Carpenter, Teresa, editor. New York Diaries: 1609-2009. New York, NY: Modern Library, 2012.
Carpenter weaves together diary entries, official records and notes from datebooks spanning 400 years into a rich, unorthodox, and very human history of New York City.
Chopra, Ruma. Unnatural Rebellion: Loyalists in 
New York City during the Revolution. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2011.
We recently discovered this excellent, thorough account of a subject not commonly addressed—Americans who were loyal to the Crown and stayed in British-controlled New York City during the war. It is a textured, perceptive study of the varied reasons for opposing the revolution and the loyalists’ ultimate disillusionment with the English government.
Davis, Marni. Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition. New York, NY:New York University Press, 2012.
Another round to our bibliography on Prohibition. Despite the humorous title, this book is a serious exploration of Jews in the liquor business. Before Prohibition, the trade in whiskey was a way for immigrants to integrate into the culture. The Jewish community largely opposed and defied the ban and sold liquor on principle and because of its ancient role in Jewish rituals, thus engendering ethnic stereotypes and anti-Semitism.
Steinberg, Nicole, Editor. Forgotten Borough: Writers Come to Terms with Queens. Albany, NY: State University of Albany Press, 2012.
Twenty-two emerging writers who lived in Queens are featured here—a rare literary nod to the oft overlooked borough.
