A Microcosm of America: The History of How Revolutionaries, Laborers, and Scholars Invented Princeton, New Jersey

"Princeton, New Jersey, is a singular place, yet it is also a lens on every place, every period inAmerican history. This spirited, expertly researched history of the town of Princeton by AdrianTrevisan follows in the august tradition of urban biographies long a staple of urban history. InTrevisan's devoted hands, Princeton's namesake University and other schools, its architecture andurban development, its Black citizens and professor-types take shape as a town with a rich,complex heritage. The sweep of [book title]'s many compact and clearly written chapters honorsthe town's many distinctions. Anyone with a connection to Princeton or an interest in small-townhistories will be delighted with Adrian Trevisan's work." — Randall Mason, Professor of Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania

"Adrian Trevisan has produced the first detailed history of the town of Princeton in 150 years, relating it broadly to major national trends and events. With deep research in period newspapers, local archives, and census data, his story brings forward many fascinating people from diverse backgrounds who shaped the town's development over three centuries. Local landowners providing a home in the 1750s for the fledgling College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University, secured the town as an educational and intellectual center. New roads, a canal, and railroads in the nineteenth century furthered Princeton's locational importance midway between Philadelphia and New York, while public education, evolving race relations, new fortunes, and the university's expansion all epitomized national growth. In the first half of the twentieth century, new immigration, the 1920s boom and bust, New Deal relief, urban renewal, school integration, and suburban sprawl transformed the town and the nation. Along the way, Adrian's story provides new perspectives on the local, regional, and national forces that all contributed to Princeton's evolution." — Clifford Zink, Author of The Princeton Eating Clubs and The Roebling Legacy

"Adrian Trevisan's much-needed history of Princeton, New Jersey, takes readers beyond the Collegiate Gothic buildings of campus and the picturesque facades of Nassau Street to offer a window into a larger urban history. Depicting more than just a university town, A Microcosm of America uses Princeton as a crucible for understanding race, real estate, transportation, education, and suburbanization, from colonial days through the 1960s." — Francesca Russello Ammon, PhD, Associate Professor, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

"Microcosm indeed! Adrian Trevisan's well-researched book on the history of Princeton, New Jersey is much more than the stories of a Revolutionary War battle, Woodrow Wilson, or Albert Einstein. He shows how Princeton, a community of less than twenty square miles . . . grew and developed over time, and how its story is representative of the story of our nation as a whole." — Paul A. Davis, Historical Society of Princeton

Adrian Trevisan has an MS in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy, and Washington, DC, and a BA in liberal arts from St. John's College in Annapolis. He proudly served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an enlisted parachute infantryman. A resident of Princeton since 1997, he has taught classes on Princeton's history since 2020.