Although no battles were fought on Long Island; the Civil War deeply affected all of its residents. More than three thousand men�white and black�from current-day Queens; Nassau and Suffolk Counties answered the call to preserve the Union. While Confederate ships lurked within eight miles of Montauk Point; camps in Mineola and Willets Point trained regiments. Local women raised thousands of dollars for Union hospitals; and Long Island companies manufactured uniforms; drums and medicines for the army. At the same time; a little-remembered draft riot occurred in Jamaica in 1863. Local authors Harrison Hunt and Bill Bleyer explore this fascinating story; from the 1860 presidential campaign that polarized the region to the wartime experiences of Long Islanders on the battlefield and at home.
#3156640 in eBooks 2015-06-15 2015-06-15File Name: B00XW4NJ9A
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in the life of cities...and democracyBy Adam GreenfieldKristine Millers new book is the clearest; most concise and concrete discussion of issues around the definition of public space that Ive encountered. Among the issues Miller explores are:- What constitutes a public?- How are law; regulation; rhetoric and design used to control who gets to use a space; and what theyre allowed to do there?- Just how is eminent domain - the states prerogative to claim private property; for the ostensible benefit of the public - constructed?- How can aesthetics be deployed to muddy the fact that an apparently private domain like the atrium at Trump Tower has in fact been paid for (and continues to be subsidized) by you and me; the public?Each of these issues is brought to vivid life through well-chosen examples from the recent history of New York City; from the controversy over Richard Serras "Tilted Arc" to the design-abetted; megacorp-friendly "renewal" of Times Square. Even though these conflicts are far from obscure; Millers careful explication reveals facets of each that have hitherto not been well aired - for example; I was unaware of the bowderlization and betrayal of photographer Neil Selkirks "Faces of 42nd Street" series until Miller reported on it. (Apparently; neither was Selkirk.)In its distillation of some important ideas from Habermas and Lefebvre; "Designs on the Public" reminds us that the seemingly self-explanatory notion of "public space" is something continually in the process of being constructed; renegotiated; and challenged. Its a bracing; not always happy but absolutely crucial read: those of us who believe that democracy is something that happens in public are best served by understanding how very contingent access and the right to use can be. Ive added it as required reading for the course I teach at NYUs Interactive Telecommunications Program; and recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone concerned about the life of cities.
