The Big Apple

Wed, 12/21/2005 - 6:08pm by Debbie G.

Transit strikes come, transit strikes go. The City endures. Pete Hamill knows, as only an old newspaper reporter can, the streets, the people, the stories that make New York City so captivating and so confounding . Listen to Downtown: My Manhattan and you’ll want to visit even if you have to walk from the airport.

Once Hamill has you hooked on the Big Apple, you’ll want to know how it all started. The Island at the Center of the World takes you back to the founding of New Netherland, describing the array of cultures and peoples that created one of the most diverse cities in the world.

For an even larger perspective on cities and civilizations, listen to The City, Joel Kotkin’s exploration of the history of cities around the world. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond’s bestseller focuses on how societies undermine their own ecological foundations. A cautionary tale for all cities, including the Big Apple of the Midwest, Ann Arbor.