Wednesday, December 29, 2004

"An Island at the Center of the World"

One thing leads to another. I'm reading "An Island at the Center of the World" and the author keeps referencing another book that is out-of-print. I hate that. Anyway, this is a great book about the Dutch importance in the settling of New York City - all early colonial history stuff - and Adriaen Van der Donck is the central figure. It was he who wrote the now out-of-print book: "A Description of New Netherlands" which is literally that. Van der Donck travelled extensively throughout New York State and recorded his observations on the the Indians, geography, and plants. He was a huge promoter of how wonderful this New World was, and many people emmigrated because of reading his book. Well - I just found a used copy and can't wait to read it.