Diedrich Knickerbocker, a fictional man of stature, flamboyance and Dutch lineage, gets a history and identity worthy of New York’s swagger in this exploration by Bradley (a contributor to The Encyclopedia of New York City
) of how Knickerbocker shaped the city’s identity. The narrator of Washington Irving’s A History of New York
, Knickerbocker has charmed readers since 1809 with his half-fantastical urban history, one that inspired local pride at a time when, according to Bradley, the city faced an identity crisis. Peppered with anecdotes, such as Knickerbocker’s claiming of the doughnut for his city, Bradley’s account maintains that the proud Dutchman “inspired New Yorkers to assert their own idiosyncratic relationship to the city, and to its history.” Knickerbocker was appropriated: for political gain during FDR’s presidency, commercial reward for countless businesses and sports promotion for teams like the New York Knicks. While Bradley’s flat prose fails to match the Knickerbocker’s largesse, literary historians and proud New Yorkers alike will delight in the character who brought pomp and legend to the city first nicknamed Gotham by Washington Irving 200 years ago. (July)
