Harlem by Jonathan Gill

Harlem by Jonathan Gill

Harlem is perhaps the most famous, iconic neighborhood in the United States. A bastion of freedom and the capital of Black America, Harlem's twentieth century renaissance changed our arts, culture, and politics forever. But this is only one of the many chapters in a wonderfully rich and varied history. In Harlem, historian Jonathan Gill presents the first complete chronicle of this remarkable place.

From Henry Hudson's first contact with native Harlemites, through Harlem's years as a colonial outpost on the edge of the known world, Gill traces the neighborhood's story, marshaling a tremendous wealth of detail and a host of fascinating figures from George Washington to Langston Hughes. Harlem was an agricultural center under British rule and the site of a key early battle in the Revolutionary War. Later, wealthy elites including Alexander Hamilton built great estates there for entertainment and respite from the epidemics ravaging downtown. In the nineteenth century, transportation urbanized Harlem and brought waves of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Ireland, and elsewhere. Harlem's mix of cultures, extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty was electrifying and explosive.

Extensively researched, impressively synthesized, eminently readable, and overflowing with captivating characters, Harlem is an ambitious, sweeping history, and an impressive achievement.

Gill, Jonathan: - Jonathan Gill is a professor of American history and culture at the University of Amsterdam, formerly on the faculties of Columbia, CCNY, Fordham, and the Manhattan School of Music. He has written for the New York Times, the Village Voice, The Nation, the Guardian, and other publications. He divides his time between New York City and Amsterdam.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780802145741
ISBN 10	0802145744
Title	Harlem
Author	Jonathan Gill
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
Year published	2012-02-14
Number of pages	528
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.