Walk the bustling streets of Manhattan and imagine the lush and solitary land that greeted New York's first settlers. Visit Ellis Island and envision the gateway to the New World teeming with immigrants. Vacation on Lake Champlain alongside the ghosts of voyageurs. New York is a state as rich in history as in modern-day wonders. Juxtaposing depictions of the past and present, historical photographs and illustrations against modern color images, this book traces the transformations that the state has experienced over four centuries.In images of New York yesterday and today - its art and architecture, business big and small, sports and transportation, politics and daily life - the book reveals the profound changes that the state has undergone, all the while preserving its remarkable historical legacy in subtle and surprising ways. From the streets of Harlem to Adirondack streams, from logging camps in the Alleghenies to Catskills resorts, Montauk Point to Niagara Falls, the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes - study in contrast or document of continuity, this is an enlightening, at times confounding, and always entertaining tour of the past and present throughout the great state of New York.