The Rise and Fall of Protestant Brooklyn

An American Story

By: Stuart M. Blumin, Glenn C. Altschuler

Narrated by: James McSorley

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Rise and Fall of Protestant Brooklyn, Stuart M. Blumin and Glenn C. Altschuler tell the story of 19th-century Brooklyn's domination by upper- and middle-class Protestants with roots in Puritan New England. This lively history describes the unraveling of the control they wielded as more ethnically diverse groups moved into the "City of Churches" during the 20th century.

Before it became a prime American example of urban ethnic diversity, Brooklyn was a lovely and salubrious "town across the river" from Manhattan, celebrated for its churches and upright suburban living. But challenges to this way of life issued from the sheer growth of the city, from new secular institutionsdepartment stores, theaters, professional baseballand from the licit and illicit attractions of Coney Island, all of which were at odds with post-Puritan piety and behavior.

Despite these developments, the Yankee-Protestant hegemony largely held until the massive influx of Southern and Eastern European immigrants in the twentieth century. As The Rise and Fall of Protestant Brooklyn demonstrates, in their churches, synagogues, and other communal institutions, and on their neighborhood streets, the new Brooklynites established the ethnic mosaic that laid the groundwork for the theory of cultural pluralism, giving it a central place within the American Creed

The book is published by Cornell University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"A well-told tale: lively and persuasive." (Deborah Dash Moore, author of Jewish New York)

"An important and fascinating book...an instant classic of New York City history" (Clifton Hood, author of In Pursuit of Privilege)

"Anyone interested in history will be fascinated with The Rise and Fall of Protestant." (Martin Lemelman, author of Two Cents Plain)

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