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A review by dale_in_va
The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee
3.0
Interesting bit of history about a historical person that I didn’t know much about. It was mildly engaging but I kept feeling as if much was left out due to the perspective the author decided to take.
Frankly I enjoyed the peripheral characters more than the main character and the story left me wanting to know more about Cornelius Williams and Hannah Elias than about Andrew Haswell Green.
Part of me wonders if Jonathan Lee would have written this book a bit differently post the “Black Lives Matters” movement. Because while Green’s goals to have Central Park and other NYC institutions accessible to people of all classes was very altruistic, it is well known that the construction of Central park displaced traditionally black settlements. I guess it just highlights how nothing is quite black and white when it comes to public policy and politics.
Frankly I enjoyed the peripheral characters more than the main character and the story left me wanting to know more about Cornelius Williams and Hannah Elias than about Andrew Haswell Green.
Part of me wonders if Jonathan Lee would have written this book a bit differently post the “Black Lives Matters” movement. Because while Green’s goals to have Central Park and other NYC institutions accessible to people of all classes was very altruistic, it is well known that the construction of Central park displaced traditionally black settlements. I guess it just highlights how nothing is quite black and white when it comes to public policy and politics.