Mark Twain coined the term the "Gilded Age" for this period of growth and extravagance, experienced most dramatically in New York City from the 1870s to 1910. More than half of America's millionaires lived in the city. Previously unimaginable sums of money were made and spent, while poor immigrants toiled away in tenements. Author Esther Crain writes, "There was an incredible energy, a sense of greatness and destiny. Things were literally going up-skyscrapers, elevated train tracks, new neighborhoods and parks. Accompanying all of that was an equal amount of greed and lust. Crime, vice, political scandals-the Gilded Age produced an abundance of depravity."

The Gilded Age in New York City covers daily life for the rich, poor, and the burgeoning middle class; the influx of immigrants which caused the city's population to quadruple in 40 years; how new-found leisure time was spent in places such as Coney Island and Central Park; crimes that shocked the city and altered the police force; the rise of social services; and the city's physical growth both skyward and outward toward the five boroughs. Through words and amazing, rarely seen images, Crain captures between covers the metamorphic story of city at the center of the world.

About the Author
Esther Crain is a writer and native New Yorker. In 2008 she launched Ephemeral New York, a website that chronicles the city(1)s past through photos, newspaper articles, art, and other artifacts. The site has been featured in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Daily News, and Time Out New York.The New-York Historical Society, one of America(1)s pre-eminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research, presenting history and art exhibitions, and offering public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, the New-York Historical Society(1)s museum is the oldest in New York City.


Book Information
ISBN 9780316353663
Author Esther Crain
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc
Publisher Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 1764g
Dimensions(mm) 311mm * 233mm * 27mm