The Thumbnail Book Reviews

by John Q McDonald --- 13 February 2000

Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York

From the beginning of the world to the end of the Dutch Dynasty;
containing, among many surprising and curious matters, the unutterable
ponderings of Walter the Doubter, the disastrous projects of William the
Testy, and the chivalric achievements of Peter the Headstrong -- the three
Dutch governors of New Amsterdam: being the only authentic history of the
times that ever hath or ever will be published:

by Washington Irving

This book (and its verbose sub-title) is an interesting slice of history on many levels. First of all, it marks one of the earliest and cleverest of literary publicity stunts. Washington Irving ran a series of articles in New York papers relating the sordid tale of Diedrich Knickerbocker and the book he abandoned. In 1808, this went over well, and Irving's book (written when he was only 24) sold well. The book is also a landmark in American satirical literature, being the intricately told tale of the founding of New York City through its early Dutch settlement. This is a bit of American history not well told in elementary schools. With the satirical bent of the book, it adheres pretty loosely to historical fact (and its relation of the origin of the world is colored with lighthearted fantasy and myth). Irving wrote the book as a response to more serious contemporary works purporting to be accurate portraits of the New York area. Diedrich Knickerbocker's story is patriotic to the Dutch, rabble-rousing and biting. Though tedious at times, the book has many gems of opinion and curmudgeonly attitude, particularly Irving's brilliant and sensitive analysis of Europeans' presumed "right" to take the land from the natives. And it is to this book that New York owes all its current references to the Knickerbocker name (all the way down to the NY Knicks..).

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