The Island at the Center of the World

Posted by Roy Tomeij | Filed under Book

I wonder why I didn’t blog about this excellent book earlier. I read it in 2005 I think, and when I go to New York (never been there, but it’s on my list of places to go asap) this is what I will read during the flight.

Russell Shorto wrote “The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America” as a “non-fiction novel”; it’s a mixture of facts and imagination, but the latter never on the expense of the other. Some things are just unknown and the blanks need to be filled to be able to grasp the atmosphere of New Amsterdam (current day Manhattan) and New Netherland. This makes it a both educational and yet highly entertaining read, specially if you’re from The Netherlands like me. Daily, I come across the very spot Henry Hudson set sail from to discover Manhattan. I used to bike past the building where the “Dutch West India Company” decided to settle at the island, and therefor founded New York City.

Shorto provides a great story, based on well documented research, which makes you understand why New York City is the melting pot it is today (and as it turns out has always been). The atmosphere and liberal views in NYC can be traced back to the Dutch colonial days.

I highly recommend the book, which might be the best history book I have read, to everyone interested in New York City and/or Dutch colonial history. Everyone who still believes the English turned the colony into something of importance, should keep in mind that that story has always been told by the same biased English and read the book.

If you’re Dutch and visiting NYC, I suggest reading this book on the way over. I have lent the book to two people who decided to follow my advice, and they didn’t regret it. If I had to award stars, it would be 5 out of 5.

Note: I read the Dutch version of the book. Normally I don’t read translations (if the original is in English at least), but the book has quite a few quotes from old, Dutch sources. For the translation they used the original Dutch quotes, instead of translating the English ones (which were translated from Dutch, still with me?). As a Dutchman, I figured it would be best to read the originals.

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Permalink | January 22nd, 2009

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