what is probably a large gap in most people's knowledge of former New York (especially those who don't live here). Shorto focuses of course on Peter Stuyvesant, probably the one name most people can remember, but he broadens out his character greatly. He focuses even more on Adriaen van der Donck, a young lawyer, previously unknown or little-known, whose presence was a major influence (though again Shorto at times seems to strain this point) on the colony. The dispute between these two and what they represent make up much of the book's description of the colony. A welcome decision on Shorto's part was to place his discussion of the colony in a larger context, both in terms of what was happening elsewhere in America with the better known English colonies and as well the lesser-known European history. He does a good job of clearly and concisely explaining issues of succession, of civil war, of multiple wars between empires, etc. There is just enough that the reader understands the context but not so much that the reader is bogged down or loses sight ever of the books' main focus. All in all, the facts are interesting, the people more so, and if Shorto pushes a bit too far in trying prove a Dutch influence on present-day America or is a bit too imaginative, those flaws are easily spotted, almost as easily ignored, and mar the book only slightly. Recommended. It is hard to picture Manhattan as the Dutch first saw it.