Brooklyn’s narrative historian in conversation with the Eagle
Brooklyn BookBeat
In New York in 1835, nine out of 10 New Yorkers believed in the existence of lunar life that included unicorns, beavers that walked on their hind legs and 4-foot-tall flying man bats. This was because of a series of widely read and circulated stories published by fledgling newspaper The Sun.
In his narrative history book “The Sun and The Moon,” writer Matthew Goodman chronicles The Great Moon Hoax of 1835. He tells the story of the larger-than-life cast of characters and cultural mores of the 1830s, all to the backdrop of a rapidly developing New York City.
Matthew Goodman, a Bay Ridge resident, met with Eagle to discuss “The Sun and the Moon” as well as his more recent projects.