Synopses & Reviews
Winner, The New York Public Library, Best of Reference Award, 2002
If any city deserves a complete chronology, it is surely New York. New York, Year by Year is a cornucopia of the familiar and the forgotten, the historic and the ephemeral, the heroic and the banal. In this handy reference work, Jeffrey A. Kroessler takes us from Verrazano's arrival in 1524 into the new millennium, highlighting the strikes and strikeouts, tunnels and towers, personalities and parades which not only made history in New York, but also proved to be defining moments for the nation.
New York, Year by Year features events such as Mark Twain's first lecture at Cooper Union, and the letter he later wrote when the Brooklyn Public Library tried to restrict access to Huckleberry Finn. In contrast, we are reminded of the publication in the 1950s of Eloise, A Book for Precocious Grown-Ups, Kay Thompson's fanciful tale of a little girl's adventures in the Plaza Hotel, the appearance of the Beat Generation, and the flight (literally) of the Dodgers and Giants to California. New York, Year by Year chronicles the opening of Shea Stadium in April 1964 and the performance by the Beatles there that August. The Sixties also saw the opening of The Fantastiks, which is still running on Sullivan Street, and the closing of Steeplechase, the last of the great amusement parks at Coney Island. And this chronology makes sure we don't forget when Kitty Genovese was murdered in Kew Gardens and her cries for help were left unanswered because her neighbors "didn't want to get involved." Kroessler leads us on a tour of the city from its first settlers until the November 2001 election of a new mayor for the new millennium.
From the colonial era and the Revolution through the Gilded Age and the Roaring Twenties, Kroessler has compiled a record of cultural, economic, political, and social events. Some are of transient importance, others of lasting significance, but all illuminate the city's fascinating history.
Review
"A fascinating social history of women's rights, centered on a lengthy and discouraging series of constitutional confrontations .... a remarkably complete accounting of a historical trail that shape us all .... Law, Gender, and Injustice is an elegant example of the very best in feminist theorizing." - Patricia J. Williams, Women's Review of Books
"A fascinating social history of women's rights, centered on a lengthy and discouraging series of constitutional confrontations .... a remarkably complete accounting of a historical trail that shape us all .... Law, Gender, and Injustice is an elegant example of the very best in feminist theorizing."
"Requisite for establishing women's legal history as a field. . . . Hoff's work is pivotal for both its conceptualization of the issues and its periodization of the field. . . . In contending with law as it was as well as with law as it is and ought to be, Hoff not only synthesizes recent scholarship, but she also charts new territory especially with regard to a chronological framework."
"Joan Hoff's legal history of U.S. women is a provocative, comprehensive, and realistic reinterpretation of women's legal status during the entire period of U.S. history. The book is sure to stimulate controversial reassessments of women's experience with the legal system."
"A brilliant, original, and thought-provoking book must reading for anyone interested in the full emancipation of women."
Review
"Requisite for establishing women's legal history as a field. . . . Hoff's work is pivotal for both its conceptualization of the issues and its periodization of the field. . . . In contending with law as it was as well as with law as it is and ought to be, Hoff not only synthesizes recent scholarship, but she also charts new territory especially with regard to a chronological framework." - Norma Basch, The Journal of Women's History
Review
"Joan Hoff's legal history of U.S. women is a provocative, comprehensive, and realistic reinterpretation of women's legal status during the entire period of U.S. history. The book is sure to stimulate controversial reassessments of women's experience with the legal system." - Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
Review
"A brilliant, original, and thought-provoking book must reading for anyone interested in the full emancipation of women." - Ms. Magazine
Review
“A fresh, endlessly fascinating perspective on the history of New York. The scholarship is serious, but the chronology is as fun as it is informative. Covering all boroughs, entries enrich the experience of the city for all who will explore its pages. One can thumb it forever.”-Thomas Bender,Director, International Center for Advanced Studies, New York University
Review
“For those who care about New York City and its history—and who doesn't these days?—New York, Year by Year is a rare treat. . . . a richly detailed, scrupulously researched reference book that is accessible, informative, accurate, and a great deal of fun.”-David Nasaw,author of The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Review
"Here is a fascinating chronological history of New York City from 1524-2001, looking at the people, building, institutions, political events, music and businesses that helped shape the city."-Booklist,
Review
"The entries are well written and cover a broad range of topics, including political, social, and cultural, and the reader often cannot help but utter, 'I didn't know that.'"-ARBA online,
Review
"[Kroessler] does a fine job of chronicling the city's past, incorporating both little-known, flash-in-the-pan nuggest as well as far-reaching, recurring themes."-Queens Chronicle,
Synopsis
A groundbreaking analysis of how gendered oppression is written into the American legal system
Law, Gender, and Injustice: A Legal History of U.S. Woman is a landmark study of how women remain second-class citizens under the current legal system. In this widely acclaimed book, Joan Hoff questions whether the continued pursuit of equality based on a one-size-fits-all vision of traditional individual rights is really what will most improve conditions for women in America. Concluding that equality based on liberal male ideology is no longer an adequate framework for improving women's legal status, Hoff's highly original and incisive volume calls for a demystification of legal doctrine and a reinterpretation of legal texts (including the Constitution) to create a feminist jurisprudence.
Synopsis
In this widely acclaimed landmark study, Joan Hoff illustrates how women remain second- class citizens under the current legal system and questions whether the continued pursuit of equality based on a one-size-fits-all vision of traditional individual rights is really what will most improve conditions for women in America as they prepare for the twenty-first century. Concluding that equality based on liberal male ideology is no longer an adequate framework for improving women's legal status, Hoff's highly original and incisive volume calls for a demystification of legal doctrine and a reinterpretation of legal texts (including the Constitution) to create a feminist jurisprudence.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (489-507) and index.
About the Author
Jeffrey A. Kroessler is a contributor to The Encyclopedia of New York City, and the author of Lighting the Way: The Queens Borough Public Library, 1896-1996. He received his Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate is currently the historian at the Archives and Special Collections in the Library of the College of Staten Island.