Luc Sante's 'Low Life' and steampunk history

[John Zybourne]

A fine evening to you all! Or morning, as the case may be.

I was wondering if any of you fine and erudite ladies and gentlemen are familiar with the book 'Low Life' by Luc Sante? The book is a historical overview of New York City, particularly of it's seedier side, from approximately 1840 until the eve of the Great War. To this reader it almost felt like some kind of fantastical gaming sourcebook with various gangs, political groups and movements, neighborhoods and so on brought to life; I had to remind myself that it was all real! I recommend it highly and given its subject matter I figured some of you all might enjoy it. I tried using the search function to see if there were any references to the manuscript on this fine forum but I could only find it vaguely mentioned over a decade ago so I took it upon myself to bring it up.

On a related note, do any of you have steampunk relevant historical books you could recommend?

Warmest regards,

Mr. Z