Has anyone else read Edward Rutherfurd's 'New York'? If you haven't, I strongly recommend it!

For anyone who loves New York, or a great historical read, this book is a must.

Before I read this book, the picture I had of the history of New York was no more than broken fragments.  As an Australian, we didn’t study American history in school.

Rutherfurd offers a look at the events and times of New York through the eyes of fictional characters, starting with New Amsterdam in 1664 with Dutch settler Dirk van Dyck and Englishman Tom Masters.  New York follows the stories of their descendents through the years up until 2009.  Whilst each section is on its own a wonderful story of the lives of the fictional characters themselves, the settings within the most significant events and times of New York make for fascinating reading.  Of course, most of the events were those that affected the nation, not just New York, but Rutherfurd’s focus is specifically on how the residents of New York were affected by those events and involved in them.

Particularly fascinating is Rutherfurd’s portrayal of historical figures – Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington to name a few and the way these figures influenced the lives of his fictional characters. Rutherford manages to show these great figures as very real, flawed human beings.

As I said before, my knowledge of American history is limited.  Perhaps American history buffs disagree with his view of some of the events in the book, but I don’t think anyone could say that this is not a fascinating journey through time. 

For more information about the books he has written in a similar style about some of the other most amazing places in the world, below is the link to his website.

http://www.edwardrutherfurd.com/edward-rutherfurd-books.html

I would love to hear what other people who have read New York think, especially those better educated in American history than I am.