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Aronson, Marc

Four Streets and a Square: A History of Manhattan and the New York Idea

440 pp. | Candlewick | November, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-7636-5137-4 $29.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5362-0593-0 $29.99
(2) YA "New York is alive. I mean alive like an ecosystem," as demonstrated by ­Aronson in this "biography" of Manhattan. With meticulous detail and an innovative format, he presents four hundred years of Manhattan's history, where the diversity of its population is the engine for innovation and evolution. For the years 1600–1898, he explores the development of the Wall Street and Union Square areas; the twentieth century adds 42nd Street, 125th Street, and West 4th Street. Each section provides "a window into times and places where the intense forces of city life gave birth to thrilling new expressions of human creativity." Aronson explores such topics as the Munsee settlements prior to the arrival of Europeans, the American Revolution, the city's reliance on the slave economy at the onset of the Civil War, immigration, and the skyward development of the city. Art and music play big roles, and the design of the book supports an effective presentation: when an icon of a screen appears in the margins, readers can go to the author's website for multimedia resources. Linked music includes cantors singing at synagogue services, ragtime bands, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Other icons lead to digital texts and resources created by historians. Abundant archival photographs and brief photo-essays, maps, and timelines add to the rich presentation. Consider this Aronson's four-hundred-plus-page love letter to his hometown. Back matter includes an author's note, extensive source notes, and a bibliography.
Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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