Education:
Ph.D., Columbia University - 1973 (History)
Areas of Expertise:
History of New York City; 18th century America; the American Revolution.
Books and Publications
"The Gibraltar of America." New York 400. Museum of the City of New York. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2009
Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners during the Revolutionary War. Basic Books. Spoke about the book at more than two dozen venues, including the National Archives and the Lehman Center at Columbia University. (Books and Publications: Book) 2008
Sabbatical leave to complete Forgotten Patriots: American Prisoners in the Revolutionary War. Basic Books. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2008
Continued research and writing on "The Prisoners of New York" (Basic Books), the first full-length study of American prisoners of war in British-occupied New York City. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2006
"New York City." The Encyclopedia of New York State. Ed. Peter S. Eisenstadt. Lead article. Syracuse. 1062-77. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2005
"The Cornell Letters." American in Britain 43. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2005
"The Ordeal of Kings County." The Other New York: The American Revolution Beyond New York City. Eds. Joseph S. Tiedemann and Eugene R. Fingerhut. 1062-77. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2005
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Forgotten Patriots received the Herbert H. Lehman prize for Distinguished Scholarship from the New York Academy of History. (Awards and Honors) 2012
NEH Summer Stipend for "The Prisoners of New York." (Grants and Fellowships) 2007
Presidential Medal, Hofstra University. (Awards and Honors) 2001
Elected a Fellow of the Society of American Historians. (Awards and Honors) 2000
Washington Irving Medal, St. Nicholas Society. (Awards and Honors) 2000
Gotham named "Best Book of the Year" by the New York Society Library. (Awards and Honors) 1999
Brendan Gill Prize, Municipal Arts Society. (Awards and Honors) 1999
Named "Centennial Historian of New York" by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. (Awards and Honors) 1999
Pulitzer Prize in History for Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. (Oxford). (Awards and Honors) 1999
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
"The American Revolution Considered as a Civil War" keynote address. Conference on Civil Wars in History. Sponsored by the Idaho Council on History Education. Boise, Idaho, Oct. 8. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"The Prisoners of New York." Stony Brook University. Oct. 4. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"The Prisoners of New York." 27th Annual Conference on New York History, June 1. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
Professional Leadership
Elected president of the New York Academy of History (two-year term). (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Elected to a three-year term on the executive board of the Society of American Historians. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Named to editorial board of New York History. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009
Continued service on the board of directors, Dyckman Farmhouse Museum. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2006
Named to the board of directors, New York Academy of History, created by Kenneth Jackson (Columbia University) in 2006 to further research and writing in the history of New York. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2006
Other Professional Activities
Consultant and on-camera commentator for Walt Whitman, a new PBS documentary on the life of the poet. 2007
As a distinguished lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, spoke to public audiences in Connecticut and New Jersey. 2006
Consultant and on-camera narrator for The Sugar Connection, a documentary about the manors of colonial Long Island and global trade in the 17th century. Produced by the Suffolk County Archaeological Association. 2006
Named to the Distinguished Lecturship Series, Organization of American Historians. 2002
