New York Burning
Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan

This book offers a balanced view of a possible, perhaps probable, conspiracy for revolt amongst enslaved Black folks.......more

Lepore offers a well-researched reconstruction of the alleged conspiracy of the 1741 arsons in New York. Is this an important book? I imagine so. Is it a “good read”? Not necessarily. Her narrative and style of writing is commendable – having to sift through, quote from, and reinterpret the Ye Olde......more

I didn't like this as well as Lepore's The Name of War, but it's a worthwhile read. Lepore addresses two huge issues that don't get taught about American history. First, slavery as an institution thrived in all of the American colonies (later states), not just the Southern US. In the 1700s, New York......more

This didn't come together for me, which is a shame because I still think Lepore's These Truths is one of the great works of historical writing in recent times. But this was too diffuse, running down narrative rabbit holes with a large group of historical figures it was very hard to keep track of......more

This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I still got some interesting things out of it. Granted, I don’t really share Lepore’s politics. I listened to an interview she did on a New Yorker podcast episode about socialism and it was hard to listen to. I rarely enjoy reading politics covered......more