Synopses & Reviews
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, New York City was an undistinguished town, competing with Philadelphia and Boston to be America's dominant port city. Just two generations later, it had built itself into the country's powerhouse center of trade and finance, rivaled only by London as financial capital of the world. In andlt;Iandgt;Capital City,andlt;/Iandgt; Thomas Kessner tells the story of this remarkable transformation. andlt;BRandgt; With the advantages of its famous harbor and the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, New York became the chief commercial center for the growing nation. As the shipping industry prospered, capital accumulated, and a growing banking center emerged, New York went on to finance the Union cause during the Civil War, open the West to development, and consolidate the national railroad system. The city's energy and opportunity attracted ambitious men from all over the country whose names became synonymous with big business: Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan. New York's banks set the interest rates for the nation, its stock exchange fixed the price of securities, its investors transformed American business from family-owned enterprises into modern corporations, and its growing political clout catapulted public figures, such as Samuel Tilden and Teddy Roosevelt, onto the national stage. andlt;BRandgt; Combining political and urban history with a colorful cast of characters, andlt;Iandgt;Capital Cityandlt;/Iandgt; chronicles how Gotham's Gilded Age reshaped the metropolis and the nation as it molded our present-day economy.
Review
Mike Wallace co-author of The Pulitzer Prize-winner andlt;Iandgt;Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898andlt;/Iandgt; Graceful and lucid.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/Iandgt; In andlt;Iandgt;Capital City,andlt;/Iandgt; Kessner has achieved for his subject what James McPherson accomplished for the CIvil War.
Review
Mike Wallace
co-author of The Pulitzer Prize-winner Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898
Graceful and lucid.
Review
David Nasaw author of andlt;Iandgt;The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearstandlt;/Iandgt; New York, New York: what a wonderful town - and an even better story, as told by Thomas Kessner in andlt;Iandgt;Capital City.andlt;/Iandgt;
Review
Kenneth T. Jackson editor of andlt;Iandgt;The Encyclopedia of New York Cityandlt;/Iandgt; Thomas Kessner has triumphed again in showing us how the past can help us understand the present.
Review
The Wall Street Journal In Capital City, Kessner has achieved for his subject what James McPherson accomplished for the CIvil War.
Review
David Nasaw author of The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst New York, New York: what a wonderful town - and an even better story, as told by Thomas Kessner in Capital City.
Review
Mike Wallace co-author of The Pulitzer Prize-winner Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 Graceful and lucid.
Review
Kenneth T. Jackson editor of The Encyclopedia of New York City Thomas Kessner has triumphed again in showing us how the past can help us understand the present.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Thomas Kessnerandlt;/Bandgt; is professor of history at the Graduate School of the City University of New York. He is the author of andlt;Iandgt;Fiorello H. LaGuardia and the Making of Modern New York,andlt;/Iandgt; and the recipient of many awards and prizes for research and teaching. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Table of Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 1andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Foundations: Licking Up the Cream of Commerce and Finance of a Continentandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 2andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;New York's Napoleonandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 3andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Rottenness in New York Will Ultimately Destroy Itandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 4andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Fall and Rise of the New York Economyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 5andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Shaping Modern Capitalismandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter 6andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Age of Morganandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index