The Great Book of New York: The Crazy History of New York with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia (A Trivia Nerds Guide to the History of the United States)

Author Bill O’Neill loves to explore all manner of subjects from reiku to trivia. His previous Book 1 of War Books covered World War II, and that was followed by his controversial Trivia Book on the Vietnam War. Bill O’Neill has authored many books on trivia and random facts and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, rock music, simply random trivia facts, and now - the great book of New York (and the fun behind the facts).Bill's sense of humor is evident in his Introduction – ‘How much do you know about the state of New York? Sure, you know New York City is a tourist hotspot. You know it’s home to the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, and Broadway. But what else do you really know about the city? You know the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, but do you know which popular New York City attraction sees more annual visitors than the Statue of Liberty? Have you ever wondered how New York came to be known as the Empire State? Do you know why people call New York City the “ ‘Big Apple’? Have you ever wondered if it actually has anything to do with apples? Do you know which war New York State played a key role in or which President was sworn into office in New York? If you have ever wondered the answers to any of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place. This book is filled with stories and facts about the state of New York. This isn’t just any book about New York. It will highlight some of the key facts that have helped shape New York into the state it is today. You’ll learn facts about the state that you’ve probably never even wondered about. Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll know all there is to know about New York. New York is a state that’s rich in both history and culture. We’ll go back in time before New York City was what it is today. We’ll jump around and look at some of the coolest (and most shocking) elements of the state’s history and explore some of the more recent happenings of the state. Although, we’ll mostly stick to a timeline of historical events, we’ll also jump around some as we talk about some of New York’s past and some of the most famous people who live in the state. This book is broken up into easy to follow chapters that will help you learn more about the Empire State. Once you’ve finished each chapter, you can test your knowledge with trivia questions. Some of the facts you’ll read about are sad. Some of them will give you goosebumps. Some of them are shocking. But the one thing they all have in common is that all of them are fascinating! Once you’ve finished reading this book, you’re guaranteed to walk away with a wealth of facts you didn’t know before. This book will answer the following questions: Why is New York City called ‘The Big Apple’? How did the state of New York come to be known as the Empire State? Which iconic late comedian is honored by a festival that’s held in her hometown every year in New York? Which BBQ restaurant in the Big Apple is owned by a former ‘90s boy band member? What famous lake monster is believed to live in one of New York’s lakes? Which famous athletes were born in New York?The book is divided into fascinating sections – New York History and Random Facts, New York’s Pop Culture, New York City’s attractions, New York inventions Ideas and More, Texas Sports – Football, Baseball and More, New York’s Unsolved Mysteries, supernatural and other Weird Facts.Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top. Grady Harp, April 18

Bill O'Neill is clearly the King of Trivia Books. He wrote many of them, and each is very informative and very interesting, indeed, fascinating. In this new book, we learn much. Among a wealth of information in its six chapters, we are told the origin of the name New York, the city being the first capital of the United States, why is New York called "The Empire State" and “the Big Apple,” why New York is “the jazz capital of the world,” the original strange use of Ellis Island, why Uncle Sam may have originated in New York, that New York City was the east coast Hollywood, what is the full name of the Statue of Liberty, New York and sports, New York’s unsolved mysteries of many kinds criminal and non-criminal, New York invented many things such as toilet paper, the Bloody Mary, bagels, and air conditioning. There are also “Test Yourself Questions and Answers” at the end of each of the six chapters.Readers will enjoy this book as I did. They will learn interesting facts that are often presented with some humor, always clearly, and always entertaining.

I liked reading about New York and even learned a few things about the state. My least favorite part was when the narrative bogged down into haunts and suppositions. With such an historic state, there are many areas of trivia that would be much more interesting to me - especially fact-based trivia.

Even tough, having been born and raised in New York City and still living in the New York City metropolitan area for the past 67 years I found this endeavor by the author, Bill O’Neill is to an enlightening and educational reading experience not only about New York City, but the entire state of New York.Remember, it’s impossible for a trivia book to mention every tidbit of such information; and while some trivia books might simply state items of trivia for a particular topic one after the other, Mr. Bill O’Neill attempts to render his readers something more meaningful about some of the items he’s decided to include in this endeavor for each of the six chapters in the book. The author moves on to provide some additional random facts regarding the chapter’s topics, culminating with the testing of his readers on what they’ve just read in each chapter.For wanting to educate everyone [including native New Yorkers] with interesting tidbits about the Great City/State of New York, tidbits regarding items millions of people have either used regardless of where they live in the US or have heard about round the world; I’m giving this book and its author 5 STARS.

Quality is well. I bought as a present for my nephew so I can not add stars as a review since I will not be reading. Came quick and in good condition

I love reading the history of all kinds (people, places, and things) well now I have found another outlet to get my fill! It is so nice to quickly read about times and people and have all of the important bits right at my fingertips. My thanks to Bill O'Neil to publishing all these wonderful books. History at it finest and all so quick! History at it finest and all so quick!

Informative

This is on par with the other trivia books from the author. It would be of most interest to New Yorkers, but others may find it interesting, too.

Mildly interesting. No great detail or depth.