was packed with more than 700 people per acre, making it the most crowded neighborhood on the planet. A typical tenement building occupied by Eastern European Jewish families might have consisted of three rooms where there lived a father, mother, twelve children, and six boarders. They sleep on the half-made clothing for beds.

I Googled the information about the huge Jewish Immigration to learn more about it and have shared some of what I have learned here.

Very very interesting

If you are a New Yorker you really need this book - it takes you through time of the most amazing city in the world! So much to learn... great listen

A 350 year old social autopsy of NYC

comprehensive and long-winded. I tolerated the length because Rutherford did so well weaving interesting characters and their histories together, and he took NYC from conception to 2001!

It's a hell of a town!

If you could sum up New York in three words, what would they be?

Sweeping historical epic set in the greatest city in the world. I did not want it to end.

Dorset

I love Edward Rutherfurd'sbseries of books still two to go. New York does not disappoint. I have enjoyed the fictional characters and the way the families developed into the future. I have learned so much about the real historical characters, they came alive. I think I have a very rounded picture of our early foundation. Excellent.

Absolutely phenomenal

Every aspect of this audio book is amazing. The story is beautifully written, the narration further brings the story to life...and New Yorks depth of history. Weaving fictional characters into real historical events will leave you with emotionally attached to these people and awed at the pain and joy families felt during fascinating times.

I'm legitimately depressed the book is over. If your interested in New York and it's history, you will not be disappointed. Wonderful book!