Blood, Sweat and Tears of N.Y. Birth
\”City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterstam and Early Manhattan,\” by Beverly Swerling. (Scribner paperback, $15.)
John Irving, whose novels have the rare distinction of being widely praised, read and filmed, has said that he always follows havoc with healing. Spanning the destruction-filled years of 1661 to 1798, Beverly Swerling\’s sprawling and successful novel about the origins of Manhattan purposely offers her readers no such solace.