The reading structure allow the reader to visualize and understand American History from outside and inside. Wonderful maps, statistical charts, great photos, and a very good section titled: historical question. If you are the type of person in exploring new perspectives of the American History, do not hesitate to look this book.

This is a fascinating and truly extraordinary work of history, a window on all sorts of early 19th century Americana: the complex social and economic fabric of small but burgeoning New York City; respectable (and hardscrabble) society in Maine; prostitution; the news media; the legal system; the postal system -- virtually every aspect of then-contemporary American institutions and manners up to and including nose-tweaking. In many respects, the world Professor Cohen describes is utterly unlike our own (for example, prostitution in NYC was more than merely tolerated, men did not run the business, and at least until the Jewett case, the prostitutes felt comfortable invoking the protections of police and courts). The book is naturally provocative as well as informative as an account of relations among early 19th century men and women generally, yet always balanced and never strident or didactic (which is rather surprising, considering the subject and the circumstances). It is also a satisfying detective story -- you will be eager to know whodunnit -- and includes a murder trial with some uncanny parallels to that of O.J. Simpson. Finally, though, in bringing so fully to life across a gap of so many years both Helen Jewett and her client/lover, the young Mr. Robinson, Professor Cohen has introduced us to two characters who, once discovered, simply refuse to go away and be forgotten. (These two were contemporaries of Andrew Jackson and Davey Crockett, for example, but this book makes them seem much fresher and more readily accessible.) The book is filled with detail, which may not be for everyone. But for those who find details satisfying, this book is very likely to surprise and delight you.

The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen is an interesting look at a sensational case that touches on many aspects of life in Victorian era New York City. Helen Jewett is the centre of the story and the author gives as much information as she can so that Jewett becomes a living character in history rather than as the symbol she became at the time of her murder. This book is much more than a sensational murder and trial as it becomes a thoroughly researched and wonderfully readable look into the growing pains of a big city. This story is about men and women, clerks and prostitues, legal codes and tabloid journalism, politics and capitilism. Ms. Cohen does a superb job of taking all of these pieces and truly bringing the 1830's Manhattan alive for the reader. A true find and a great pleasure.

I haven't even finished this book yet (I just got it a few days ago) and I am neglecting other things I ought to be doing in order to read it. It is truly mesmerizing, absorbing. Cohen has ably re-created the world of 1830s New York so that it is vital and real, as are the characters she writes about. I haven't met Robinson yet, but I love Helen Jewett -- her spunk, her independence... what might she have been in our modern era? Cline's research is mind-boggling. She left no stone unturned to show a world that is literally like peeling an onion: every layer leads you to something else. Even her explanatory endnotes are interesting. For me, a hallmark of a good book is that you think about it occasionally when you're not reading it. This is that kind of book. A caveat for readers who like a quickly-paced murder mystery: this is a scholarly work (albeit an unusually exciting one)that shows how the world around Helen Jewett influenced what happened to her. Take your time and get to know that world. It will make the mystery more appealing, and more understandable.

This book omits several important events in U. S. History up to 1865. But is sufficient for introductory classes in U. S. History. While it does a sufficient job as a survey source, it is not recommended for an in-depth study of any period in U. S. History. Further, Roark seems to emphasize some events that seem less important to U. S. History.

This book is very well written, quite long, though