NEW YORK: THE NOVEL, by EDWARD RUTHERFURD

One of the most amazing books I have ever read. Sometimes, historical fiction can be dull and boring, but this book's 860 pages flew by like no book I have read before.

The story follows the lives of the descendants of the (fictional) van Dyck and Master families over three centuries of New York history. The story covers the days of New Amsterdam, when New York was a small, Native American fishing village, to when the British took over, through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the Draft Riots, the explosion of immigration in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the great Depression, all the way up to the tragedy of September 11 (plus an epilogue in 2009). The novel is incredibly well researched, the characters are well-developed and interesting, and unlike some of the other historical novels I have read, utterly fascinating. Informative, funny, and at times, heart wrenching, I cannot recommend this book enough. Definitely one of the best books I have ever read.