Russell Shorto

Author: The Island at the Center of the World; Amsterdam; Smalltime. Director of the New Amsterdam Project at New-York Historical Society.

Articles

The Dutch Roots of American Liberty – John O. McGinnis

2 weeks ago | lawliberty.org | Russell Shorto |John O. McGinnis |Titus Techera |Graham McAleer

The most successful city in the world is named after Britain’s most abject failure as a monarch. By the time he was overthrown after three short years on the throne, James II, previously the Duke of York, was a symbol of intolerance, trying to impose Roman Catholicism by decree against the popular wishes of a largely Protestant nation.
"Taking Manhattan" Author Russell Shorto on the Slave Who Settled in Greenwich Village

2 weeks ago | airmail.news | Russell Shorto

More than a few people have observed that the most finely wrought character in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown—even more exquisite than Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan or Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez—is the 1960s Greenwich Village of production designer François Audouy. Like great Hollywood actors, New York City neighborhoods move through phases as they age, yet manage to retain their primordial nature.
Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America

4 weeks ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Russell Shorto

“As New York goes, so goes the nation” is more than a Big Apple brag. It’s the bellwether of the country, highlighted by the city that takes bold initiatives and establishes the national pulse. Some might dispute that point today, but Russell Shorto makes a persuasive argument for it in his eighth book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America.
On the Colonial Power Struggle That Would Give Birth to the City of New York

1 month ago | lithub.com | Russell Shorto

New York is all about water. Article continues after advertisementReasonable people may disagree with this assertion. Surely New York is about trade, finance, power. Fashion, food, art, media, design. Fusions and factions. Wall Street and Broadway. Skyscrapers and boroughs. Yes, but water flows beneath and around all of these. If the coastline of the New York Harbor region were stretched out, it would be longer than the state of California.
America's fatal division is nothing new: It was baked in from the beginning

1 month ago | salon.com | Russell Shorto

For much of our history Americans have been enchanted by a fable of their own invention: that we are one people, that “America” means more or less the same thing to us all. If it has done nothing else, the political turmoil of the past decade has revealed the hollowness of that notion. In fact, polarization is fused into the very foundation of the American project.
America's fatal division is nothing new: It was baked in from the beginning

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Russell Shorto

17 hours agoTrump’s Canadian tariffs are having a chilling effect on Vermont’s small business ownersPresident Donald Trump's tariff rhetoric against Canada has only started to heat up, but Vermont's small businesses are already feeling some pain. A …11 hours agoViral Video Shows Bobcat Going Bananas Over a BoxWhat kitty cat doesn’t love a good box? Even bobcats love them, apparently.
How New York Got Its Name: A Tale of Adventure and Betrayal with Russell Shorto

1 month ago | boweryboyshistory.com | Greg Young |New Amsterdam |Peter Stuyvesant |Russell Shorto

It’s one of the most foundational questions we could ever ask on this show — how did New York City get its name? You may know that the English conquered the Dutch settlement of New Netherland (and its port town of New Amsterdam) in 1664, but the details of this history-making day have remained hazy — until now. Russell Shorto brought the world of New Amsterdam and the early years before New York to life in his classic history The Island At The Center of The World.
TAKING MANHATTAN

2 months ago | kirkusreviews.com | Russell Shorto |David Grann |Howard Zinn

Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil. During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited.
What to Read About Housing this Year

Jan 8, 2025 | thephiladelphiacitizen.org | Diana Lind |Russell Shorto |Ezra Klein

Do Something These titles are available in The New Urban Order bookshop, and via bookshop.org, where you can select your favorite local independent bookstore to receive the proceeds from your purchase.
History’s greatest cities: Amsterdam

Jul 21, 2023 | historyextra.com | Russell Shorto |Paul Bloomfield

In episode four of our series exploring the sights and stories of Europe’s most fascinating, enduring and historic destinations, travel journalist Paul Bloomfield is joined by author and journalist Russell Shorto for a jaunt around Amsterdam. Together they highlight the lesser-known stories of the Dutch capital, from its marshy foundations to its medieval mercantile pomp and subsequent trading golden age.