Synopses & Reviews
Visit the blog for the book at
www.brooklynbyname.comFrom Bedford-Stuyvesant to Williamsburg, Brooklyn's historic names are emblems of American culture and history. Uncovering the remarkable stories behind the landmarks, Brooklyn By Name takes readers on a stroll through the streets and places of this thriving metropolis to reveal the boroughs textured past.
Listing more than 500 of Brooklyns most prominent place names, organized alphabetically by region, and richly illustrated with photographs and current maps the book captures the diverse threads of American history. We learn about the Canarsie Indians, the region's first settlers, whose language survives in daily traffic reports about the Gowanus Expressway. The arrival of the Dutch West India Company in 1620 brought the first wave of European names, from Boswijck (“town in the woods,” later Bushwick) to Bedford-Stuyvesant, after the controversial administrator of the Dutch colony, to numerous places named after prominent Dutch families like the Bergens.
The English takeover of the area in 1664 led to the Anglicization of Dutch names, (vlackebos, meaning “wooded plain,” became Flatbush) and the introduction of distinctively English names (Kensington, Brighton Beach). A century later the American Revolution swept away most Tory monikers, replacing them with signers of the Declaration of Independence and international figures who supported the revolution such as Lafayette (France), De Kalb (Germany), and Kosciuszko (Poland). We learn too of the dark corners of Brooklyn“s past, encountering over 70 streets named for prominent slaveholders like Lefferts and Lott but none for its most famous abolitionist, Walt Whitman.
From the earliest settlements to recent commemorations such as Malcolm X Boulevard, Brooklyn By Name tells the tales of the poets, philosophers, baseball heroes, diplomats, warriors, and saints who have left their imprint on this polyethnic borough that was once almost disastrously renamed “New York East.”
Ideal for all Brooklynites, newcomers, and visitors, this book includes:
*Over 500 entries explaining the colorful history of Brooklyn's most prominent place names
*Over 100 vivid photographs of Brooklyn past and present
*9 easy to follow and up-to-date maps of the neighborhoods
*Informative sidebars covering topics like Ebbets Field, Lindsay Triangle, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
*Covers all neighborhoods, easily find the street you're on
Review
"Wilder explores cultural expression with and through African societies in New York City. . . . He follows them from their origin, through their heyday, to their decline as capitalist culture overwhelmed the voluntary tradition." - Book News
Review
"In the historiography on blacks in the colonial and antebellum periods, Craig Steven Wilder's In the Company of Black Men stands out as one of the finest works of scholarship in the last decade." - Journal of American Ethnic History
Review
"In the historiography on blacks in the colonial and antebellum periods, Craig Steven Wilder's In the Company of Black Men stands out as one of the finest works of scholarship in the last decade." - Journal of American Ethnic History
Review
“Though stony the road they trod, a small band of men developed and passed on an ethos of mutuality and collectivism brought from Africa. America owes a great debt to those men, and scholars owe a great debt to Craig Wilder, who has combined vast research and keen intelligence to tell their story. Wilder’s work will force a new look at a familiar landscape. Imagine—an African city at the base of the Hudson!”
“In this groundbreaking and superbly written work Craig Wilder provides a gendered and richly textured discussion of the African origins of black political consciousness and moral traditions in the United States. Through a skillful comparative discussion of African associations in North America, the Caribbean, Brazil and Africa he demonstrates the connections between African systems of values and beliefs, masculinity and the black public sphere. This book is essential reading in African American history, Diaspora studies and American studies.”
“A beautifully researched, subtly argued exploration of the moral and intellectual life of New York’s African American community in its first two hundred years. As Wilder shows how African societies provided a foundation for black religion, politics, and cultural institutions, he opens a new window on New York history. We hear the voice and aspirations of black New Yorkers as we have never heard them before. Written with verve, In the Company of Black Men repeatedly rewards its readers with fresh insights and provocative arguments that leaves one thinking long after it has been set aside.”
“Wilder explores cultural expression with and through African societies in New York City. . . . He follows them from their origin, through their heyday, to their decline as capitalist culture overwhelmed the voluntary tradition.”
“In the historiography on blacks in the colonial and antebellum periods, Craig Steven Wilder”s In the Company of Black Men stands out as one of the finest works of scholarship in the last decade.”
Review
“Fascinating morsels of Brooklyn history. . . . An entertaining, breezy compilation for the NYU Press, perfect for reading down at Coney, up on tar beach, or out on your shady front stoop this summer. . . . So if you wanna know how Dead Horse Bay, Sheepshead Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, Smith St. Carroll Gardens, Juniors Restaurant, Green-Wood Cemetery, Gilmore Court or the Riegelmann Boardwalk got their names, grab a copy of Brooklyn by Name.”
-New York Daily News,
Review
“Information is well presented and well illustrated—both factors making this guide easy on the eye. Hardly a location is left unexplored in this fascinating, indispensable guide to a borough undeservedly in Manhattan's shadow.”
-Booklist,
Review
“Witty, occasionally irreverent and always engaging, Brooklyn by Name takes readers from the six independent towns that once comprised Breuckelen to the modern metropolis. Weiss and Benardo have uncovered surprising data and have woven a compulsively readable narrative. Pick it up, rifle through, and find out about—or be reminded of—the underpinnings of our borough's heritage.”
-The Brooklyn Rail,
Review
“This book is an essential companion for anyone teaching about Brooklyn, for anyone writing about the borough, and for tour guide people. Benardo and Weiss have to be pleased with their product, and clearly should be congratulated.”
-Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
Review
“Brooklyn streets, parks and sites are dripping with history, and husband-and-wife team Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss have hung them all out to dry in their dictionary of street smarts, Brooklyn By Name.”
-Brooklyn Papers,
Synopsis
Traces the development of African-American community traditions over three centuries
From the subaltern assemblies of the enslaved in colonial New York City to the benevolent New York African Society of the early national era to the formation of the African Blood Brotherhood in twentieth century Harlem, voluntary associations have been a fixture of African-American communities.
In the Company of Black Men examines New York City over three centuries to show that enslaved Africans provided the institutional foundation upon which African-American religious, political, and social culture could flourish. Arguing that the universality of the voluntary tradition in African-American communities has its basis in collectivism--a behavioral and rhetorical tendency to privilege the group over the individual--it explores the institutions that arose as enslaved Africans exploited the potential for group action and mass resistance.
Craig Steven Wilder's research is particularly exciting in its assertion that Africans entered the Americas equipped with intellectual traditions and sociological models that facilitated a communitarian response to oppression. Presenting a dramatic shift from previous work which has viewed African-American male associations as derivative and imitative of white male counterparts, In the Company of Black Men provides a ground-breaking template for investigating antebellum black institutions.
Synopsis
From the subaltern assemblies of the enslaved in colonial New York City to the benevolent New York African Society of the early national era to the formation of the African Blood Brotherhood in twentieth century Harlem, voluntary associations have been a fixture of African-American communities.
In the Company of Black Men examines New York City over three centuries to show that enslaved Africans provided the institutional foundation upon which African-American religious, political, and social culture could flourish. Arguing that the universality of the voluntary tradition in African-American communities has its basis in collectivism—a behavioral and rhetorical tendency to privilege the group over the individual—it explores the institutions that arose as enslaved Africans exploited the potential for group action and mass resistance.
Craig Steven Wilders research is particularly exciting in its assertion that Africans entered the Americas equipped with intellectual traditions and sociological models that facilitated a communitarian response to oppression. Presenting a dramatic shift from previous work which has viewed African-American male associations as derivative and imitative of white male counterparts, In the Company of Black Men provides a ground-breaking template for investigating antebellum black institutions.
Synopsis
From the subaltern assemblies of the enslaved in colonial New York City to the benevolent New York African Society of the early national era to the formation of the African Blood Brotherhood in twentieth century Harlem, voluntary associations have been a fixture of African-American communities.
In the Company of Black Men examines New York City overthree centuries to show that enslaved Africans provided the institutional foundation upon which African-American religious, political, and social culture could flourish. Arguing that the universality of the voluntary tradition in African-American communities has its basis in collectivisma behavioral and rhetorical tendency to privilege the group over the individualit explores the institutions that arose as enslaved Africans exploited the potential for group action and mass resistance.
Craig Steven Wilder's research is particularly exciting in its assertion that Africans entered the Americas equipped with intellectual traditions and sociological models that facilitated a communitarian response to oppression. Presenting a dramatic shift from previous work which has viewed African-American male associations as derivative and imitative of white male counterparts, In the Company of Black Men provides a ground-breaking template for investigating antebellum black institutions.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
About the Author
Leonard Benardo is a former weekly columnist for the
Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Jennifer Weiss has written for New York Newsday and The Washington Post and is co-editor of Eldercare in New York: A Consumer's Guide to Long-Term Health Care. The authors live together in Brooklyn.