Boston is a city rich in history and there are many books documenting this history. With more than four centuries of history, there is plenty to write about and these books cover everything from the American Revolution to the modern era.
The following is a list of the best books about Boston history:
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The City-State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630 – 1865 by Mark Peterson
Published in 2019, this book by Mark Peterson is about how Boston became an independent city-state in New England which was then undone by its inclusion into the federal government when it became an official state.
The book argues that although Boston started out as a “shining city on a hill” it’s inclusion in the United States compromised Boston’s autonomy, remade its politics and economy and diminished its political power over New England.
Peterson argues that after being absorbed into the federal government, old Boston was no more and its attempt to “build an autonomous self-governing republic modeled on biblical and classical republican ideals in a New World environment” was officially over.
The book received positive reviews when it was published. Kirkus Reviews called it a “meaty, methodical exploration of a crucial American founding stronghold” while the New Yorker called it a “richly detailed history.”
The Wall Street Journal said it was “an original and provocative take. . . . [The City State of Boston is] ambitious, fluid and worldly” while Harvard Magazine called it “an immense, fresh history of the ‘city upon a hill’” and described Peterson’s work as “powerful, imaginative scholarship.”
Mark Peterson is a professor at Yale University and is also the author of The Price of Redemption: The Spiritual Economy of Puritan New England.
The Atlas of Boston History by Nancy S. Seasholes (editor)
Published in 2019, this book is about the history of Boston from the last ice age to the present.
The book is a historical atlas featuring a series of maps with accompanying texts, illustrations and graphs that tell the story of Boston’s development.
Instead of being a history of the many political events that took place in Boston, the atlas is instead a history of the physical development of Boston and its infrastructure, economic changes, the different demographic groups living in the city and its social and cultural developments.
The atlas was created by a contributing group of well-known historians who specialize in the history of Boston such as Robert Allison, Mark Peterson, Benjamin L. Carp and many more.
The book received positive reviews when it was published. The Portolan, which is the journal of the Washington Map Society, praised the book:
“The informative images throughout the book deliver quick and punchy snapshots of particular points in Boston’s history. . . . It’s quite striking. . . This is not an atlas of historic maps, but instead a telling of Boston’s physical, social, economic, and cultural history as it formed using specially crafted maps and carefully tailored graphics.”
Nancy S. Seasholes is a historian, historical archaeologist and author who has written two other books on Boston history including Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston and Walking Tours of Boston’s Made Land.
A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850 – 1900 by Stephen Puleo
Published in 2010, this book chronicles the transformation Boston underwent in the late 19th century.
The book discusses how, between the years 1850 and 1900, Boston became one of the world’s leading cities and achieved international prominence in politics, medicine, science, literature, social activism and transportation.
The book received positive reviews when it was published. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “smoothly narrated account” of Boston’s history but also points out that despite the book being such a “thorough history” it doesn’t delve deep enough into the role African-Americans played in Boston’s history.
The New Republic praised the book for highlighting the role of cities in civilization:
“Stephen Puleo’s new book is more evidence of the urban role in civilization, as it reminds us of the remarkable accomplishments of late nineteenth-century Boston.”
Stephen Puleo is an author of several books about Boston’s history including Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919; The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union; and The Boston Italians: A Story of Pride, Perseverance, and Paesani, from the Years of the Great Immigration to the Present Day.
A Short History of Boston by Robert Allison
Published in 2004, this book is a general history of Boston from its founding to the modern era.
The book spans four centuries of history, covering everything from the arrival of the Winthrop fleet in 1630 to the Big Dig in the 1990s and 2000s.
Robert Allison is a history professor at Suffolk University and at the Harvard Extension School and is the author of numerous other history books including The American Revolution: A Concise History; The Boston Tea Party; The Boston Massacre; and A Short History of Cape Cod.
Boston in the American Revolution: A Town Versus an Empire by Brooke Barbier
Published in 2017, this book is about how the city of Boston became the birthplace of the American Revolution.
The book explores the historic figures and events of the American Revolution in Boston to help you understand their importance.
Brooke Barbier is a historian and owner of the Ye Olde Tavern tours which offers guided tours of the Freedom Trail in Boston.
Hidden History of Boston by Dina Vargo
Published in 2018, this book is about the lesser known stories about Boston’s history.
The book explores what author Dina Vargo calls the “offbeat” history of Boston, meaning the stories that aren’t often told. Some of these offbeat stories include the history of Pope Night in Boston, the story of how Amelia Earhart worked as a social worker in a Boston settlement house before becoming a famous aviator, and the various murders, tragedies and crimes that occurred in the city.
Dina Vargo is a historian and is the author of another book on Boston history titled Wild Women of Boston: Mettle and Moxie in the Hub.
The Boston Italians: A Story of Pride, Preserverance, and Paesani from the Years of the Great Immigration to the Present Day by Stephen Puelo
Published in 2007, this book is about the history of Italian immigrants in Boston.
The book explores why these Italians came to America, the discrimination they faced when they arrived and their roles in Boston society.
It also describes how they battled poverty, illiteracy and prejudice and their assimilation into American culture during the Great Depression and WWII.
Stephen Puleo is an author of several books about Boston’s history including Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919; The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union; and A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850 – 1900.
Black Bostonians by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton
Published in 1979, this book is about the history of African-Americans in Boston in the 18th and 19th century.
The book explores what life was like for African Americans in Boston from the 18th century to the beginning of the Civil War and was one of the first books to do so since most historians writing about African Americans at that time focused primarily on southern slave society.
The aim of the book was to challenge the “culture of poverty” theory that stated that slavery and urban poverty had destroyed the antebellum black family and other community institutions.
The book states that this theory is not true and that African Americans in Boston had a highly-organized community which was the center of the antislavery movement.
James Oliver Horton is Benjamin Banneker Professor Emeritus of American Studies and History at George Washington University and Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Lois E. Horton retired as professor of sociology at George Mason University. The two are also authors of several other books about black history such as Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory; Slavery and the Making of American History; In Hope of Liberty: Culture, Community, and Protest Among Northern Free Blacks, and more.
Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them by Joseph M. Bagley
Published in 2021, this book is a guide book for Boston’s 50 oldest buildings.
The buildings featured in the book were all built before 1800, which are mostly located in the downtown area along the Freedom Trail, and the types of buildings featured range from private homes to churches to wharehouse and restaurants.
Each chapter focuses on one building and dives deep into its history and the efforts made to preserve it over time. The book also features full color photos and historical drawings of each building.
The book received positive reviews when it was published. AAA Explorer Magazine praised the book for its wealth of information about Boston’s history, stating:
“As Boston’s city archaeologist, Joe Bagley knows more about the Olde Towne’s historic structures than do most people. He shares that knowledge… This however, is not a book about architecture – as Bagley says in his introduction, ‘it is about Bostonians… and what makes Boston, Boston.’”
Joseph M. Bagley is the city archaeologist of Boston and a staff member of the Boston Landmarks Commission and is also the author of another book about Boston’s history titled A History of Boston in 50 Artifacts.
Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition by Jim Botticelli
Published in 2014, this book is about the history of Boston from the post-war years to 1987.
The book, which first began as a Facebook page in 2012, is a photography book exploring the change that urban renewal and gentrification has had on the city, its buildings and its people after WWII.
Each chapter focuses on a different decade, starting with the 1940s & 1950s and ending with the 1980s, and features photographs of the people, places and events of that era.
The book received positive reviews when it was published. The Boston Globe praised it for shining a light on the city’s “gritty” history, stating “Dirty Old Boston highlights the fashions, hairstyles, frustrations, and fun of the city’s gritty past…” that was “all destroyed in the name of progress” while Boston Magazine described it as a “book that’s packed with rare photos and stories provided by the people who have been rooted in the city for decades.”
In 2014, the book was chosen as one of the best books of 2014 by the Boston Globe.
Jim Botticelli is a retired teacher for the Boston public school system, a radio broadcaster, and the creator of the popular Facebook page Dirty Old Boston.
Sources:
Gardner, Jan. “Best New England Books of 2014.” Boston Globe, 10 Dec. 2014, bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/12/06/best-new-england-books/oNZhJVFLMkyM6mcNQVPI8H/story.html
Annear, Steve. “Dirty Old Boston is Now a Book.” Boston Magazine, 28 Oct. 2014, bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/10/28/dirty-old-boston-book-release/
Gardner, Jim. “A Photographic Tribute to Boston.” The Boston Globe, 22 Nov. 2014, bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/11/22/new-england-literary-news/C8crBqSlZbv0W1GEE6P96O/story.html
“Black Bostonians.” Holmes & Meier, holmesandmeier.com/titles/horton.html
“A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850–1900.” Publisher’s Weekly, publishersweekly.com/9780807050439
Breen, T.H. “There Was a Boston Once.” New York Review of Books, 27 Feb. 2020, nybooks.com/articles/2020/02/27/there-was-a-boston-once/
Beam, Alex. “‘The City-State of Boston’ Review: The Rise and Fall of the City Upon a Hill.” The all Street Journal, 19 April. 2019, wsj.com/articles/the-city-state-of-boston-review-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-city-on-a-hill-11555687527