Greater Gotham
Unlike its hefty prequel published in 1999, Greater Gotham by Mike Wallace gives us an in-depth look at a city we can nearly recognize, with five consolidated boroughs and many of the same characteristics as the metropolis we know today. This social, cultural and political history spans tycoons, Tammany Hall and the city’s seedy underbelly of gangsters and vice, from 1898 to 1919. Readers should keep an eye open for some of the big public debates that remain extant today, like those on policing or social welfare policies.
Photo: Broadway and Herald Square, New York City, 1911 / Wallach Public Picture Collection, The New York Public Library