I feel as though I have just lived through 350 years of history as I finish reading this book. What a journey it has been! Each new era introduced new members of the core families, dealing with events in their time period. Rutherfurd is truly a master in developing realistic characters who we can connect to and care about, then placing them directly in situations where they will meet important figures in historical settings. Each time a new family was introduced, I was immediately invested in the outcome of their lives, especially knowing what might occur given my background knowledge of history. I found myself rooting for William Master as the Great Depression hit the stock markets, knowing that he would probably lose everything; for Sarah Adler to survive the events of 9/11 knowing that many lost their lives in this tragedy.
Historically, not all major events were included in the novel. For example, the Second World War was entirely glossed over with only a very limited mention of any events related to the conflict. The Korean war was mentioned briefly but not dealt with in any significant way. Why did Rutherfurd choose to cover certain events in so much detail but leave others out?
I think it is because he wanted to deal with those events that made an impact directly on the city of New York, rather than choosing global events. After all, this was the story of "The Big Apple". So although I would have liked to learn more about the Civil War and the fight for freedom from slavery, I understand this would have digressed from the topic at hand and caused the novel to be cumbersome and too wide in scope.
The acknowledgments at the end of the novel speak to the detailed research undertaken in the writing of the book. Many experts and resources were consulted, manuscripts revised and historians interviewed. This, combined with an intoxicating narrative, have made reading New York a remarkably engaging experience.
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