| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Tunneling to the Future: The Story of the Great Subway Expansion That Saved New York. By Peter Derrick. (New York: New York University Press, 2001. xiv, 442 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-8147-1910-4.)

Peter Derrick examines the development and impact of New York City's dual subway system. Authorized in 1913, this project comprised 325 miles of subways and elevated railways, doubling the size of the city's rapid transit network. It was, Derrick believes, "the most important decision made by New York's government in the twentieth century" and among the greatest public works in American urban history. 1

Derrick brings unusual skills to historical writing. The recipient of a Ph.D. in history from New York University, Derrick later worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was responsible for capital projects. Derrick's synthesis of scholarly and practical knowledge gives him special insight into transit planning. His review of nineteenth-century rapid transit development is superb. Beginning in the 1830s, New York's difficult geography and rapid population growth made it reliant on mass transit. But, although early transit modes could be built and operated by private capital, the high cost of rapid transit (elevated railways and subways) necessitated public funding, intensifying political disputes. Using a formula of public and private financing, a business-dominated commission opened New York City's first subway, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's line, in 1904. A financial and engineering success, the Interborough also spurred residential development in new parts of Manhattan and the Bronx. . . .

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