Russell Shorto

Russell Anthony Shorto (born February 8, 1959) is an American author, historian, and journalist. He is is best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, The Island at the Center of the World.^[1][2][3] Shorto's research for the book relied greatly on the work of the New Netherland Project, now known as the New Netherland Research Center,^[4] as well as the New Netherland Institute.^[5] Shorto has been the New Netherland Institute's Senior Scholar since 2013.

Russell Shorto
Shorto in 2010
Born	Russell Anthony Shorto (1959-02-08) February 8, 1959 (age 66) Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Author historian journalist
Nationality	American
Alma mater	George Washington University
Website
www.russellshorto.com

In November 2017, he published Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom, which tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of six Americans from vastly different walks of life. His 2021 memoir Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob covers Shorto's own family history and his ancestors involvement in the American Mafia in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.^[6] His most recent work published in 2025, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America, continues to explore New York history into the British colonial period starting in 1664.

1. Russell Shorto, The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. First Edition. New York City: Vintage Books (a Division of Random House), 2004; ISBN 1-4000-7867-9
2. Joyce Goodfriend, "Review" New York History Vol. 86, No. 3 (Summer 2005), pp. 298–301 online
3. Paul Otto, "Review" Journal of American History (June 2005), Vol. 92 Issue 1, pp. 183–84 online.
4. "New Netherland Research Center". Newnetherlandinstitute.org. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
5. "Home". New Netherland Institute. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
6. Stapinski, Helene (February 2, 2021). "Russell Shorto's Grandpa Was a 'Smalltime' Mobster". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2021.

In 2022, Shorto founded the New Amsterdam Project at the New-York Historical Society,^[1] with a mission to promote awareness of New York's Dutch origins.