This took a long time to finish. It’s a dense history of the Manhattan area and environs from when the Dutch arrived and set up shop until about when the English took completely over. Thanks to some newly-translated early Dutch documents, there’s a lot more known about this time in history and the author is very excited to have a more complete picture. The author discusses what went into New Amsterdam which later became New York and how its origins can still be seen in the way the place works. Good history.