With wit and culture Junius Browne, the prototypical New Yorker, provides a comprehensive tour of his city. Curmudgeonly yet compassionate, Browne describes--and has an opinion about--just about every facet of the teeming city. He takes a look at the rich and the poor, the police and the roughs, churches and theatres, raconteurs and restaurants, the Bowery and the bohemians, as well as charities and the emerging women's rights movement. As a newspaperman, he shares his views on the many newspapers that were published in his time--and how each catered to a very specific constituency. Browne also provides profiles of famous New Yorkers such as Horace Greeley, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Susan B. Anthony. Rich with drama, humor and humanity, The Great Metropolis: A Mirror of New York will take you on a personal tour of what Browne calls, "The city destined to be the largest in the world."