Mike Wallace, an author-historian best known for his 1998 book Gotham, has passed away following a battle with Lewy body dementia.
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According to The New York Times, Wallace’s wife, Carmen Boullosa, confirmed that he died at a hospital in Mexico City on Saturday. He was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2019. He died just weeks before his 84th birthday.
Born in 1942 in New York City, Wallace began his career as a historian in the early 1970s. He previously stated that he worked with other historians who were “broadening the scope of American history by adding the voices of those previously excluded, such as women, blacks, and the working class.”
In 1973, Wallace helped launch the Radical History Forum. He directed the platform for a decade. He spent the 1980s writing essays about how history is being presented or misrepresented by the public.
Years later, he co-authored Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 with Edwin G. Burrons. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in History the following year.
Two years after Gotham was published, Wallace founded the Gotham Center for New York History.
The sequel to Gotham, Greater Gotham: A History of New York City from 1989 to 1919, was released nearly 20 years later. The third book, Gotham at War: A History of New York City from 1933 to 1945, was published in 2025.
Wallace was survived by his fourth wife, Boullosa, whom he married in 2004.
Wallace Previously Opened Up About Writing ‘Gotham’
During a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Wallace discussed writing Gotham.
“Working with Ted Burroughs on a history of American capitalism, we had written hundreds of pages,” he said. “But had barely gotten out of the 17th century. That’s when we decided to make it more manageable and tell the story through New York City.”
He then said that Gotham ended for no other reason than he and Burroughs surpassed the “limits of bindery technology.”
“Ted delivered his part, and I just kept going garrulously. ‘Greater Gotham’ was going to go to 1945,” he continued. “To get through the war and reflect the kind of rhythm that repeats itself, boom bust, boom bust, and the busts are often ended by war. “
Regarding the second book, Wallace added, “This one covers the recovery from the Great Depression of the 1890s to the end of World War I instead.”