When did the Statue of Liberty turn green? And 101 other questions about New York City

While many excellent books have addressed the endlessly fascinating history and lore of New York City, the staff of the New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) library has entered the fray with this wonderful new offering. This compendium of both popular and more obscure questions and answers is filled with colorful, quirky historical threads that combine to create an extraordinary tapestry depicting New York's story. For example: What's the oldest cemetery in New York City? The answer might surprise (hint: it's not in Manhattan). While some questions concern a story or place, others pertain to famous New Yorkers, e.g., Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor of Dutch New Amsterdam, and his famous peg leg. All answers are thoroughly documented from sources including secondary histories, original pamphlets, and accounts in newspapers or magazines. These sleuths also consulted private documents and correspondence in the N-YHS collections. VERDICT This is an almost addictive read, and when readers reach the last question, they'll hope for a sequel. Whether one is a serious historian or a hobbyist, there is much to enjoy here. Importantly, it's also a resource that public librarians will find eminently useful. Don't be surprised if "New-York Historical Society Fun Facts" becomes a regular category on Jeopardy. Highly recommended. [See Q&A with N-YHS reference librarian Mariam Touba, p. 86.-Ed.]-Richard Drezen, Brooklyn, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When did the Statue of Liberty turn green? For more than twenty years, the Statue of Liberty, originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World," was dark brown, only changing to its familiar verdant hue close to the time of America's entry into the First World War. By the early 1920s, the entire monument turned green. The dark color of the statue in the early years gives quite accidental plausibility to proponents of a theory that the model for the work was black and that she was donated to the United States to celebrate the end of American slavery. August Bartholdi, however, claimed he gave the sculpture the stern features of his mother. Excerpted from When Did the Statue of Liberty Turn Green?: And 101 Other Questions about New York City by Jean Ashton, Nina Nazionale All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.