A history of New York in 101 objects

by Roberts, Sam, 1947-

Format: Print Book 2014
Availability: Available at 2 Libraries 2 of 2 copies
Available (2)
Location Collection Call #
CLP - Main Library Mezzanine - Non-fiction F128.3.R63 2014
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Mezzanine - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  F128.3.R63 2014
 
 
Northland Public Library Nonfiction 974.7 R54
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  974.7 R54
 
 
Summary
The vibrant story of America's great metropolis, told through 101 distinctive objects that span the history of New York, all reproduced in luscious, full color.

A wooden water barrel and an elevator brake. A Checker taxicab and a conductor's baton. An oyster and a mastodon tusk. Inspired by A History of the World in 100 Objects , The New York Times' Sam Roberts chose fifty objects that embody the narrative of New York for a feature article in the paper. Many more suggestions came from readers, and so Roberts has expanded the list to 101. Here are just a few of what this keepsake volume offers:

· The Flushing Remonstrance, a 1657 petition for religious freedom that was a precursor to the First Amendment to the Constitution.
· Beads from the African Burial Ground, 1700s. Slavery was legal in New York until 1827, although many free blacks lived in the city. The African Burial Ground closed in 1792 and was only recently rediscovered.
· The bagel, early 1900s. The quintessential and undisputed New York food (excepting perhaps the pizza).
· The Automat vending machine, 1912. Put a nickel in the slot and get a cup of coffee or a piece of pie. It was the early twentieth century version of fast food.
· The "I Love NY" logo designed by Milton Glaser in 1977 for a campaign to increase tourism. Along with Saul Steinberg's famous New Yorker cover depicting a New Yorker's view of the world, it was perhaps the most famous and most frequently reproduced graphic symbol of the time.

Unique, sometimes whimsical, always important, A History of New York in 101 Objects is a beautiful chronicle of the remarkable history of the Big Apple that will enrich your mind and rekindle memories.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Delineating a subject's history in so many objects is not a new concept. Roberts uses as his model the British Museum's History of the World in 100 Objects. An outgrowth of a column in the New York Times that solicited readers' opinions, this profusely illustrated book constitutes an anecdotal take on the city's history. Although New York lends itself to this approach, and Roberts (Grand Central, 2013, about Manhattan's iconic train station) knows and loves his subject, it amounts finally to a novelty, though an entertaining one. While he departs from his definition of object as not much bigger than a breadbox by discussing the city's bedrock Fordham gneiss and Manhattan schist, he sticks to his criteria that the objects be enduring and transformative, even if only a bagel or a spaldeen, and proceeds more or less chronologically. There have been (in the Times) and will continue to be (in response to Roberts' request for them) new offerings and ongoing disagreement about the items listed; that is the fun with books of this sort. So enjoy it; anybody can play. (This reviewer would add pastrami on rye and, surely, Cel-Ray soda.)--Levine, Mark Copyright 2014 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Additional Information
Subjects New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Miscellanea.
Publisher New York :Simon & Schuster,2014
Edition First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Other Titles History of New York in one hundred one objects
Language English
Description 308 pages : illistrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm
ISBN 9781476728773
1476728771
Other Classic View