The Encyclopedia of New York City

Starred review from March 1, 2011

This beloved work, revised and expanded from the 1995 original, amasses the collective knowledge on New York City into a volume small enough to pick up and hold and large enough to satisfy the scholars, students, and enthusiasts native to New York or just passing through. Approximately 800 new entries and thousands of updated entries (about 100 were discarded) describe and contextualize the people, places, events, and phenomena that tell the story of New York City. Look up every half-remembered anecdote about the city's past, from Manhattan's abandoned pneumatic subway to the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, or browse the entries on the writers, politicians, athletes, artists, musicians, and scientists who have helped shape the city's character. Charts and maps cull data from the census and various New York institutions as well as present the city's particularities--find historical ferry routes, a flow chart of elevated railway takeovers, and a list of free summer productions of Shakespeare in the Park. Each detail pinpoints a specific moment in New York's evolution, and the new edition of this encyclopedia describes a city that has most decidedly evolved since 1995, with new entries on September 11, E-ZPass, 311, Atlantic Yards, Citi Field, and Eliot Spitzer, among others. The dictionary format with cross-references and a well-crafted index remains easy to use, and the fantastic editorial and advisory board led by Jackson (Jacques Barzun Professor of History, Columbia Univ.) lends the volume authority. Articles are signed and sometimes include one or two suggested readings, although the encyclopedia's strength as a point of discovery makes this reviewer wish for more from this feature. BOTTOM LINE Highly recommended for metropolitan collections and academic libraries, this encyclopedia is also a page-turner, and how many reference works can you say that about?--Brooke Watkins, NYPL

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2011
The first edition of this award-winning encyclopedia was published in 1995. A lot has happened in 15 years, and the second edition reflects many of the changes. There are more than 800 additions (and some deletions). Among the new entries are those for E-ZPass, Ground Zero, Bernard Madoff, and Eliot Spitzer. Other interesting additions include an article on city squares and a chart listing squares in the nineteenth century and a box listing SUNY campuses in the city. Additional illustrations for a number of entries enhance the text, but all are still black and white. Some of the criticisms of the first edition were addressedJoe DiMaggio now has his own entry, and the index includes more than just personal names. A minor criticism is that entries are alphabetical letter by letter, which is the less common form of alphabetization. For a new generation that has not used or been taught alphabetization, this may be an annoyance. In the preface, the editor justifies publishing another print volume, and his reason regarding browsing is correct. Reading an article about the Swedes in New York, one finds two new entries on the page: SweetN Low factory and Swill milk. Those entries might never be discovered when reading online. And Swill milk doesnt even have its own entry in Wikipedia. For libraries wanting a choice of format, an online edition is promised, but the print version is a welcome addition to almost any reference collection. The price is the same as the first edition$65which is certainly a bargain for a major reference source.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)