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There are currently 25 member reviews
for The Race Underground
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SS (Somerville, MA)
Race Underground Review
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. Some of it was a bit dry and factual, but some of it read more like a novel. I have lived in the Boston area for the past 10 years and rely on the subway for my commute, so it was interesting to learn a lot about the history of the T and about some of the historic figures who lived here. The author does a good job of depicting how difficult it was to get subways in both New York and Boston approved, not to mention built, and I feel like I appreciate the public transportation system a lot more now.
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Marie A. (Warner, NH)
The Race Underground
An interesting account of what was involved in determining the best means of implementing an effective rapid transit system and its locomotion in two late Nineteenth Century major East Coast cities.
Most does a commendable job in outlining the individual differences between the Whitney brothers, their approaches in building a subway system in Boston and New York, and the trials and tribulations each faced in achieving his respective goals. It was truly a rivalry and a race to be first.
Overall, a good look into the creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance of the American imagination and spirit.
This book is one for the history buffs.
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Mary Ann B. (Louisville, KY)
The Race to be the best
The Race to the Underground is about more than becoming the first U.S. city to create a subway system. It is part history, part biography and part travel book. 2 brothers, plus a cast load of famous and not so famous fill up the pages in this book about New York and Boston. It was interesting history about a mode of transportation that I have never thought that much about. I don't live in a city with a subway, so the next time I actually ride in one, I will be thinking about how much work and thought goes into something people take for granted. I think if you like some history with travel writing, you will enjoy this book.
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Diane P. (Deer Park, WA)
Never really thought about subways...
I never really thought about why or how mass transit came into being. It is hard to believe that cities were that congested in the late nineteenth century. Little did I know, the Race Underground awakened a rich part of both Boston and New York's history that lead to the building of the underground subways. It was fascinating to learn about the thought process of how they determined what would be the best way to build the subway. I also found it interesting that both Boston and New York did not want to privatize their mass transit systems.
It is hard to believe that tunnels built over a hundred years ago still function today. It is a testament to the workmanship that I don't believe we see any more.
Doug Most did an extraordinary job of researching and detailing out in a thoroughly readable book.
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Barbara C. (Riverside, CA)
A minutiae treasure trove!
Being a Bostonian by birth, this book was most interesting. I might have called it the complete history of transportation of NY and Boston through the invention of the subway in the US. But I am not the author. It was enjoyable and educational.
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Nancy O. (Hobe Sound, FL)
I love history written like this!
With The Race Underground, the author has taken a subject that most people would simply take for granted and set it within the cultural, economic, scientific and social framework surrounding various historical periods in America's history. I really enjoy "accessible" history, and I liked this book. Not only is it informative, but it also weaves in the story of regular people aside from those whose financial backing and engineering talents made the subways possible. It's also easy enough to understand that it should be accessible to high school students, people who may be interested in the topic but are not really history buffs, and people who have an interest in urban history. Recommended.
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Bink W. (Sopchoppy, FL)
wonderful period detail
Should be especially interesting to people who have lived in New York or Boston. Excellent detail of the times and processes that led to the building of the underground. Good historical fiction
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