Reddit reviews New York: An Illustrated History

Thanks, will definitely check that out!

Also responding here for /u/rock_lobsterrr since they asked for some recos as well.

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson is about a deadly cholera outbreak in Victorian London. The disease killed so many that it led to the creation of the Bazalgette sewer system that London still uses today.

New York: An Illustrated History by Ric Burns, Lisa Ades, and James Sanders is a beast of a coffee table book that outlines the comprehensive history of Manhattan from swampland backwater to thriving modern metropolis. It's chock full of some fantastic stories, including the one about two reclusive brothers who were found dead in a brownstone that was heavily booby-trapped. (One was invalid, and the other was killed by his own booby traps.) The whole book is a lovingly-created tapestry of New York's ambitious, brutal, and just plain weird history.

That's all I got for now, but if I remember something else, I'll add it to my comment.