By Russell Shorto

As a writer I've always tended to seek out origins. My first book, about the search for the historical Jesus, was an attempt to get at the "real" story behind my Catholic upbringing.

After living in Manhattan for several years, I wrote "The Island at the Center of the World," a book about the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, the seed from which New York City grew.

Read more

Source: http://travel.nytimes.com