New York

At the mouth of the Hudson River lies New York City. With its dizzying spires, glittering lights, and famous statue holding out a welcoming beacon to the poor and huddled masses of the world, the city is the cultural and financial heart of the United States and the most illustrious in the world. Now a teeming metropolis with a population of millions drawn from around the globe, the area around the island of Man-a-ha-ra was home to tribes of the Algonquin people for thousands of years. Then came Dutch explorers who realized the strategic advantages of the island, bought it from its native people for a handful of European goods, and raised New Amsterdam.

These book picks out images that best represent key points in the development of New York as we know it today. It includes photographs of the city's best-loved sights, such as the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and Central Park, as well as less well-known, but fascinating fragments of the past, such as vintage photos of St. Mark's in the Bowery, said to be haunted by the ghost of New Amsterdam's first governor, Peter Stuyvesant; the Five Points district, which inspired Gangs of New York; and the Algonquin Hotel where Dorothy Parker and other members of New York's literary "Round Table" once met.