New York: An Illustrated History

A revised and expanded edition of the landmark, ravishing history of New York City-the companion volume to the acclaimed PBS series-that begins in 1624 and brings its 400-year-long story up to the current moment.

This edition of the biography of this great and ever-evolving city includes two new chapters that deliver a sweeping portrait of New York since September 11, 2001. Here is the city at the dawn of the 21st century, having emerged from decades of decline to assert its place at the very center of a new globalized culture. Yet, here too is a city challenged-indeed, sometimes shaken to its core-by a series of profound crises- the aftermath of 9/11, the continual struggle with racial injustice, the financial crisis of 2008, the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, the still unfolding cataclysm of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also brought up to date in the new chapters is the lively portrait of the city’s vibrant street life and culture- the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Gates in Central Park, the celebrated Broadway musicals and songs, the explosion in location filmmaking, the pivotal rise of the tech industry, and so much more.

The history of this city-especially in the tumultuous and transformative two decades covered by the new chapters-is an epic story of rebirth and growth, of dramatic physical and economic change and exploding cultural energy, intertwined with staggering episodes of catastrophe and challenge. It is the story of an incomparable place, told in an incomparable book.