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Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America
Harlem is perhaps the most famous, iconic neighborhood in the United States. A bastion of freedom and the capital of Black America, Harlem's twentieth century renaissance changed our arts, culture, and politics forever. But this is only one of the many chapters in a wonderfully rich and varied history. In Harlem , historian Jonathan Gill presents the first complete chronicle of this remarkable place.
From Henry Hudson's first contact with native Harlemites, through Harlem's years as a colonial outpost on the edge of the known world, Gill traces the neighborhood's story, marshaling a tremendous wealth of detail and a host of fascinating figures from George Washington to Langston Hughes. Harlem was an agricultural center under British rule and the site of a key early battle in the Revolutionary War. Later, wealthy elites including Alexander Hamilton built great estates there for entertainment and respite from the epidemics ravaging downtown. In the nineteenth century, transportation urbanized Harlem and brought waves of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Ireland, and elsewhere. Harlem's mix of cultures, extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty was electrifying and explosive.
Extensively researched, impressively synthesized, eminently readable, and overflowing with captivating characters, Harlem is an ambitious, sweeping history, and an impressive achievement.
From Henry Hudson's first contact with native Harlemites, through Harlem's years as a colonial outpost on the edge of the known world, Gill traces the neighborhood's story, marshaling a tremendous wealth of detail and a host of fascinating figures from George Washington to Langston Hughes. Harlem was an agricultural center under British rule and the site of a key early battle in the Revolutionary War. Later, wealthy elites including Alexander Hamilton built great estates there for entertainment and respite from the epidemics ravaging downtown. In the nineteenth century, transportation urbanized Harlem and brought waves of immigrants from Germany, Italy, Ireland, and elsewhere. Harlem's mix of cultures, extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty was electrifying and explosive.
Extensively researched, impressively synthesized, eminently readable, and overflowing with captivating characters, Harlem is an ambitious, sweeping history, and an impressive achievement.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 26, 2011
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November 25, 2025
Harlem And Its Stories
At the same time an American iconic and a deeply tragic community, Harlem has had many characters in its four hundred year history. Yet there may be constants in its rises, falls, and Phoenix-like rebirths. Jonathan Gill's new book, "Harlem" tells the story of this fabled community, in its glories and periods of destruction, in this fascinating new history, "Harlem" (2011). A professor of American history and literature, Gill has taught at Columbia University, City College of New York, Fordham University, and the Manhattan School of Music.
A study of Harlem needs to be directed both internally to the community and externally to the people and places that acted upon it. The Harlemites in Gill's history, for all their diversity, are substantially independent groups with a strong sense of place and a desire to control their destinies for themselves. Harlem's location, uptown and away from the constant bustle of downtown Manhattan, may be partially responsible for a marked independent streak. But Harlem also cannot be understood without considering how the actions of others impinged upon it, from the early Dutch and British through the New York City and State governments to the Federal governments. Then too, Harlem has always been a magnet for newcomers. Most of the people who made Harlem what it became were born elsewhere.
Gill's book shows breadth of research as he covers the community from its original Dutch discovery in 1609 through the first decade of the 21st Century. He writes with love for his subject. The book is lengthy but engrossing. The individual chapters of the book tend to be extended and detailed. They cover a great deal that perhaps could have been broken down more expressly into smaller sections. The early chapter on the Dutch Harlem goes slowly because it will be unfamiliar to most readers, but the pace of the book soon quickens as Gill describes the early days of Harlem during the Revolutionary War and its development by famous characters such as Alexander Hamilton and by infamous people such as Aaron Burr and his wife, the former courtesan, Eliza Jumel, in her day the richest woman in America.
There are interesting chapters on Harlem in the early 19th Century when it was a separate jurisdiction from downtown and the home to many wealthy individuals seeking a respite from the city. The story of the Harlem most people know begins about 1/4 into the book with the period of American immigration in the late 19th Century. Harlem became a densely settled multicultural community with the arrival of Italians and Eastern European Jews. There was also an African American presence which had been in Harlem since the days of the Dutch. Gill captures both the tensions and accomplishments of the multi-ethnic Harlem during its immigrant years.
Harlem will be forever known as the "Capital of Black America". Gill's book is at its strongest when it explores African American Harlem. The book includes beautifully developed sections of Harlem's cultural, literary, artistic and musical attainments with insightful discussions of figures such as W.E.B. Dubois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Jean Toomer, Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday, Jacob Lawrence, the photographer James Van Der Zee, and others too numerous to name. Gill also discusses Harlem's conflicted political life under which Harlemites frequently spent more energy in internal disagreements than in presenting a united community. Gill pays particular attention to Marcus Garvey, a figure who has fallen into some unfamiliarity but who fought, in Gill's account, for community pride and economic activity and self-sufficiency. Gill stresses the multi-cultural character of Harlem, as Latinos, Jews, and Italians continued to have a large presence during the years of the community's glory.
Besides the achievements of Harlem life, Gill focuses on the many problems, including the overcrowding, exorbitant rents, lack of medical facilities and sanitation, discrimination against African Americans by local businesses, poor schools, high crime, and more. He also points to political divisions some of which were the result of a strong communist presence during the years of the Depression. Harlem teemed with tension which caused serious riots, burnings, and lootings over the years.
In later sections of the book, Gill discusses Harlem during the Civil Rights Era and the uneasy relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harlem. (Dr. King was the subject of an assassination attempt in Harlem and narrowly escaped with his life.) Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. are among the political figures examined in detail. Following the Civil Rights Era and the death of Dr. King, Harlem badly deteriorated as African American and other residents continued to flee the area and it became a haven for crime and drugs. The final section of the book describes yet another rise of Harlem in the 1990s and beyond, tempered by some questionable development projects and the financial crisis of 2008.
For all the problems of the community, Gill's book overflows with love for Harlem and for New York City. The book offers the many stories of an American community which remains both unique and yet somehow representative of American life. I came away from the book wanting to revisit some of Harlem's great literary figures and to think about what Gill describes as "the transformative power of [Harlemites] recorded past and their imagined future, both always in the making" (p. 464) in understanding the American dream.
Robin Friedman
At the same time an American iconic and a deeply tragic community, Harlem has had many characters in its four hundred year history. Yet there may be constants in its rises, falls, and Phoenix-like rebirths. Jonathan Gill's new book, "Harlem" tells the story of this fabled community, in its glories and periods of destruction, in this fascinating new history, "Harlem" (2011). A professor of American history and literature, Gill has taught at Columbia University, City College of New York, Fordham University, and the Manhattan School of Music.
A study of Harlem needs to be directed both internally to the community and externally to the people and places that acted upon it. The Harlemites in Gill's history, for all their diversity, are substantially independent groups with a strong sense of place and a desire to control their destinies for themselves. Harlem's location, uptown and away from the constant bustle of downtown Manhattan, may be partially responsible for a marked independent streak. But Harlem also cannot be understood without considering how the actions of others impinged upon it, from the early Dutch and British through the New York City and State governments to the Federal governments. Then too, Harlem has always been a magnet for newcomers. Most of the people who made Harlem what it became were born elsewhere.
Gill's book shows breadth of research as he covers the community from its original Dutch discovery in 1609 through the first decade of the 21st Century. He writes with love for his subject. The book is lengthy but engrossing. The individual chapters of the book tend to be extended and detailed. They cover a great deal that perhaps could have been broken down more expressly into smaller sections. The early chapter on the Dutch Harlem goes slowly because it will be unfamiliar to most readers, but the pace of the book soon quickens as Gill describes the early days of Harlem during the Revolutionary War and its development by famous characters such as Alexander Hamilton and by infamous people such as Aaron Burr and his wife, the former courtesan, Eliza Jumel, in her day the richest woman in America.
There are interesting chapters on Harlem in the early 19th Century when it was a separate jurisdiction from downtown and the home to many wealthy individuals seeking a respite from the city. The story of the Harlem most people know begins about 1/4 into the book with the period of American immigration in the late 19th Century. Harlem became a densely settled multicultural community with the arrival of Italians and Eastern European Jews. There was also an African American presence which had been in Harlem since the days of the Dutch. Gill captures both the tensions and accomplishments of the multi-ethnic Harlem during its immigrant years.
Harlem will be forever known as the "Capital of Black America". Gill's book is at its strongest when it explores African American Harlem. The book includes beautifully developed sections of Harlem's cultural, literary, artistic and musical attainments with insightful discussions of figures such as W.E.B. Dubois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Jean Toomer, Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday, Jacob Lawrence, the photographer James Van Der Zee, and others too numerous to name. Gill also discusses Harlem's conflicted political life under which Harlemites frequently spent more energy in internal disagreements than in presenting a united community. Gill pays particular attention to Marcus Garvey, a figure who has fallen into some unfamiliarity but who fought, in Gill's account, for community pride and economic activity and self-sufficiency. Gill stresses the multi-cultural character of Harlem, as Latinos, Jews, and Italians continued to have a large presence during the years of the community's glory.
Besides the achievements of Harlem life, Gill focuses on the many problems, including the overcrowding, exorbitant rents, lack of medical facilities and sanitation, discrimination against African Americans by local businesses, poor schools, high crime, and more. He also points to political divisions some of which were the result of a strong communist presence during the years of the Depression. Harlem teemed with tension which caused serious riots, burnings, and lootings over the years.
In later sections of the book, Gill discusses Harlem during the Civil Rights Era and the uneasy relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harlem. (Dr. King was the subject of an assassination attempt in Harlem and narrowly escaped with his life.) Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. are among the political figures examined in detail. Following the Civil Rights Era and the death of Dr. King, Harlem badly deteriorated as African American and other residents continued to flee the area and it became a haven for crime and drugs. The final section of the book describes yet another rise of Harlem in the 1990s and beyond, tempered by some questionable development projects and the financial crisis of 2008.
For all the problems of the community, Gill's book overflows with love for Harlem and for New York City. The book offers the many stories of an American community which remains both unique and yet somehow representative of American life. I came away from the book wanting to revisit some of Harlem's great literary figures and to think about what Gill describes as "the transformative power of [Harlemites] recorded past and their imagined future, both always in the making" (p. 464) in understanding the American dream.
Robin Friedman
January 24, 2020
I spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day reading Jonathan Gill's lively history of Harlem. After following the transformation of Muscoota, the Indian name for lower central Harlem, through tenuous Dutch settlement and successive waves of German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Latin migration to become the capital of black America, I arrived at the civil-rights era. King was signing his book at Blumstein when a woman walked in the department store's front door, cut to the front of the line of autograph seekers, and stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener. She was convinced that the Communist Party had been persecuting her for years through King.
Writing in 2018, on the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, philosopher and social activist Cornel West observed that many who now sing the praises of King would be threatened by what he stood for. "His grand fight against poverty, militarism, materialism and racism," wrote West, "undercuts the superficial lip service and pretentious posturing of so-called progressives as well as the candid contempt and proud prejudices of genuine reactionaries." It was a fight that was fiercely opposed by all manner of enemies, but, according to West, King loved to say, "I would rather be dead than afraid."
That letter opener was not the weapon that killed King, of course. He was shot fatally while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. After he was stabbed behind his books, the blade lodged dangerously between his heart and lungs, he had the presence of mind to stay calm and reassure the crowd around him that "Everything is going to be all right." He was taken to Harlem Hospital where his injury was treated by doctors who knew all about stab wounds. Fear could have debilitated King and his movement for equal rights, but he did not let it. To ward off the fear, perhaps he repeated his favorite saying in the spirit of a mantra. "I would rather be dead than afraid": that is Dr. King's letter opened up for me in the heart of a man, flawed but courageous.
Writing in 2018, on the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, philosopher and social activist Cornel West observed that many who now sing the praises of King would be threatened by what he stood for. "His grand fight against poverty, militarism, materialism and racism," wrote West, "undercuts the superficial lip service and pretentious posturing of so-called progressives as well as the candid contempt and proud prejudices of genuine reactionaries." It was a fight that was fiercely opposed by all manner of enemies, but, according to West, King loved to say, "I would rather be dead than afraid."
That letter opener was not the weapon that killed King, of course. He was shot fatally while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. After he was stabbed behind his books, the blade lodged dangerously between his heart and lungs, he had the presence of mind to stay calm and reassure the crowd around him that "Everything is going to be all right." He was taken to Harlem Hospital where his injury was treated by doctors who knew all about stab wounds. Fear could have debilitated King and his movement for equal rights, but he did not let it. To ward off the fear, perhaps he repeated his favorite saying in the spirit of a mantra. "I would rather be dead than afraid": that is Dr. King's letter opened up for me in the heart of a man, flawed but courageous.
September 20, 2022
This year I am studying cities. Next year I will start a multi-year civil rights study. Reading about Harlem will serve both studies.
This book covering 400 years took me time to read. The narrative is pithy almost to the point of being disconnected. I had to stop to find maps and pics and extra information so that I could understand the text. I feel the effort of reading was worth it so I can have a sense of the love and nostalogia many of the civil rights movement had for Harlem.
Next year when I read about black civil rights,I will be glad to know:
* Like other quickly developing cities, Harlem went through a time where blocks and blocks of a residential area consisted of boxes as houses and sanitation services were limited or nonexistent. Conditions such as these led to the spread of contagious diseases and to high infant mortality rate--and a struggle to improve the live of Black Americans.
* Not only a list but a variety of improvement and civil rights groups were working toward the ultimate goal of the dignity of Black Americans. Representatives of some of these groups would participate in The March on Washington.
To continue building an understanding the significance of Harlem in the civil rights movement, I may read Harlem: People, Power and Politics 1900-1950 by Roi Ottley.
This book covering 400 years took me time to read. The narrative is pithy almost to the point of being disconnected. I had to stop to find maps and pics and extra information so that I could understand the text. I feel the effort of reading was worth it so I can have a sense of the love and nostalogia many of the civil rights movement had for Harlem.
Next year when I read about black civil rights,I will be glad to know:
* Like other quickly developing cities, Harlem went through a time where blocks and blocks of a residential area consisted of boxes as houses and sanitation services were limited or nonexistent. Conditions such as these led to the spread of contagious diseases and to high infant mortality rate--and a struggle to improve the live of Black Americans.
* Not only a list but a variety of improvement and civil rights groups were working toward the ultimate goal of the dignity of Black Americans. Representatives of some of these groups would participate in The March on Washington.
To continue building an understanding the significance of Harlem in the civil rights movement, I may read Harlem: People, Power and Politics 1900-1950 by Roi Ottley.
January 27, 2022
Absolutely spectacular for the first three hundred pages, then goes way downhill as Harlem slides into poverty and squalor. Gill knows all the great stories about Harlem's early residents, like Alexander Hamilton and John James Audubon the bird watcher. He really makes you feel the natural beauty of Manhattan when it was all forests, streams, and lakes. But the problem is that Gill, (a typical NYC academic) wants to be a booster, and talk up NYC even when it means suppressing unpleasant truths. In his version, even a firebrand like Malcolm X "fell in love with upper Manhattan at first sight." Uh, yeah, sure. Was it the cockroaches or the rats? And of course, there are the evil slumlords, like Columbia University, buying up land in Harlem dirt cheap (for decades!) while the rats and roaches keep getting worse and the poor people keep on getting angrier. Good old Gill sums it all up by saying (very primly and oh so very discreetly) that relations between Columbia and its poor black neighbors have always been, um, "unproductive."
And somewhere the ghost of Tessa Majors is laughing hysterically. Because there's nothing more unproductive than being knifed to death in Morningside Park. Except going to Columbia in the first place!
And somewhere the ghost of Tessa Majors is laughing hysterically. Because there's nothing more unproductive than being knifed to death in Morningside Park. Except going to Columbia in the first place!
July 24, 2014
Having been born in Harlem, loved it, studied it, and penned my own experience of growing up there in the 1950s and ‘60s, I thought I knew, at least a little bit about everything there was to know about my beloved community. Jonathan Gill’s comprehensive book, Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History From Dutch Village to Capital of Black America, disabused me of that misconception.
Gill has written a “complete” history starting with Henry Hudson sailing up the Hudson River in 1609, and ending with the 2009 relocation of founding father, Alexander Hamilton’s historic home which, until its move around the corner and down the hill, sat across the street from my house.
Sometimes Gill’s detail is sometimes excessive, but his breezy tidbits make up for it. A few examples: Madam Jumel (once married to Aaron Burr) was said to be the model for Dickens’ character, Mrs. Havisham. The term “hot dog” was reportedly coined at the Polo Grounds stadium in 1901 because center field ended 483 feet away, thus “… making a home run there a near impossibility.” In 1904, it took 31 minutes to travel by subway from 125th St. to 145th.
Four hundred years of history is a lot to cram into one book, especially a beguiling place like Harlem with its larger-than-life reputation. A mere dot on a map, Harlem only measures about three square tucked-away miles on the upper part of an island empire and, at least in recent decades, has largely been maligned and often ignored by the ruling class.
Gill does not skimp on Harlem’s hellish years, but he also captures its vibe and enormous influence on music, religion, the arts, literature, fashion, sports, cuisine, politics, migration, and its involvement in both racial strife and ethnic diversity.
I’m happy to have finally read this encyclopedia-like compendium. It’s scholarly, but generally easy reading. Some of the transitions are not always smooth, and because his footnotes were so voluminous, he does not list them at the back of the book; instead, he directs readers to his website, which is no longer easy to find. Many times I wanted to look up a reference while reading, but wasn’t near a computer, and even if I was, looking things up is a lot to ask when you’re already trying to get through 450 pages.
June 25, 2019
When most people think of Harlem, they think of perhaps the capital of African Americans in America. It is primarily African American, and has been for the past 70 years. There is a rich tradition of culture, arts, politics, as well as a darker side of crime, racism, poverty, and struggling to survive as part of the massive New York Metropolitan area. Yet, there is much more to the history of Harlem, as Gill offers up in this work. He surveys the 400+ year history of the city, from when Henry Hudson first landed on Long Island and meet the Native Americans, the city that became Harlem had a diverse and volatile history. From the struggles of Dutch colonists dealing with the tribes who populated the area, to the struggles of the English, and their failures to defeat the American insurgents, to the rise of American political figures such as Hamilton and Burr, the coming of the European immigrants, and the start of the African American community, from freed slaves to a people trying to make a living in post-Civil War America...there is a lot to this city, and Gill offers a great deal of insight, especially for those who really didn't know the city.
Yet, for all the vast history of the area (once filled with country homes and farmland), the bulk of the work focuses on the modern era (from Reconstruction to the present day). The city was the realm of immigrants and the lower economic class as compared to Manhattan. There was a strong Jewish and Italian presence, and the Latinos played a significant role in the life of Harlem. It is with the rise of the Harlem Renaissance that the city starts to evolve into what most people associate with Harlem. The jazz, the literature, the churches and mosques...all start to evolve in the early 20th century. Power philosophers such as W.E.B. DeBois set up roots in Harlem, helping to define the role and purpose of life for African Americans. Yet, there is also the struggle for race and political power in the city. Various race riots made their mark on the city and gave birth to various misconceptions about the city. Harlem became home to men like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's role in leading Civil Rights spring-boarded from his visits to the city (it also nearly cost him his life). The book ends on a note of both despair and hope, which the balance that Harlem has maintained for its history.
While no one book can truly describe the complete history of a city, this is not a bad start. It would be interesting to see what the author thinks of Harlem since the publication in the early 2010s, with the current state of race relations and how Harlem is trying to deal with the new America. Perhaps for natives of Harlem, this book is old news, but for those who are not, and especially for those who have, or will, visit the city, this is worth the read.
Yet, for all the vast history of the area (once filled with country homes and farmland), the bulk of the work focuses on the modern era (from Reconstruction to the present day). The city was the realm of immigrants and the lower economic class as compared to Manhattan. There was a strong Jewish and Italian presence, and the Latinos played a significant role in the life of Harlem. It is with the rise of the Harlem Renaissance that the city starts to evolve into what most people associate with Harlem. The jazz, the literature, the churches and mosques...all start to evolve in the early 20th century. Power philosophers such as W.E.B. DeBois set up roots in Harlem, helping to define the role and purpose of life for African Americans. Yet, there is also the struggle for race and political power in the city. Various race riots made their mark on the city and gave birth to various misconceptions about the city. Harlem became home to men like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's role in leading Civil Rights spring-boarded from his visits to the city (it also nearly cost him his life). The book ends on a note of both despair and hope, which the balance that Harlem has maintained for its history.
While no one book can truly describe the complete history of a city, this is not a bad start. It would be interesting to see what the author thinks of Harlem since the publication in the early 2010s, with the current state of race relations and how Harlem is trying to deal with the new America. Perhaps for natives of Harlem, this book is old news, but for those who are not, and especially for those who have, or will, visit the city, this is worth the read.
February 4, 2017
Wow, this is a dense book describing the 400 years of Harlem. Every page is filled with fascinating facts and descriptions of life in each season. It was humbling to read about all of the amazing artists, politicians and movers and shakers who walked these streets and found inspiration in this rich community and shared it with the world. It has given me a greater respect for the neighborhood and makes me day dream of all of my past neighbors as I walk around and enjoy the beautiful architecture!
April 8, 2013
Enjoyed this overview of Harlem history, from the Dutch to the present. It's certainly put-downable at times, but the prose is solid and workman-like, and the diligent effort put in to chronicle four centuries of an iconic neighborhood is impressive.
July 8, 2025
Review of "Harlem" (2011) by Jonathan Gill
The book is a compendium of everything Harlem. It is chocked full of useful and interesting information about its history, places and people. It is a straightforward chronology that gives a good overall picture and enough information to motivate the reader to dig deeper on his/her particular Harlem interest.
At times the author resorts to the negative stereotypes of African-Americans. He emphasizes the conflict between West African immigrants to Harlem and the native born African-Americans putting the native-born Blacks in a bad light, which is inaccurate, biased and incomplete. He writes about the strict behavioral and hard-working practices of the Africans and contrasts it with American blacks: "It was a strong contrast to the substance abuse, extra-marital sex, and chronic unemployment they saw around them... just like those between West Indian immigrants and native-born blacks back in the 1920s" (429). The author also tends to focus on the negative aspects of the Black Panther party, which are present but are not the important part of their movement. Instead of understanding their "radical" ideas and their discontent, he labels them as anti-white and especially anti-Semite (423).
The overall strength of the book is its thoroughness, but it does not capture the soul of Harlem.
The book is a compendium of everything Harlem. It is chocked full of useful and interesting information about its history, places and people. It is a straightforward chronology that gives a good overall picture and enough information to motivate the reader to dig deeper on his/her particular Harlem interest.
At times the author resorts to the negative stereotypes of African-Americans. He emphasizes the conflict between West African immigrants to Harlem and the native born African-Americans putting the native-born Blacks in a bad light, which is inaccurate, biased and incomplete. He writes about the strict behavioral and hard-working practices of the Africans and contrasts it with American blacks: "It was a strong contrast to the substance abuse, extra-marital sex, and chronic unemployment they saw around them... just like those between West Indian immigrants and native-born blacks back in the 1920s" (429). The author also tends to focus on the negative aspects of the Black Panther party, which are present but are not the important part of their movement. Instead of understanding their "radical" ideas and their discontent, he labels them as anti-white and especially anti-Semite (423).
The overall strength of the book is its thoroughness, but it does not capture the soul of Harlem.
October 14, 2021
Well-researched, beautifully written and full of fascinating nuggets of information. Only the final chapter is (relatively) dull, but that's hardly Gill's fault. Whereas Harlem's original 'golden age' was built on commerce, diversity, culture and various nefarious activities, its nineties/noughties rebirth is defined almost entirely by skyrocketing property prices and real-estate speculation.
January 29, 2025
I just moved to the neighborhood and thought the best way to immerse myself was to get to know the local history, and boy did this book deliver. Another reviewer quoted on the book says we are in Gill’s debt for the monumental achievement of so thoroughly documenting the history of Harlem and I could not choose a better turn of phrase. A truly exhaustive, entertaining, and empathetic read.
July 17, 2018
Loved it! It was dense and it was long and it took me two years, but it's worth it! The stories and statistics in this book are important, and anyone who believes in knowing history to help us move through the future should read this.
March 10, 2021
Sort of silly of me to give a book so well researched a scant four stars. History doesn't deserve five stars in most instances. Not Gill's doing but I was often discouraged. Even New York City's "the grid" was not conceived nor pursued and made a done deal by the fairies.
November 1, 2018
Pretty good. A lot of information. And I learned that the empty patch of land that I can see out my bedroom window is a toxic waste site.
September 11, 2024
Quite an interesting read. It goes the whole expanse of the history of Harlem.
January 11, 2026
Harlem has been throughout the years, a melting pot of soul.
May 23, 2012
Written for the KAZI Book Review (http://kazibookreview.wordpress.com/):
As one might expect of an extensive history, Jonathan Gill’s Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America is a long journey, but it’s a well-written journey worth taking if you have the time.
Harlem is a diligently researched book (the especially curious reader will enjoy that there is a further reading section) as evidenced by the level of detail throughout. Gill seems intent on giving an even-handed account of Harlem’s history, including low-lights and highlights alike, and not shying away from the harsh realities Harlem has faced. It is this sense of fairness that lends even more credibility to Gill’s book than the obvious research: he wants to tell the story of this area he loves, and anything less than the whole picture, warts and all, would not do Harlem justice.
Gill gives ample attention to the Harlem Renaissance, which brought the area to the attention of the world for the first time and has already been covered several times by other authors. However, he also gives Harlem a more thorough examination, telling the complex tale of a once colonial outpost that eventually becomes the heart of black America.
This history of Harlem comes in two parts, with the dividing event being the wave of immigration that began to hit New York City in the late 19th century. The early history is a deft weaving of historical fact and anecdotes, leaving the reader with a reasonable idea of what life was like uptown when Harlem was a rural retreat for the rich and white instead of the center of black American culture.
The heart of Gill’s history, however, begins when blacks began arriving in Harlem in larger numbers in the early 20th century. Part of what makes Harlem so interesting is the people it has always attracted, and Gill introduces us to a cast of hundreds of Harlemites through the years. Through the stories of this wide variety of musicians, artists, preachers, politicians, criminals, Harlem gives a vibrant and detailed vision of uptown throughout the Renaissance era and beyond.
Readers may find the length, at 450 pages, a bit daunting, and with good reason. The book is a well-written and insightful history, but it is also rather comprehensive. Harlem examines politics, religion, music, art, theater, business and crime as well as the lives of the prominent people in each area. This thoroughness allows Gill to give astonishing insight into the very complex history of an area with a lot of history to offer.
As one might expect of an extensive history, Jonathan Gill’s Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America is a long journey, but it’s a well-written journey worth taking if you have the time.
Harlem is a diligently researched book (the especially curious reader will enjoy that there is a further reading section) as evidenced by the level of detail throughout. Gill seems intent on giving an even-handed account of Harlem’s history, including low-lights and highlights alike, and not shying away from the harsh realities Harlem has faced. It is this sense of fairness that lends even more credibility to Gill’s book than the obvious research: he wants to tell the story of this area he loves, and anything less than the whole picture, warts and all, would not do Harlem justice.
Gill gives ample attention to the Harlem Renaissance, which brought the area to the attention of the world for the first time and has already been covered several times by other authors. However, he also gives Harlem a more thorough examination, telling the complex tale of a once colonial outpost that eventually becomes the heart of black America.
This history of Harlem comes in two parts, with the dividing event being the wave of immigration that began to hit New York City in the late 19th century. The early history is a deft weaving of historical fact and anecdotes, leaving the reader with a reasonable idea of what life was like uptown when Harlem was a rural retreat for the rich and white instead of the center of black American culture.
The heart of Gill’s history, however, begins when blacks began arriving in Harlem in larger numbers in the early 20th century. Part of what makes Harlem so interesting is the people it has always attracted, and Gill introduces us to a cast of hundreds of Harlemites through the years. Through the stories of this wide variety of musicians, artists, preachers, politicians, criminals, Harlem gives a vibrant and detailed vision of uptown throughout the Renaissance era and beyond.
Readers may find the length, at 450 pages, a bit daunting, and with good reason. The book is a well-written and insightful history, but it is also rather comprehensive. Harlem examines politics, religion, music, art, theater, business and crime as well as the lives of the prominent people in each area. This thoroughness allows Gill to give astonishing insight into the very complex history of an area with a lot of history to offer.
December 21, 2016
A book that claims to recount 400 years of history, but spends egregious amounts of time on whatever the author finds more interesting. Hilariously, he managed to dodge in-depth descriptions of almost every female activist possible. This book, in other words, is 90% men.
For a key example, take a look through the index. Not only are a lot of women missing, you have examples like Zora Neale Hurston, who appears on three pages for maybe about 8 sentences total. The most interesting thing he found about her was her strange beginnings - nowhere does it address nor mention a single thing she wrote. In fact, it doesn't mention that she was an anthropologist or why we should even find her important -- just another name left in the list of famous people while he tells us the plot of "Native Son" by Richard Wright and calls it a masterpiece (despite the glaring misogyny within that book). Point being, Jonathan Gill has a subconscious bias against women that he should try to be aware of. Because he probably spent more time talking about Alexander Hamilton than he did all of the women figures combined. Good job [sarcasm].
Anyway, for the overall book: the book is organized like a disaster. His narrative style makes it hard to keep track of anything because he likes to report events, which means constant backtracking when he wants to switch topics. A lot of the transitions feel fake and don't help reorient the reader. The most interesting part of this book was again, Alexander Hamilton, and then Martin Luther King Jr. / Rustin / Malcolm X parts. The pictures are also not near their relevant parts, and grouped together weirdly so that they are hard to place anywhere in context.
Basically, this author would be better off writing about each individual separately instead of trying to link them together. I had such a hard time taking notes on this book because the facts were everywhere. Hardly a good text for studying, I'll be sure to ignore books in this windy-narrative style in the future. Especially since my interest continued to fall as each chapter went by (chapter titles don't even all have handy years to orient you!!!).
Also, as someone mentioned before, lots of mistakes in the last chapter. Seems like he submitted it last second and the editor didn't catch "plaqns" and "t5est"... yeesh.
For a key example, take a look through the index. Not only are a lot of women missing, you have examples like Zora Neale Hurston, who appears on three pages for maybe about 8 sentences total. The most interesting thing he found about her was her strange beginnings - nowhere does it address nor mention a single thing she wrote. In fact, it doesn't mention that she was an anthropologist or why we should even find her important -- just another name left in the list of famous people while he tells us the plot of "Native Son" by Richard Wright and calls it a masterpiece (despite the glaring misogyny within that book). Point being, Jonathan Gill has a subconscious bias against women that he should try to be aware of. Because he probably spent more time talking about Alexander Hamilton than he did all of the women figures combined. Good job [sarcasm].
Anyway, for the overall book: the book is organized like a disaster. His narrative style makes it hard to keep track of anything because he likes to report events, which means constant backtracking when he wants to switch topics. A lot of the transitions feel fake and don't help reorient the reader. The most interesting part of this book was again, Alexander Hamilton, and then Martin Luther King Jr. / Rustin / Malcolm X parts. The pictures are also not near their relevant parts, and grouped together weirdly so that they are hard to place anywhere in context.
Basically, this author would be better off writing about each individual separately instead of trying to link them together. I had such a hard time taking notes on this book because the facts were everywhere. Hardly a good text for studying, I'll be sure to ignore books in this windy-narrative style in the future. Especially since my interest continued to fall as each chapter went by (chapter titles don't even all have handy years to orient you!!!).
Also, as someone mentioned before, lots of mistakes in the last chapter. Seems like he submitted it last second and the editor didn't catch "plaqns" and "t5est"... yeesh.
December 19, 2014
There were those settlers in New Amsterdam who longed for farmland upstate...they started a settlement named after their home city of Haarlem. The rest is history...but the rest is always history and this is a fascinating look at New York City history focused on a different part of the island.
Harlem was always important as a way station between New Amsterdam and the northern Dutch cities of Kingston (Wilkwyck) and Albany (Beverwijck). It became a place for rich people from New Amsterdam and later New York to escape the pestilence of cholera and yellow fever. The farms of Harlem supplied the citizens of New York. Near Harlem was the town of Bloomingdale, a smaller community.
As with everything in New York, Harlem seemed to go from small town to thriving community to part of the larger metropolitan city in a short period of time. This book does a good job of showing how different ethnic populations carved out their streets...Italians on certain streets on the eastside, Germans on other streets. Each group having its own "turf," until they moved on and other immigrants replaced them. There were immigrants from overseas (a large Puerto Rican contingent to east Harlem) and from the south as African Americans moved north for better jobs. Each group brought changes to the neighborhood that they thought were permanent, but would soon give way to new ideas and people.
Obviously Harlem is known for the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and the rise of Jazz. We think of the Cotton Club and the excitement of the Big Band Era. But Harlem is constantly changing...from Duke Ellington to Bill Clinton...
This is a easy history of a neighborhood that deserves close examination.
Harlem was always important as a way station between New Amsterdam and the northern Dutch cities of Kingston (Wilkwyck) and Albany (Beverwijck). It became a place for rich people from New Amsterdam and later New York to escape the pestilence of cholera and yellow fever. The farms of Harlem supplied the citizens of New York. Near Harlem was the town of Bloomingdale, a smaller community.
As with everything in New York, Harlem seemed to go from small town to thriving community to part of the larger metropolitan city in a short period of time. This book does a good job of showing how different ethnic populations carved out their streets...Italians on certain streets on the eastside, Germans on other streets. Each group having its own "turf," until they moved on and other immigrants replaced them. There were immigrants from overseas (a large Puerto Rican contingent to east Harlem) and from the south as African Americans moved north for better jobs. Each group brought changes to the neighborhood that they thought were permanent, but would soon give way to new ideas and people.
Obviously Harlem is known for the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and the rise of Jazz. We think of the Cotton Club and the excitement of the Big Band Era. But Harlem is constantly changing...from Duke Ellington to Bill Clinton...
This is a easy history of a neighborhood that deserves close examination.
September 11, 2014
Few neighborhoods hold as strong a visceral hold on our collective imagination as Harlem, and few exemplify the fluidity of change as well. More than any other district, Harlem showcases not only the promise of America--the anxious spirit of gain and the hope for a better life--but also the challenges associated with the well-established pattern of successive waves of newcomers each in search of betterment.
There is a lot to work with north of 110th Street, and there is a wealth of detail and salient anecdote in this exhaustively researched and invitingly written study. So much so that I wonder how much Prof. Gill had to leave "on the cutting room floor." While the framework of introducing each generation of personalities and placing them within the overarching themes of each major segment of Harlem's history works well, as well as giving significant treatment to important movements in all aspects of city life--politics, economics, culture, demographics--I get a sense that the author intended more. As a result there were times when it seemed as though he was engaging in kitchen-sink presentation of ideas and analysis.
Nevertheless, the book is full of engaging information and is well written.
The last chapter in particular seems to have escaped the inspection of a copy editor, though. In addition to being a mind-boggling collection of statistics--it's almost as if the author was running out of time or energy or both in completing his manuscript--the last 40 pages are riddled with typos and misspellings. The word "tests" was typeset as "t5ests," the name of Hunter College used a lower-case "C," one sentence lacked capitalization of the first word, and on three occasions the "H" in "Harlem" was not capitalized. These errors were jarring and inexcusable
There is a lot to work with north of 110th Street, and there is a wealth of detail and salient anecdote in this exhaustively researched and invitingly written study. So much so that I wonder how much Prof. Gill had to leave "on the cutting room floor." While the framework of introducing each generation of personalities and placing them within the overarching themes of each major segment of Harlem's history works well, as well as giving significant treatment to important movements in all aspects of city life--politics, economics, culture, demographics--I get a sense that the author intended more. As a result there were times when it seemed as though he was engaging in kitchen-sink presentation of ideas and analysis.
Nevertheless, the book is full of engaging information and is well written.
The last chapter in particular seems to have escaped the inspection of a copy editor, though. In addition to being a mind-boggling collection of statistics--it's almost as if the author was running out of time or energy or both in completing his manuscript--the last 40 pages are riddled with typos and misspellings. The word "tests" was typeset as "t5ests," the name of Hunter College used a lower-case "C," one sentence lacked capitalization of the first word, and on three occasions the "H" in "Harlem" was not capitalized. These errors were jarring and inexcusable
March 27, 2012
Overly ambitious... The author covers so much ground that he tends to get lost in the details. The timeline can also be a bit confused as well. In the pages following the description of Alexander Hamilton's death, the author loops back and continues to refer to events of his life. This could work just fine, but in this book it doesn't.
I've just started using the writing tool Scrivener and I'm wondering if I see its use in the underpinnings of this book. Scrivener is great for jotting down short thoughts & facts and later bringing them together. This book has the feel of that process, only without a solid coming together (not surprising given the scope of the work: all of north Manhattan from prehistory to today.
My biggest frustration is that it does not come with usable maps. The author keeps talking about particular street locations and the changes in the Harlem land & city scape, but there's no map to reference it. The end papers does have a big map of north Manhattan (and perhaps this is what the author intended us to use), but the type is so tiny that its unusable.
I'm finding the book reasonably interesting because I work in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem and used to live in Inwood (which isn't part of Harlem, but is consider such in the book).
I've just started using the writing tool Scrivener and I'm wondering if I see its use in the underpinnings of this book. Scrivener is great for jotting down short thoughts & facts and later bringing them together. This book has the feel of that process, only without a solid coming together (not surprising given the scope of the work: all of north Manhattan from prehistory to today.
My biggest frustration is that it does not come with usable maps. The author keeps talking about particular street locations and the changes in the Harlem land & city scape, but there's no map to reference it. The end papers does have a big map of north Manhattan (and perhaps this is what the author intended us to use), but the type is so tiny that its unusable.
I'm finding the book reasonably interesting because I work in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem and used to live in Inwood (which isn't part of Harlem, but is consider such in the book).
October 23, 2016
After some rather dense early pages that are more detailed than interesting, this book gets more and more worth reading. The Dutch history of the upper island of Manhattan is all there, and then some. The African-American (and more recent African) immigrations are set in the context of similar Jewish, Italian, Puerto Rican and other immigrations as well. The chapters on the Harlem Renaissance take a broader survey than most such discussions, including music, literature, art, culture, politics and a range of other important stuff. Discussion of the role of Harlem in the U.S. civil rights movement is also interesting and far-ranging. The final chapter on the recent "gentrification" of Harlem, which wasn't always the stereotypical ghetto known to many Americans today is set in a fuller historical context that shows it to be an integral part of the rises and falls in the history of this essential part of New York City. Jonathan Gill has written an altogether interesting and worthwhile read.
May 16, 2011
A lushly told, thoroughly researched retelling of the story of the eponymous section of Manhattan from the first Dutch farms in the 1650s to the start of the 21st Century. There's not a whole lot of material to work with before the very late 1800s, so the bulk of the work occupies the 20th century with its rich entertainment legacy, hyper-radical politics, and infrastructural decline so much associated with the 60s and 70s. Unless one is enormously interested in pop culture (albeit of the first half of the 20th century and the nuances of "community organization," this book can get tedious quickly, and at least one non-blurry, non-endpaper map would really have helped understand things: I got lost in the wash of "xxxth and y" references.
November 27, 2014
I got through this book, but at times it was a close call. Much of the book seemed to drag, and even after I settled in, the absence of much in the way of storytelling technique or thematic development loomed large. The author follows a kind of encyclopedic snowplow approach throughout, rumbling straight ahead, slowly, and scooping up everything with too little discrimination.
Also, proofreading appeared absent from the final chapter entirely. Missing letters, uncapitalized sentences, "Frederick Doublass," "t5ests," etc. Yipe.
Also, proofreading appeared absent from the final chapter entirely. Missing letters, uncapitalized sentences, "Frederick Doublass," "t5ests," etc. Yipe.
August 30, 2014
A quite interesting read, but probably tries to cover too much. I needed a general introductory overview of this great and consequential neighborhood, and if you do, too, read this. It touches on a fascinating variety of historical trajectories and trends. But Harlem being as richly varied as it is/was, nothing can get much depth of coverage. So don't read this for deep expertise in any particular facet of Harlem's history.
April 7, 2012
I wanted to love this book but was disappointed. After reading Rutherford's New York I expected something similar but could not get past careless typos, a lack of maps, and a rather elaborate/unnecessarily-detailed middle bit. While there is a bulk of material, it could have been more clear and engaging. For a first draft, I like it, but for the final publication this is sub-par.
May 13, 2015
Assiduous and to be highly lauded research makes this a fascinating history, pedantic though it may be
However ................. The formatting of this book make it somewhat of a drudge to get through. Where were the editors at Grove Press?
The absence of mapS is inexcusable and greatly deters the rhythm of the text.
However ................. The formatting of this book make it somewhat of a drudge to get through. Where were the editors at Grove Press?
The absence of mapS is inexcusable and greatly deters the rhythm of the text.
April 4, 2016
This is one of those traditional, chronological marches through history. It's a very useful and captivating history that captures the phases of Harlem's development and decline. I would have liked to see something more thematic than chronological, but all-in-all, a good read. I would have given this book 4 stars but it really needs footnotes.
September 5, 2011
It's a very compelling account of the fortunes and disasters that have taken place through the years. I've enjoyed it - though towards the end the editing got really sloppy. Makes you winder if ANY proofreading was done in the last 100 pages. Annoying!!!
February 19, 2012
encyclopedic overview of the history of harlem that was all around pretty strong. but some really flagrant grammar and capitalization errors in the last chapter were kind of distracting, as was a reference to something having opened in 2020....
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