Four Streets and a Square: A History of Manhattan and the New York Idea by Marc Aronson

Abstract

Reviewed by: Four Streets and a Square: A History of Manhattan and the New York Idea by Marc Aronson Elizabeth Bush Aronson, Marc Four Streets and a Square: A History of Manhattan and the New York Idea. Candlewick, 2021 [440p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9780763651374 $29.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781536205930 $29.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 6-12 In this ambitious, free-wheeling history of NYC, Aronson identifies five places of bustling activity that are emblematic of the city’s greatest aspirations, as well as its failure to achieve them over centuries of non-Indigenous settlement. Wall Street represents the grandees, Forty-Second Street the cultural hub, West Fourth Street the proving ground for civil liberties, 125th Street the exemplar of minority struggle and achievement, and Union Square the center for workers’ rights and the antithesis of Wall Street. Readers of varied interests, learning preferences, and attention spans can approach this work in several ways. Browsers, info miners, and multimedia enthusiasts can head straight to their favorite topics, guided by traditional headings and index, or by margin icons that indicate an available link to online sources, a particularly valuable strategy for those interested in the arts. Readers who prefer to soak up stories can let the chatty text roll steadily past, with Aronson as an engaging tour bus guide on a route that, one senses, is heavily influenced by his personal scholarship and enthusiasms. Young adults with time and commitment, though, will be rewarded by following Aronson’s long game: investigating a “New York idea,” an audacious test of what can happen when hundreds, thousands, millions of disparate people pile into close quarters and come away changed, sometimes bloodied or impoverished, but just as often tolerant, progressive, and proud. Maps orient out-of-towners to Manhattan’s spatial dimension; timelines frequently introduce eras and keep topical asides on track; annotated chapter notes, bibliography, and index support student research; and galleries of illustration delight everybody. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois