Enchanted New York

This book explores New York City’s magical history, spanning three centuries from 1879 to 1981. New York City has mystified its visitors and natives over the years for its orphic qualities. There is an energy present here that is unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s both spellbinding and intriguing. You can’t help but wonder if there is something bewitching hiding behind the doors of its skyscrapers or if the sidewalks have been imprinted with spells from an ancient grimoire? You cannot deny that New York City is a special city, with an enchanting history that this book sets out to explore.

Various communities and individuals over the years made New York City home for its magical endeavours. Whether they were for personal gain or to bring about some great change in the world, the city became home to those seeking some greater power. NYC seemed to be a lightning rod for the arcane, the occult, and the peculiar. If a person had a magical practice, chances were, they eventually found their way to the city.

The author included a map of Manhattan that depicts it from a magical perspective, which was unique and helpful. There are boundless facts and interesting bits of information about various groups and individuals and the magical work they were performing in a city that was fertile with enchantment. Readers will recognize many famous names and landmarks, and will probably be surprised at their occultic history.

New York City is place where people go to manifest their deepest dreams. There is something about it being a “land of opportunity” that makes it seem like it’s been especially consecrated for that purpose. It’s a city like any other city in the sense that there are tall buildings, and lots of people hustling and bustling, but its energy inspires seekers, dreamers, and opportunists to take their spectral ideas and turn them into something real and tangible. How magical is that?

A fascinating read for lovers of New York City or for those interested in the history of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Enchanted New York.

I love magic; magic stories, magic movies, anything that deals with the magical and occult, I'm all in!

Enchanted New York really appealed to me as a born and bred New Yorker. The author draws upon the esoteric and unusual, the imaginative and the hucksters, at a time when New York was the land of opportunity, greed and capitalism.

Copious research went into this book as the author reveals tons of facts about people and places, famous landmarks and just as many famous people.

I'm not surprised at New York's magical history; it is one of the greatest cities in the world.

And, I'm not just saying that because I love my hometown.

The writing was good, but the tone was drier than I expected.

If you enjoy reading about a city's occult history, pick up Enchanted New York.

Enchanted New York Book is written as a tour through a past throughout the time in New york. Especially in nostalgic areas while going through different areas, with actions of state specific ( Like the American revolution time), philosophical and magic wise of New York also esoteric, supernatural and unexplainable. Also politics, science, mesmerism, phrenology, pseudoscience, ouija boards and their inventions physiognomy, divination otherworldy spirits. This Book got a bit out of hand in criticizing other people, their inspiration for their craft or characters.

Enchanted New York is a really interesting look at history and locations of Manhattan through the lens of its relationship to magic in all its historical forms. From magnetism to spiritualism, fortune telling to Free Masons and beyond, Dann's book is an interesting way of viewing Manhattan in a new and dynamic way that brings to life an enchanting past (and present). The book is broken down by topic and then by location, which provides a great mix of micro-stories for each location that all connect into broader themes. All of these different stories were quite interesting to read about, and I found the content to be well-researched and intriguing. My main qualm was just that the book was a bit slow to get through. It's best suited to be casually flipped through from time to time, rather than being a book one reads straight through. For that, I found it to be great. But as a book to read from front-to-back, it just didn't hold my attention for too long. That being said, those who love Manhattan and its history will certainly find an interesting side to the city in this book, and I'd highly recommend it to those looking to see the city in a new and magical way.

Enchanted New York really doesn't leave anything out, written in such a fluid way that seamlessly goes through events and facts bringing out the magic within one of the most internationally recognized places. Filled with maps and figures it is easy to follow through even if you don't have a great geographical understanding of the place. After reading this you will not be able to see New York the same way.

I was really excited to read this book. I love history and I love all things strange and unusual. So in theory I should have love this book.

But.

I. Was. So. Bored.

The book covers the history of all sorts of things magical and strange from 1789 to the present, chronicling where related events took place in New York throughout history.

In the first half of the book alone, we read about mesmerism, Freemasonry, Mormonism, phrenology, psychometry, cryptozoology, clairvoyance, and Spiritualism. The author quotes long passages from esoteric tomes of the day and drops names left and right.

It seems like it should be interesting, but the book has two things going against it:

1) It reads like a textbook. The writing is dry, boring, and longwinded:

"The rise of scientific anthropology and ethnology in the nineteenth century engendered the proliferation of conceptions of and definitions for magic predicated on the explicit and vehement rejection of it as real."

And that brings us to 2) The author writes as if he believes all the crazy crackpot humbuggery of the past centuries was in fact real magic. And what makes this really bad is that he comes across as arrogant, insulting the people who disagree with the realism of all this magic, while simultaneously insulting the people who DO believe in the few bits that he himself thinks are fake.

"Phrenology could have become a science and remains as pseudoscience only because our divinatory faculties remain asleep."

Asleep my faculties must remain, at least while reading this book, because instead of intriguing and entertaining me, it really just made me want to take a nap.

I love New York City. I am thoroughly obsessed. I have yet to visit myself, and have been waiting until my daughter is a little bit older, so she will be able to appreciate it as much as I do. As a result of my love for this city I have never been to, any book relating to the history of NYC especially and people/places/events in general, gets my attention immediately.

This would make for a great guide book, if you are interested in the magical side of the City That Never Sleeps. The author takes readers on a ride starting at the Battery and weaving up Broadway, making various pitstops at locations along the way to introduce a whole cast of characters that even many New Yorkers might not know once strolled the sidewalks of the most famous street in the world. We meet magicians, Freemasons, alchemists, seers, spiritualists, occultists, mediums, wizards, and fortune tellers, among many others.

As you can imagine, this is not your average history book. The author begins in 1789, the year George Washington was inaugurated as our first president. From there, the book is split into seven distinct chapters and stays on a roughly chronological course right up to the present day. Within each chapter, the author further breaks down the history by location. There are tons of stories and anecdotes, all related to that wider theme or topic of the chapter.

Personally I found some of the stories more interesting than others, only based on my preference - for example, I am not terribly interested in alchemy. Even so, those stories did not distract from those topics I was interested in.

I do have to say that this did take me longer than usual to get through, but I think that is more due to the nature of the book itself, almost as an encyclopedia of information. Some might be able to read this straight through cover to cover. Others might enjoy it more as one they skip around in, from one entry to another in a different chapter perhaps. I do think the book can be enjoyed either way.

Highly recommended, especially to those who love any and all history of NYC.

There are scores of books about New York City. But Enchanted New York takes us on a deeper journey into its magical past of Freemasons, occultists and seers. Beginning with Washington’s inauguration, the book charts a real journey down Broadway and forward in time.

Even though travel is discouraged right now due to the pandemic, I feel like I have taken a time machine to travel to old New York by reading this book. If you too feel like you have already visited NYC through the multitude of movies and shows set there, you will enjoy this well-researched look into the history of Enchanted New York. 4 stars!

Thanks to NYU Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Unexpectedly earnest and not quite my cup of tea. I love a good trip through NYC but didn't expect this to be about real magic.

I think this is just really not the book for me. It was billed as a history of New York, as well as a travel guide. It actually reads as an anti-science message telling the reader that science is wrong and that magic is what is really happening around us.

Given the style of the writing, I think that I would have enjoyed this more if it was billed as a fictional travel guide for the actual New York. Because this is written as non-fiction, I struggle to really get into the descriptions of magic throughout New York.

This was a super interesting read! The author gives us a taste of the history and locations in Manhattan through its relationship to magic. It was fascinating, enlightening, and filled with details and information. New York has always been on my bucket list and now I am more excited than ever to visit!

Fascinating and wonderful book! I have never been to New York, but have always loved reading anything about the city! Now I am more determined than ever to visit!!

i really enjoyed going through the history of New York, it was amazing that there was so much history from a place that I grew up in.

Who knew?! Now I have another reason to revisit my favorite city! I had no idea so much more magic existed there. I enjoyed the story of the Fox sisters and the Phelps family. Good spooky events. Just in time for Halloween, too. New York is a magical city in it's own right, this book just made it more fun!

New York, the City that Never Sleeps, one of the great metropolises (or is it metropoleis?) of the world, has, unsurprisingly, received plenty of attention from writers of all kinds. There is certainly no shortage of books dedicated to its boroughs, its history, its architecture, and its protagonists, whether famous or less known. So what is it that makes Kevin Dann’s book stand out?

In Enchanted New York, Dann gives us an alternative and esoteric history of the Big Apple, one shaped by a coterie of mavericks ranging from Freemasons to magicians, occultists to scientists dabbling in cryptozoology and spiritualism. Split in seven chapters, the book follows a roughly chronological sequence from the inauguration of the George Washington in 1789, to the present and beyond. In the course of his account, however, Dann examines different themes and provides a wealth of anecdotes linking the specific subjects to the city’s locations.

The result is an intriguing book which can be read in one stretch or dipped into at leaisure, a portrait of New York City which, probably, even most of its inhabitants will find surprising and unfamiliar.

I live in NYC, and one of the reasons I love it is how much history there is just under the surface. It's not Rome, where the Coliseum is just right there in the center of town-- it's hidden history, buried in books and under buildings and behind old doors. This great, incredibly researched book absolutely brought some of that history into the light. I know a lot about these subjects already, but most of what Dann uncovered was new to me. I highly recommend this book if you're a lover of history, and particularly a lover of New York.

After reading this book, you will never see New York the same way again. The writing is a bit dry, but the information is enchanting and will keep you spellbound from the start until The End. I could not put this book down. A definite Five Star #MustRead if you love New York.