New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Recent Books About New York State

Authors and publishers of new books related to New York State can have their books noticed on the New York Almanack by following the submission guidelines HERE.

The Floating Pool Lady: Bringing A Public Pool to NYC’s Waterfront

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the floating pool ladyBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

In The Floating Pool Lady: A Quest to Bring a Public Pool to New York City’s Waterfront (Cornell University Press, 2021) Ann L. Buttenwieser recounts her triumphant adventure that started in the bayous of Louisiana and ended with a self-sustaining, floating swimming pool moored in New York Harbor. [Read more…] about The Floating Pool Lady: Bringing A Public Pool to NYC’s Waterfront

Catherine O’Donnell Discusses ‘Elizabeth Seton: American Saint’

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Elizabeth Seton American SaintEpisode two of “Empire State Engagements” features a conversation with Dr. Catherine O’Donnell of Arizona State University exploring her book Elizabeth Seton, American Saint (Ithaca, NY: Three Hills/Cornell University Press, 2018).

O’Donnell discussed young Elizabeth Seton’s formative years in New York City, the intellectual forces and family tragedies that informed her spiritual journey, the evolution of American Catholicism, and Mother Seton’s remarkable journey from despair to serenity and, ultimately, sainthood. [Read more…] about Catherine O’Donnell Discusses ‘Elizabeth Seton: American Saint’

Indispensables: New Book On Marblehead’s Soldier-Mariners

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The IndispensablesBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2021) by Patrick O’Donnel looks back at the American Revolution’s soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. [Read more…] about Indispensables: New Book On Marblehead’s Soldier-Mariners

Tragic, But True: A New York Soldier In The Civil War

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Hobart M. WalkerThe guns at Fort Sumter had barely fallen silent when Hobart Walker – an idealistic New York teenager enlisted. From then until the very last days of the war, he successively wore the uniform of five different units, suffered wounds in battle and was held as a prisoner-of-war. Discharged for a disability, he re-enlisted. Discharged when his regiment was overstaffed, he re-enlisted. He evolved from starry-eyed youth to seasoned veteran, but he never lost sight of that which sustained him – the conviction that his country needed him. [Read more…] about Tragic, But True: A New York Soldier In The Civil War

New Novel Considers Role of Hesitant Utica Abolitionists

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The Third Mrs. GalwayBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new novel The Third Mrs. Galway (Kaylie Jones Books, 2021) by Deirdre Sinnott looks back at Utica in 1835, when newlywed Helen Galway discovers two people who have escaped enslavement are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. She must then decide if she should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives, or if she will defy convention and come to their aid. [Read more…] about New Novel Considers Role of Hesitant Utica Abolitionists

Saved at the Seawall: New Book Highlights 9/11 Stories

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Saved at the SeawallBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift (Cornell University Press, 2021) by Jessica DuLong is the definitive history of the largest ever waterborne evacuation. [Read more…] about Saved at the Seawall: New Book Highlights 9/11 Stories

Kara Murphy Schlichting Discusses ‘New York Recentered’

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On the first episode of “Empire State Engagements” Dr. Kara Murphy Schlichting of Queens College, CUNY, discussed metropolis-makers on the urban periphery, the heroism of local libraries, the hubris of hipness, her views on Robert Moses, and her revisionist environmental history of the making of modern New York City, in a conversation with Dr. Chiles about her book New York Recentered: Building the Metropolis from the Shore (Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago, 2019). [Read more…] about Kara Murphy Schlichting Discusses ‘New York Recentered’

A Prison in the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in the North Country

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John Brown Lives! has announced A Prison in the Woods: Environment and Incarceration in the North Country, a virtual book talk with author Clarence Jefferson Hall, Jr. set for Wednesday, May 19th. [Read more…] about A Prison in the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in the North Country