Review of Books, Murphy

Review of Books Robert F. Murphy, The Three Graces of Raymond Street: Murder, Madness, Sex, and Politics in 1870s Brooklyn. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2015. Pp. x, 243. $24.95. The three graces of the title are three women charged with murder who served time awaiting trial or verdict in the […]

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Long Island Women Preserving Nature and the Environment

By Natalie Naylor The modern environmental movement of the last half century has its roots in conservation activities beginning in the late nineteenth century. Long Islander Theodore Roosevelt was a national leader in these efforts, creating national forests, bird reserves, and national parks.[1] Many of the early conservation efforts were in the West, but TR’s […]

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Race, Ethnicity and Class on Shelter Island, 1652-2013

By Nancy Robin Jaicks Less than 110 miles from Manhattan and roughly the same size, eight thousand acres, sits the place called Shelter Island. The island is nestled between the North and South Forks of Long Island. Bounded by tranquil bays rather than by oceans – Gardiner’s Bay to the north and the Peconic Bay […]

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The Modernization of the Long Island Rail Road

By Derek Stadler Like other American railroads, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) was at an impasse by the mid-twentieth century. Since rail was no longer the preferred method of transportation, many private railroads faltered and were forced into bankruptcy, unable to fund operating costs and essential improvements. Ultimately, public management set railroads on the […]

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Review of Books, Arfin

Arfin, Paul M. Unfinished Business: Social Action in Suburbia, Long Island NY, 1945-2014. Self-published, 2015. $39.95 In the post-World War II era, Long Island rapidly began to evolve from a relatively rural landscape, to one which, by the latter decades of the twentieth century, came to typify the fully developed, modern American suburb. Due in […]

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