The Encyclopedia of New York City.

Kenneth T. Jackson, editor. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.

The need for a New York City encyclopedia, that both researchers and general readers would find useful, was recognized by Edward Tripp of Yale University Press in 1982. In 1986 the New York Historical Society agreed to co-publish such a book.

The editors made several decisions that provided a framework for the project. First, the encyclopedia would range chronologically from prehistory to the present. Second, it would cover the entire area now making up the five boroughs, most of which did not become part of New York City until 1898. And lastly, there was an effort to include groups that had been neglected in scholarly and popular writings, namely women, African-Americans, Latinos, and immigrants. The result of this work is a one volume encyclopedia which extensively maps the territory of our nation's largest city.

It contains 4300 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 650 contributors, with nearly 700 illustrations. Included are articles on 416 neighborhoods, 68 ethnic groups, 29 religious denominations, 114 schools, 37 hotels, 20 advertising agencies, and 102 newspapers and magazines. The interpretations contained in the entries are those of the individual authors rather than the editors, and they will occasionally differ. Those readers more seriously interested in researching particular subjects may want to consult additional sources for further information. But this is the place to look if you want to know quick answers to questions like: What and where was Tin Pan Alley? What is an egg cream? Was William Tweed ever mayor of New York city? What was Murder Incorporated? or When did Zabar's open?

I've spent many a happy lunch hour with the Encyclopedia, perusing random entries and learning all sorts of interesting trivia. And as a general semanticist, who believes facts are rapidly aging events which may sometimes be inaccurate to begin with, I appreciated the concluding paragraph in the preface: "New York City has never been a static entity, and neither is the encyclopedia. Future editions are planned to bring the book up to date and, inevitably, enlarge it. And although every one of the 1.3 million words in this book has been read by the editor in chief, the executive editor, and one or more copy editors and fact checkers (and usually by a managing editor and an associate editor as well), the encyclopedia is certain to contain errors. The editor accepts responsibility for them all and asks that corrections and suggestions be sent to him at the Department of History, Columbia University, New York, New York."