From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship Book

David Dunlap has proven more effectively than even Henry Codman Potter, Stephen S. Wise . . . and Reverend Ike ever managed to do that New York is not a godless city. Each of these people held sway over one house of worship; Dunlap gives us more than a thousand, and in so doing he makes it clear that religious buildings are as much a part of the fabric of New York as brownstones. [Dunlap] has documented a wide swath of New York's social, cultural, and architectural history by viewing it through the lens of a single building type. The book is organized in the form of an encyclopedia with alphabetical entries of churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques both past and present. The effect of reading Abyssinian to Zion is to feel as if you have experienced both the best aspects of a guidebook, since Dunlap whisks you all around Manhattan, and many of the most appealing qualities of a history, since he moves back and forth easily across time. -From the foreword by Paul Goldberger. Illustrated by 650 photographs taken especially for this book and 250 photographs from rarely seen archives, Abyssinian to Zion alphabetically chronicles 1,079 congregations and structures. Twenty-four detailed neighborhood maps pinpoint each location. Listings include the history of the congregation and its buildings, descriptions of architecture, and accounts of prominent priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, and leading personalities in many of the congregations.Read More