"Island at the centre of the world" by Russel Shorto

At the moment I am reading something that caught my eye for years already (I clearly remember the moment when I first saw the book, in Copenhagen's bookshop some time ago) and finally the book came my way (yes, I have decided to leave both Stephen King and Father Brown aside for now). It is quite fascinating and brilliant look into another time, almost forgotten chapter in history, the very first beginning of New York and its original inhabitants: Dutchmen who were here first, representing interest of Dutch West India Company. They were later completely obscured in history, because Englishmen conquered their lands and so we know almost nothing about these people and their lives, the history of New York was therefore written from English-speaking point of view and focused on later stories. It is Russel Shorto now (with a help of Dr. Charles Gehrling who had studied ancient documents for decades) who does almost archeological work and unearths the names and stories about Manhattan's very first inhabitants.

What comes out of these pages is a exciting story set in brutal times, a true time-machine and a glimpse in distant era, when adventurers of all sorts crossed Atlantic in search for a new start: there are literary hundreds of interesting characters here, all well documented and thanks to research we now know names of everybody who lived in "New Amsterdam's" 342 houses! From Henry Hudson who bravely sailed trough unknown waters just to end his life being marooned in a small boat by his mutinous crew, to Peter Menuit who bought the island of Manhattan from Native Indians for few trinkets, to slutty barmaid Griet Reyniers and her pirate husband, from fascinating figure of lawman Adrian van der Donck who fell in love in this strange new country, to old Claes Swits whose murder started war with Native Indians, to women like Anne Hutchinson, Lady Deborah Moody (whom Puritans declared "dangerous woman") and Thomas Beech's wife Nanne who "notwithstanding her husband's presence fumbled at the front of the breeches of most of all of those who were present" - these are just some of people forgotten by history but Russo brings them back to life in a fascinating saga that actually makes history truly page-turning read. Right now I came to the point where Dutch company decided to replace Director Willem Kleft with another man of authority and famous one-legged Peter Stuyvesant arrives on a stage. It is truly a magnificent book and I am reading it with greatest interest, in fact I enjoy it so much that I got myself another title from the same author already. Not to mention that I do my Internet encyclopedia research all the way trough!

p.s.

Just finished this morning - must say that writer Russel Shorto did an excellent job, he is very passionate & inspired. After all, the story could have been dry and mildewed like those centuries old documents from archives, but he brings characters back to life with excitement, fire and compassion. Towards the end even our perspective on Stuyvesant changes slightly and we see him more as a human being fighting bravely with the windmills. I read all of this with greatest interest.