New York, 'The Island at the Center of the World'

By Robert Siegel

Published March 26, 2004 at 12:00 AM EST

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World, about the legacy of Dutch settlements in the 17th-century New Netherland colony that would later become New York City. Shorto profiles colonist Adriaen van der Donck, the man who won a municipal charter for the city of New Amsterdam under Dutch rule, and explains why the city of Yonkers bears testament to van der Donck even today.

Robert Siegel

Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.

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