When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about a cartoonish peg-legged governor and an island purchased for 24 dollars. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records, recently declared a national treasure, are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Man-hattan-that transforms our understanding of early America.

The Dutch colony predated the "original" thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious liberty. Their champion was a progressive young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose clashes with Peter Stuyvesant, the colony's autocratic director, laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture.

• Vintage Books, 2005, 325 pages.