Doug Most

Definitely enjoyable but a little broad and high-level. Almost reads like a Ragtime Ragtime or something, with an amazing cast of 19th century characters including engineers, sandhogs, financiers, and so on. Great material on early technological advances - Beach's pneumatic tube, Brunel's tunneling machines, Sprague's electric motors - but oddly little detail on the actual Boston and New York subways as built. Then again, it's less about those, and more about the process of getting them show more built, which was a heavy lift indeed. show less

We of the late 20th/early 21st century generally take our larger city subways for granted, as if they always existed. They didn't and this is the story of how Boston's and New York City's came to be. At times a fascinating read, always engaging.

In the late nineteenth century, as cities like Boston and New York grew larger, the streets became increasingly clogged with horse-drawn carts. When the great blizzard of 1888 brought New York City to a halt, a solution had to be found. Two brothers—Henry Melville Whitney of Boston and William Collins Whitney of New York City—pursued the dream of his city being the first American metropolis to have a subway and the great race was on. The competition between Boston and New York was played show more out in an era not unlike our own, one of economic upheaval, job losses, bitter political tensions, and the question of America's place in the world. show less

A fast and entertaining read about the development of the subway systems in Boston and New York. Drawing a vivid portrait of the difficult traveling conditions in both cities at the time, the author then introduces the political, financial and logistical obstacles and those who overcame them to build the subways. Interesting, entertaining and informative.

Note: this review is based on an ARC received from the publisher.