The City-State of Boston

This is an extremely unique and insightful history of Boston, focusing on its orientation as a colonial and later American entity separate from other ventures of the era. Peterson shows how the independent and culturally insular nature of the early colonists propagated forward, with the city's focus on Atlantic trade allowing it to project power and influence across North America and Europe while simultaneously putting it at odds with other states. While the dawn of the industrial revolution started to break that independent streak, Peterson shows how the schisms around abolition caused Boston to fully embrace its role as part of the Union, which ultimately closed the book on musings of independence. Chapters on the colonial era were particularly great (did you know that wampum was official Boston currency for years?), but the lack of a deep exploration of the role of Native Americans in shaping the region prior to colonization was frustrating. While this book obviously has the most appeal for Bostonians like myself, if you're at all interested in early North American history you won't be disappointed. Highly recommend