Brooklyn Heights: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of America's First Suburb

by Robert Furman, Brian Merlis (Contributor)

Settled in the 1600s, Brooklyn Heights is one of New York s most historic neighborhoods. Its strategic location overlooking the harbor proved instrumental during the Revolutionary War s Battle of Brooklyn. In the 1830s, steam ferries transformed it into America s first suburb, where abolitionism flourished and one of the largest Civil War Sanitary Fairs was held. Throughout the nineteenth century, wealthy philanthropists and entrepreneurs built high-styled Gothic Revival and Italianate homes and founded many landmark Brooklyn institutions. Though the neighborhood declined with the new century, it became a target of Robert Moses s urban renewal projects in the 1930s. Its designation as the city s first historic district saved Brooklyn Heights, and it has since blossomed into one of the city s most desirable neighborhoods.
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Genres: History

482 pages, Hardcover

First published July 13, 2015

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, a jumbled overview of Brooklyn heights. I enjoyed some of the stories and facts, and loved the inclusion of pictures, but found this very difficult to finish. The book feels like a travel guide or brochure with the way the sections are split up. There are repeated facts/anecdotes in various chapters, which I suppose is useful if you are only reading a few chapters rather than the entire book. 


Editorially, it would have been nice to have the chapter titles at the top of the pages, and to have had the figure numbers continue throughout rather than start back at one in each chapter.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just started this but it is an incredibly exhaustive and well researched book that truly tells the entire tale of Brooklyn and its history - from 10,000 BC to present day. It also talks about Manhattan as well and well worth a read by anyone who is interested in the history of New York.

[Michael Pellagatti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read; although I think Robert Furman understates how dangerous Robert Moses was to New York's overall social fabric.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info, but hard to refer back to other photos since book title is the only thing at the top of a page.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting and fun to learn how my neighborhood has evolved, however the book is very dense and took a while to get through

[Teo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I live here and tried. Just not something i look forward to picking up at the end of the day.