The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America

"The Island at the Center of the World was a path-breaking book when it came out in 2004. People think of New York as originally British; Russell showed that, in fact, the seeds that the Dutch planted when they came here nearly 400 years ago preceded the laying down of British roots and survived the British takeover. We were New Amsterdam before we were New York. It’s really the Dutch whom we should thank for the spirit of tolerance that New York has always had—and continues to have—and the sense that New Yorkers have always had of ourselves as open to newcomers and thriving from the contributions of the immigrants. The Dutch are also responsible for the enduring sense that if it can happen anywhere, it can happen here. The Dutch came here for commercial reasons and others have followed for economic betterment ever since. The sense of New York as a place of upward mobility took root when this was New Amsterdam. That’s why I see this book as essential, because the first Europeans who made Manhattan their own were Dutch and the mark of their presence remains."