TAKING MANHATTAN The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America

Russell Shorto is an author who can narrate his audiobooks as effectively as any professional. In voice, Shorto is personable, assured, and exact--much like his narratives. This history of the English acquisition of Dutch New Amsterdam follows Shorto's bestselling ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, which covered the Dutch settlement of Manhattan. Once again, Shorto emphasizes political and military history, as well as the broad demographic of people who, from the first, have made New York a world center. Shorto is a steady, undramatic narrator. But this is not a high-action history. The Dutch gave up the settlement without a shot fired but preserved their property, trade system, and self-governance. The outcome is a lesson in wise diplomacy. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2025]