MANHATTAN PHOENIX The Great Fire of 1835 and the Emergence of Modern New York

Mike Lenz narrates in a thoughtful style and measured tone that work well for this history of nineteenth-century Manhattan. His thoroughly professional performance lets the dozens of compelling anecdotes tell themselves. The listener is engaged by the sometimes chaotic, often revealing stories of fires, riots, diseases, famous people such as John Jacob Astor and P.T. Barnum, the rise and fall of Boss Tweed, and more. Lenz ensures that the listener is always aware that this audiobook chronicles the making of the modern New York City. It is chockablock full of mini-profiles, including details on the Booth brothers just before the murder of Lincoln, Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted's other life as a reporter and abolitionist, and the horrific racism that Southern sympathizers visited upon African-Americans during the Civil War. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]