Gotham at War
A History of New York City from 1933 to 1945
Published on 6. January 2026
Book
Hardback
976 pages
978-0-19-938451-8 (ISBN)
Description
The culminating volume in the acclaimed Gotham series, Gotham at War delivers an unforgettable portrait of America's greatest city during history's most catastrophic conflict.
Gotham at War unveils the history of New York and the Second World War, from isolationism and factionalism to crucible of the American effort and the Allied Cause in a total and global war.
Kaleidoscopic and immersive, Gotham at War captures the full spectrum of New York and the war from every possible aspect-social, political, economic, and military. Even before the war had started street battles between New York's homegrown fascists and the workers' movement-allied with immigrants from all over the world and their children in the barrios of Gotham-played prelude. Set in the generation after race "scientists" based in the elite warrens of the Upper East Side championed and then imposed national immigration restriction, Gotham at War sees New Yorkers struggle to shake off the city's eugenic past.
Between 1933 and 1945, the city wrestled with itself, starting from the rise of Hitler through isolationism and growing interventionism; through Pearl Harbor and a full-throated war effort, when millions of American soldiers and sailors and billions of tons of materiel passed through New York's waterfronts to the warfronts. Along the way Mike Wallace's saga traces the transformation of New York, embracing garment workers and skyscrapers; the subway and Wall Street; gangsters and idealists; pols and reformers; nightclubs and boardrooms; Nazi infiltrators and FBI gumshoes; magazines and movies; shuls and cathedrals; every neighborhood, every industry, and all the peoples of the city swept up in a world that had caught fire.
Here is a portrait of a city and a war like no other. Gotham at War traces the transformation of New York from Depression-wracked mother of exiles to a front in the Second World War, and ultimately to the seat of the United Nations and a very contested "capital of the world."
Gotham at War unveils the history of New York and the Second World War, from isolationism and factionalism to crucible of the American effort and the Allied Cause in a total and global war.
Kaleidoscopic and immersive, Gotham at War captures the full spectrum of New York and the war from every possible aspect-social, political, economic, and military. Even before the war had started street battles between New York's homegrown fascists and the workers' movement-allied with immigrants from all over the world and their children in the barrios of Gotham-played prelude. Set in the generation after race "scientists" based in the elite warrens of the Upper East Side championed and then imposed national immigration restriction, Gotham at War sees New Yorkers struggle to shake off the city's eugenic past.
Between 1933 and 1945, the city wrestled with itself, starting from the rise of Hitler through isolationism and growing interventionism; through Pearl Harbor and a full-throated war effort, when millions of American soldiers and sailors and billions of tons of materiel passed through New York's waterfronts to the warfronts. Along the way Mike Wallace's saga traces the transformation of New York, embracing garment workers and skyscrapers; the subway and Wall Street; gangsters and idealists; pols and reformers; nightclubs and boardrooms; Nazi infiltrators and FBI gumshoes; magazines and movies; shuls and cathedrals; every neighborhood, every industry, and all the peoples of the city swept up in a world that had caught fire.
Here is a portrait of a city and a war like no other. Gotham at War traces the transformation of New York from Depression-wracked mother of exiles to a front in the Second World War, and ultimately to the seat of the United Nations and a very contested "capital of the world."
Reviews / Votes
...An engaging and lively narrative. * Vincent Cannato, Commentary * Remarkable....fluently chronicles the years before and during World War II as they affected and shaped the city, the nation, and ultimately the world. * Brenda Wineapple, New York Review of Books * A historical tour de force. * Kirkus * Offers a dazzling panorama of the generation in which New York emerged as a preeminent global city. * David Marcus, The Deal * GOTHAM AT WAR is a stupendous study... the pace never lags as [Wallace] briskly marches across an enormous amount of territory. * Jacob Heilbrunn, The New York Times * New York City has challenged legions of writers who have attempted to wrestle its 350-year history into literary form. With "Gotham at War," completing his epic "Gotham" trilogy, Mike Wallace has come closer than anyone else and is unlikely to be rivaled anytime soon ...Each [chapter] is a small masterpiece of concision that combines erudition, insight and dry humor. * Fergus Bordewich, Wall Street Journal * The volume is a masterclass in the lessons of history. * Eduardo Lago, El Pais *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
102
Dimensions
Height: 260 mm
Width: 183 mm
Thickness: 49 mm
Weight
2170 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-938451-8 (9780199384518)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2025
OUP eBook
€32.99
Available for download
E-Book
08/2025
OUP eBook
€32.99
Available for download
Person
Mike Wallace is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Founder and Advisory Board Chair of the Gotham Center for New York City History. He is the co-author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, and the author of Greater Gotham: A History of New York City from 1898 to 1919.
Content
NAZIS AND NEW YORK
1. Boycott
2. Brain Drain
3. Nazis in New York
4. A Fifth Column?
5. Kristallnacht
6. Emigres Arrive: Manhattan
7. Emigres Arrive: Williamsburg
8. Aliens and Enemies
ITALIANS
9. Duce! Duce!
10. Italian Anti-Fascists
11. Hands off Ethiopia!
12. Ambling Alp v. Brown Bomber
13. "The Eagles of Rome Have Devoured the Lion of Judah"
14. Italians and Jews: 1938-1941
15. Louis v. Schmeling
THE IRISH
16. The Waning of the Green
17. Catholic New York
18. Church Besieged
19. War in Spain
20. Viva La Quince Brigada!
21. Greens and Reds: The Transport Workers Union
22. Catholics v. "Communists"
23. Christian Front
24. Enter Spellman
25. Spellman Takes Command
26. The Cross and the Flag
27. Polonia
ASIAN NEW YORK
28. Japanese New York
29. Chinese Gotham
IN UNO PLURES
30. Pluralists
31. Culture Warrior
32. Building Brotherhood
33. Feteing the Folks
34. Teaching Tolerance
35. Americans All
36. Immigrants All
37. Balladeers for Brotherhood
38. Common Ground
STUDY WAR NO MORE
39. The Renunciator
40. Antiwarriors
41. Against War and Fascism
42. Peace Crusade
43. Unpopular Fronts
44. Spanish New Yorkers
45. Partisan Views
46. Anti-totalitarianism
47. Unpopular Front
48. Red Scare Lite
49. Spies
50. The Yanks Are Not Coming?
FIGHTING LIBERALS
51. FDR: Common Defense and General Welfare
52. Moral Rearmament
53. Muscular Democracy
54. Playwrights and Poets
55. Reality Radio
56. Mars Invades New York
57. Winchell Calling to All Ships at Sea
58. Stern's Post, Dolly's Daily
59. PM
60. Brands from the Burning
WALL STREET WARRIORS
61. Let's Make a Deal
62. Change Agent
63. The Veriest Roman
64. Bankers Balked
65. Council Counsel
66. Anglophiliacs
67. Intrepid
68. Aid the Allies!
69. Fifth Columnist
70. Fighting Liberals v. Wall Street Warriors
71. We Want Willkie!
72. War Hawks at Work
73. Martin, Barton, and Fish
74. Arsenal of Democracy
75. America First
76. Second Platoon
77. 007 and the Stork Club Detective
78. Down South American Way
79. You Go to War with the Capitalists You've Got
GOTHAM GIRDS FOR WAR
80. Cash and Carry
81. Black Power
82. Illiberal Liberals
83. Battle of the Atlantic
84. Civilian Defender
85. La Guardia Third Term?
UNDER THE GUN
86. Pearl Harbor
87. Turkey Shoot
88. Sabotage?
89. The Mob and the Military
90. Sabotage!
91. Aliens
92. Dissenters
93. "As Dark as Hitler's Heart"
94. Convoys
95. "New York at War"
WAR PORT
96. Anchors Aweigh
97. Smaller War Plants
SCIENCE IN THE CITY
98. R&D: Radar
99. R&D: Manhattan Project
100. The Anthropology of New York City
SELLING THE WAR
101. "Any Bonds Today?"
102. "What This War Is All About"
103. Clashing Visions of Victory
104. Writers on Demand
105. War Songs
106. "Smashing Thru, Captain America Came Face to Face with Hitler . . ."
HOME FRONT
107. Women at Work
108. Rosie and Charley
109. Wenches with Wrenches
110. Bad Moms
111. Controlling Consumption
112. Controlling Rents
BLACKS
113. A White Folks War?
114. "Checkerboarding" Worksites
115. Penned In and Pissed Off
116. G.I. Jim Crow
117. Satyagraha in Madison Square Garden
118. Zoots
119. Clampdown
120. "Get the White Man! Get the White Man!"
121. Passing the Torch
HOLOCAUST
122. Sounds of Distant Slaughter
123. Homeland?
124. Trouble at Home
JEWS & BLACKS
125. Jews and Blacks
126. Fighting Prejudice
127. Politics
128. Housing
129. Jobs
130. Game Changer
ON THE TOWN
131. Sex and the City
132. Night Clubs
133. The Voice
134. Bop
135. Rumbamania
136. Art of This Century
137. Book Boom
138. Broadway
139. Towards a Fashion-Industrial Complex
140. On the Town
141. The Theater at the Center of the World
PLANNING THE POSTWAR CITY
142. Presenting the Future: a Public Plan
143. "Two Million Plans!"
144. Housing: The Specter of Suburbanization and the Battle against Blight
145. Rubber and Rails
146. Sea
147. Sky
148. Infrastructure
149. Washington or Wall Street?
150. Manufacturing: Tide Going Out or Tide Coming in?
151. Headquarters
PLANNING THE POSTWAR NATION
152. Dueling Planners
153. Paging Dr. New Deal
154. Dr. New Deal: Call Only When Needed
155. Dr. New Deal: Wanted, Dead or Alive, Preferably Dead
156. Rightist Thrust . . .
157. Liberal Riposte
158. The Last Subway Series
159. Enter: "Red Menace"
160. Cue: Cold War
161. Dr. New Deal: Back in the Saddle
PLANNING THE POSTWAR WORLD
162. New World a' Comin
163. An Empire of Free Trade
164. Racism & Imperialism
165. India
166. China
167. Puerto Rico
168. Uniting the Nations
EPILOGS
1. Boycott
2. Brain Drain
3. Nazis in New York
4. A Fifth Column?
5. Kristallnacht
6. Emigres Arrive: Manhattan
7. Emigres Arrive: Williamsburg
8. Aliens and Enemies
ITALIANS
9. Duce! Duce!
10. Italian Anti-Fascists
11. Hands off Ethiopia!
12. Ambling Alp v. Brown Bomber
13. "The Eagles of Rome Have Devoured the Lion of Judah"
14. Italians and Jews: 1938-1941
15. Louis v. Schmeling
THE IRISH
16. The Waning of the Green
17. Catholic New York
18. Church Besieged
19. War in Spain
20. Viva La Quince Brigada!
21. Greens and Reds: The Transport Workers Union
22. Catholics v. "Communists"
23. Christian Front
24. Enter Spellman
25. Spellman Takes Command
26. The Cross and the Flag
27. Polonia
ASIAN NEW YORK
28. Japanese New York
29. Chinese Gotham
IN UNO PLURES
30. Pluralists
31. Culture Warrior
32. Building Brotherhood
33. Feteing the Folks
34. Teaching Tolerance
35. Americans All
36. Immigrants All
37. Balladeers for Brotherhood
38. Common Ground
STUDY WAR NO MORE
39. The Renunciator
40. Antiwarriors
41. Against War and Fascism
42. Peace Crusade
43. Unpopular Fronts
44. Spanish New Yorkers
45. Partisan Views
46. Anti-totalitarianism
47. Unpopular Front
48. Red Scare Lite
49. Spies
50. The Yanks Are Not Coming?
FIGHTING LIBERALS
51. FDR: Common Defense and General Welfare
52. Moral Rearmament
53. Muscular Democracy
54. Playwrights and Poets
55. Reality Radio
56. Mars Invades New York
57. Winchell Calling to All Ships at Sea
58. Stern's Post, Dolly's Daily
59. PM
60. Brands from the Burning
WALL STREET WARRIORS
61. Let's Make a Deal
62. Change Agent
63. The Veriest Roman
64. Bankers Balked
65. Council Counsel
66. Anglophiliacs
67. Intrepid
68. Aid the Allies!
69. Fifth Columnist
70. Fighting Liberals v. Wall Street Warriors
71. We Want Willkie!
72. War Hawks at Work
73. Martin, Barton, and Fish
74. Arsenal of Democracy
75. America First
76. Second Platoon
77. 007 and the Stork Club Detective
78. Down South American Way
79. You Go to War with the Capitalists You've Got
GOTHAM GIRDS FOR WAR
80. Cash and Carry
81. Black Power
82. Illiberal Liberals
83. Battle of the Atlantic
84. Civilian Defender
85. La Guardia Third Term?
UNDER THE GUN
86. Pearl Harbor
87. Turkey Shoot
88. Sabotage?
89. The Mob and the Military
90. Sabotage!
91. Aliens
92. Dissenters
93. "As Dark as Hitler's Heart"
94. Convoys
95. "New York at War"
WAR PORT
96. Anchors Aweigh
97. Smaller War Plants
SCIENCE IN THE CITY
98. R&D: Radar
99. R&D: Manhattan Project
100. The Anthropology of New York City
SELLING THE WAR
101. "Any Bonds Today?"
102. "What This War Is All About"
103. Clashing Visions of Victory
104. Writers on Demand
105. War Songs
106. "Smashing Thru, Captain America Came Face to Face with Hitler . . ."
HOME FRONT
107. Women at Work
108. Rosie and Charley
109. Wenches with Wrenches
110. Bad Moms
111. Controlling Consumption
112. Controlling Rents
BLACKS
113. A White Folks War?
114. "Checkerboarding" Worksites
115. Penned In and Pissed Off
116. G.I. Jim Crow
117. Satyagraha in Madison Square Garden
118. Zoots
119. Clampdown
120. "Get the White Man! Get the White Man!"
121. Passing the Torch
HOLOCAUST
122. Sounds of Distant Slaughter
123. Homeland?
124. Trouble at Home
JEWS & BLACKS
125. Jews and Blacks
126. Fighting Prejudice
127. Politics
128. Housing
129. Jobs
130. Game Changer
ON THE TOWN
131. Sex and the City
132. Night Clubs
133. The Voice
134. Bop
135. Rumbamania
136. Art of This Century
137. Book Boom
138. Broadway
139. Towards a Fashion-Industrial Complex
140. On the Town
141. The Theater at the Center of the World
PLANNING THE POSTWAR CITY
142. Presenting the Future: a Public Plan
143. "Two Million Plans!"
144. Housing: The Specter of Suburbanization and the Battle against Blight
145. Rubber and Rails
146. Sea
147. Sky
148. Infrastructure
149. Washington or Wall Street?
150. Manufacturing: Tide Going Out or Tide Coming in?
151. Headquarters
PLANNING THE POSTWAR NATION
152. Dueling Planners
153. Paging Dr. New Deal
154. Dr. New Deal: Call Only When Needed
155. Dr. New Deal: Wanted, Dead or Alive, Preferably Dead
156. Rightist Thrust . . .
157. Liberal Riposte
158. The Last Subway Series
159. Enter: "Red Menace"
160. Cue: Cold War
161. Dr. New Deal: Back in the Saddle
PLANNING THE POSTWAR WORLD
162. New World a' Comin
163. An Empire of Free Trade
164. Racism & Imperialism
165. India
166. China
167. Puerto Rico
168. Uniting the Nations
EPILOGS