Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Naming Gotham:
We’re gonna need to rename a few things after this.
Quick synopsis:
The various stories about how major parts of New York City were named.
Fact for Non-History People:
Major Deegan was actually an army major. His full name was William Francis Deegan.
Fact for History Nerds:
When Anne Hutchinson was put on trial, she was 46 and pregnant with her sixteenth child.
My Take on Naming Gotham:
New York City is one of the largest metropolises in the world. Naturally, it has names of people plastered all over it. Often, these names are placed on hellscapes where you might lose an entire afternoon sitting in place because the guy in front of you just won’t MOVE. It must be his first day driving because clearly traffic is moving in front of him. Don’t you sometimes just want to RAM into the back of….okay, I got off topic. My bad.
Anyway, the Holland Tunnel is one of the worst places on Earth. I don’t recommend you go there, but I do recommend reading about how it, and various other elements of New York City, got named. Luckily, the big ones are captured in Naming Gotham by Rebecca Bratspies. Each quick chapter covers a bridge, highway, library, or you name it with a biography of the person and how their name ended up where it did. Once completed, you will still be stuck in awful traffic on the Hutch, but at least you’ll know how it got its name!
You should probably just leave the book in the car. You can read it while you are sitting there.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the author.)
Verdict:
Utterly fascinating. Buy it here!
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