Brooklyn

Reviews

"Finalist for the On the Brinck Book Awards, The University of New Mexico" "A lively biography of New York's second borough. . . . Teeming with information, this is a must-read for fans of urban history." "Every writer knows that there's inherent drama in an underdog story. Brooklyn is the ultimate urban underdog. Brooklyn native Campanella celebrates the onetime city, now-borough's astonishingly rich history, characterized by diversity, immigration, industrialization, decline, and now rebirth . . . vibrant and relevant."---Josh Stephens & James Brasuell, Planetizen "Campanella’s book does a masterful job of showing how individual egos or ill-planned decisions of long ago set the stage for the city we know today."---Larry Getlen, New York Post "Say the name Brooklyn these days, and many people think of Jay-Z or Barclays Center or, most often, skyrocketing real estate prices fueled by gentrification. But for 500 years now, Brooklyn has charted a rich history unique in the American experience. In Brooklyn: The Once and Future City, Thomas J. Campanella . . . has produced a meticulously researched and information-filled chronicle of a place that, in its own way, defines New York City."---Paul Alexander, Washington Post "[Thomas Campanella’s Brooklyn is] not only the best history of Brooklyn, it’s one of the most entertaining works published this year, suffuse with fantastic tales of the achievements, iniquities, and dreams of its famous neighbor."---Anthony Paletta, American Conservative "Campanella is always enlightening and remains critical throughout, with class and racial politics never far from the surface."---Darran Anderson, History Today "Brooklyn’s history . . . is as specific and varied as its inhabitants. A single block can contain centuries’ worth of information, memories and relics left by heroes and villains alike. The prospect of writing a history of such a multilayered city must have been daunting even for as qualified a fourth-generation Brooklynite as Thomas J. Campanella. . . . Thankfully, Campanella takes a practical approach: Instead of attempting a chronology that traces themes or communities through the decades and centuries, he treats each chapter as a self-contained deep dive into a particular part of the borough, describing how that place came to be. . . . Illuminating."---Emily Gould, New York Times Book Review "Campanella . . . limns Brooklyn’s multiple identities and the tensions over what the borough was, and to whom . . . a fascinating chronicle."---Katrina Gulliver, New Criterion "A fascinating and well-written exploration."---Norman Oder, Curbed "Mr. Campanella . . . aims to give an account of ‘the Brooklyn unknown, overlooked and unheralded—the quotidian city taken for granted or long ago blotted out by time and tide.’ He succeeds admirably . . . Brooklyn: The Once and Future City is a nuanced portrait of a diverse group of communities. Genteel farmland, then a byword for urban blight, and now the apotheosis of hipsterdom and gentrification—Brooklyn has seen it all. Mr. Campanella, a native Brooklynite himself, brings both love and scholarship to his writing, revealing the true spirt of this fractured land." "Winner of the PROSE Award in Architecture and Urban Planning, Association of American Publishers" "Campanella's magisterial history . . . [is] always approachable and takes readers to the heart and soul of “the King’s County”."---Liz Thomson, Arts Desk "An ambitious and accomplished book . . . . For lovers of history and of the city, this book is a dream. It feels like a book that Campanella was born to write."---Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions "In this rich book, Thomas Campanella masterfully uncovers and tells fascinating stories and moments from Brooklyn’s history. Brooklyn is riveting, carefully crafted, and wonderfully written. It will be cited for years to come."—Owen Gutfreund, author of Twentieth-Century Sprawl: Highways and the Reshaping of the American Landscape "An exceptional and detailed history of Brooklyn. From ancient geology to tungsten-filament lamps, Thomas Campanella’s insights are virtuosic. Never hoodwinked by nostalgia nor satisfied with conventional explanations, he gives Brooklyn the clear-eyed narrative it deserves."—Mark Chiusano, author of Marine Park: Stories "This lucid and thorough history of Brooklyn's origins and progress is just the work we need to understand this sprawling and complex place, long in the shadow of glamorous Manhattan."—Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family "Thomas Campanella provides a superb and comprehensive antidote to the perennial plague of Brooklynmnesia."—Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn "This impressive, fresh, and stimulating book investigates the social, economic, and cultural history of Brooklyn. Its use of images is excellent and a point of true distinction. Brooklyn adds to our understanding of the city’s ethnicity, urban development, and planning."—Clifton Hood, author of 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York "Brooklyn is a terrific piece of work, easily the best book on the history of Brooklyn. The tales are winningly told, the writing is vivid, and the authorial presence engaging. Brooklyn has long been historically underserved, but no longer."—Mike Wallace, author of Greater Gotham: A History of New York City from 1898 to 1919 and coauthor of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 "Brooklyn is brilliantly written and uncovers the anatomy and soul of this gritty and charming place. If you grew up in Brooklyn, you will cherish this book. If you didn’t grow up in Brooklyn, you will wish you had."—Mitchell Silver, former president of the American Planning Association "A marvelous book that finally does justice to its majestic subject. Nevermore can it be said, as Thomas Wolfe wrote,‘only the dead know Brooklyn.’ Thomas Campanella knows Brooklyn, inside and out."—Phillip Lopate, editor of Writing New York "Thomas Campanella’s Brooklyn is a sheer delight. A cornucopia of mysteries, secrets, meticulous research, and fun facts, it will prove essential reading for anyone with an appetite for New York history."—Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad "Finalist with Special Recognition for the Brendan Gill Prize, Municipal Art Society of New York" Expand reviews