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Most Helpful Favorable Review
20 out of 20 people found this review helpful.
Masterful
I bought it while I was at the airport in London and couldn't put it down on the way back to the States. Just as engrossing as it is interesting, NEW YORK is hands down Rutherfurd's best novel. The characters are compelling and fascinating and the stories are deeply poi...Read More
I bought it while I was at the airport in London and couldn't put it down on the way back to the States. Just as engrossing as it is interesting, NEW YORK is hands down Rutherfurd's best novel. The characters are compelling and fascinating and the stories are deeply poignant. Truly a pleasure to read.Show Less
posted by QualityBooks on October 30, 2009
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Could have been so much better
As a new yorker I was interested in this book for obvious reasons. Unfortunately I was left disappointed. Too much of the book was written from a white old money perspective. The brief references to diverse cultures were hollow and left me feeling like I was reading an...Read More
As a new yorker I was interested in this book for obvious reasons. Unfortunately I was left disappointed. Too much of the book was written from a white old money perspective. The brief references to diverse cultures were hollow and left me feeling like I was reading an immigrants story from a white rich man's perspective. The author seemed to lose steam towards the end, but I can't blame him- writing 500 years of history is a monumental task. I found myself wishing the book would end already. This book had a lot of potential but fell flat, but i still think it was worth reading.Show Less
posted by annijojo on July 9, 2011
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QualityBooks
Posted October 30, 2009
I Also Recommend:
Masterful
I bought it while I was at the airport in London and couldn't put it down on the way back to the States. Just as engrossing as it is interesting, NEW YORK is hands down Rutherfurd's best novel. The characters are compelling and fascinating and the stories are deeply poignant. Truly a pleasure to read.
20 out of 20 people found this review helpful.
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Gripping, Thrilling, Touching - The best book I've read in a long time!
The problem I have with most new popular fiction is that it's either too sappy, too gory, or too boring and predictable. "New York-The Novel" kept me riveted throughout. Calling it "historical fiction" does not do it justice. It is a rich tapestry woven from several separate stories with intimate details of a series of people's lives as they cope with the challenges and moral dilemmas of their respective eras, from the Dutch fur trader living in early 1600s New Amsterdam, through several generations of his family as they experience the takeover by English merchants and slave traders, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, several waves of immigration,the Great Depression, all the way through to September 11, 2001 and beyond. The reader experiences firsthand what it was like to live in New York at various points over the last four centuries through the eyes of descendants of that first fur trader, as well as through the eyes of people whose ancestors first arrived in New York as slaves, as Irish,Italian,and Jewish immigrants, and as transplants from Puerto Rico. The various characters encounter a number of historical figures: from Benjamin Franklin and George Washington,to the Astors, the Vanderbilts and JP Morgan, to Louis Armstrong, to Rudy Giuliani.More importantly, in one way or another, the lives of all these richly drawn characters intertwine with members of the other families. Having been privy to the struggles of the modern day characters' great-great-great-great- grandparents, the reader often has an better understanding of what drives these individuals even more than they do themselves, and how much their triumphs really mean in the light of what prevous generations had to suffer through for them to be able to be what they are today. One reason some people avoid reading "historical fiction" is that they "already know what's going to happen". You know that the Redcoats will be coming. You know the stock market is going to crash.You know the Dodgers are going to leave for California. You know exactly what time the Towers are going to collapse. And yet..."New York-The Novel" manages to be suspenseful and thrilling, because you come to know and care about the characters, and what you DON'T know is what is going to happen to them as individuals as history inexorably marches on. Each character in their own way is flawed, and yet somehow, heroic. "New York-The Novel" will make you laugh, will make you cry, would make a great HBO miniseries, but beyond all that, it is the story of a city and the people that made it what it is today. After reading it, you will never look at the New York skyline, or Times Square, or Wall Street quite the same way again.
13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 9, 2009
Really enjoyed it
I had never read a Rutherfurd book before, but I was able to nab this new one on my way back from a business trip and found it to be really interesting. Very intelligently written and a great read. With all the news about Wall Street these days that you almost forget how amazing the history of New York City is. Would highly recommend picking it up--I'm planning on sending several out to the Christmas list.
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted December 28, 2009
Excellent Book...
Absolutely loved this book. If you into historical fiction, this one is for you. He is a great author. All of his books are just great.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Thorough History
This book is a wonderful look at the history of New York from its inception. As a history teacher, I knew the facts. Rutherford takes the facts and makes them interesting and even arresting. Some of the best historical fiction I have read recently.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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New York, author Edward Rutherfurd
I have just finished the novel New York by Edward Rutherfurd and as in each of Rutherfurds previous novels I found it to be enlightening, factual, as well as entertaining. As a student of History in my opinion Rutherfurd never fails to reveal so much factual History, that I was not aware of and then make the historical facts so much more entertaining with his cast of fictional charachter's which he intermingles with true historical figures of their time.
My first Rutherfurd Read was Sarum and that rendering caused me to become an addicted Edward Rutherfurd fan, and with the finish of each additional novel I am forced to suffer the wait until his next rendering. Please don't keep me waiting for very long Edward.3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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JonRH
Posted March 12, 2010
I Also Recommend:
New York: Sneaky History Lessons
Teachers always had to trick me into learning, especially if I thought I might have to work at absorbing the subject matter at hand. This tome (not nearly as scary as it sounds) by Edward Rutherford did an excellent job of this, simply by being rich in casual details. So many little things: early in the narrative, the author mentions that there is a farm on Manhattan owned by a man with the last name of Jonkers. We realize that, in Dutch, it would've been pronounced "Yonkers," and voila! We have the modern name, pronounced the same but with "updated" spelling, of that section of the present version of this grand city. We suddenly understand that we still have with us, in a sense, the original Jonkers farm. Pretty tricky! And the author did not beat me over the head with a sledge hammer to make the point. I was able to absorb the fact in passing, just as I was able to absorb the fact that this book is not about the individual (fictional) characters we meet, but about the sweep of history that this now uber-urban setting has behind it.
The book continues in this way, introducing new characters as they are born and following them in the format of a loose family tree stretching across the centuries of its development. And while you might expect the experience to be like watching Orson Welles's "Citizen Kane" followed by the interminable "Magnificent Ambersons" (award-winning though both those films be), it only feels that way if you try to treat the book like a beach novel meant to be read in the course of a single sunburn. Divided as it is into time-based chapters, the book is easy to put down, as necessary, and pick up again without losing the thread. Thus, the episodic nature of the subject is easily assimilated in short doses over time. No need to sunburn at all.
In a way, you might liken the experience to reading a public television series, but far more convenient. You will come out of it knowing more than you realize about the US's grandest city and how it came to be that way. By the time you finish this book, it will be entirely logical and sensible that a backwater, swampy island worth but a pile of beads layed out by early explorer-settlers in the 16th century became the most revered (and feared and hated) metropolis in the entire world by the 20th century.2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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MissyWeeze
Posted February 20, 2010
Must Read
I have not finished "New York," but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am relearning some of the history I've forgotten through the eyes of well-drawn characters. The thoughtfulness and research done by Edward Rutherfurd in his books is awesome.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Horray for New York
Great read with old fashioned page turning. What a wonderful read for a cold, winter night...the only problem it is hard to put down. I didn't like London, but I loved New York. Maybe, because I'm a New Yorker but for those who aren't, what a great introduction to the greatest city.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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hopingforchange
Posted January 2, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Worth the read
I first learned of this book on The Daily Beast's Hot Books of the Week feature- having never read any of Rutherford's other books I wasn't sure what to expect. I admit I had a hard time getting started on this book and actually started it, put it aside, read a couple of other books and then came back to it. I am certainly glad I picked it up again and had the opportunity to read this book. I thought it was wonderful. My only complaint is that the attention paid to all the different time periods was a bit uneven- Rutherford devoted a great deal of time to the early eras of New York but as the book wound down it seems that the latter eras were not explored as thoroughly but overall I would have to say this was one of my favorite books of the year.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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lhr
Posted December 20, 2009
Excellent historical fiction.
As are other books I've read by this author, this book is easy to read, engaging and a fun way to learn some background about an area. The fictional characters mix the the historical seamlessly. An excellent way to spend some time.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 9, 2012
Good, but not Russka, Sarum, or London
Good read, but in my opinion not as compelling or as well researched as his other stellar books. Grant at Gettysburg? Wow, the editors were asleep on that one
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted February 5, 2012
Awesome? AWESOME
A page turner i loved it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2012
An absolute delight!
Fun epic novel about NY City from the first settlements to present day. Rutherford is at his storytelling best with this one.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted December 28, 2011
Loved the book
I have only been to New York twice but am going again soon. It was nice to read about the history of New York in a fiction setting i liked how he intertwined the characters over the years.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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chaussie
Posted August 16, 2011
Highly Recommended
If you like history, you should enjoy this book. The only problem is that the author should have put a family "tree" in the front of the book. If you did put the book down for awhile, you had a tendency to forget the relationship of the character and the past.
A super book!1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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KozyKorner
Posted August 6, 2011
Highly Recommend
Excellent Book, Historic in a lot of places, but a couple of fictional families for the story line.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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9276216
Posted August 4, 2011
Great book
Slow read if you want to take it all in, overall good read though.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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annijojo
Posted July 9, 2011
Could have been so much better
As a new yorker I was interested in this book for obvious reasons. Unfortunately I was left disappointed. Too much of the book was written from a white old money perspective. The brief references to diverse cultures were hollow and left me feeling like I was reading an immigrants story from a white rich man's perspective. The author seemed to lose steam towards the end, but I can't blame him- writing 500 years of history is a monumental task. I found myself wishing the book would end already. This book had a lot of potential but fell flat, but i still think it was worth reading.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Amazing, if you love New York...
From the very first page to the last, a totally engrossing mix of actual history along with a story to a few families whose lives had been entwined through out the decades. I live near Manhattan, so I found this book to be so informative, made me say to myself "So thats how it got it's name" A wonderful read, so happy I had taken the opportunity to read this one.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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