School Library Journal
Gr 4-8-This book is a glorious celebration and an accurate account of the birth of the New York City subway, which opened in 1904, the most ambitious transit system of its time. After much planning, construction of the first phase of the network took four and a half years and required dismantling and reconfiguring much of Manhattan's infrastructure. Weitzman's extensive research has enabled him to relate each and every stage of the engineering endeavor, from the digging and excavation to the cutting and lining of tunnels, laying of tracks, building of stations, and construction of an electrical system. Junior mechanics will feast on the intricate explanations of how laborers accomplished many tasks, though the author also considers art lovers with his beautiful representations of subway kiosks, arches, and panels. Ample pen-and-ink illustrations, cutaway drawings, and numbered diagrams coordinated with text convey a wealth of information about a fascinating chapter in New York's past.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Offering a treat for budding students of engineering, urban studies, construction projects or massive wheeled machines in general, Weitzman focuses on the initial stages in the building of what remains the world's largest and busiest subway system. Pairing matter-of-fact explanatory texts to intricate, precisely drawn side views and cutaways, with human figures in period dress standing about for scale, he begins with the signing of Contract #1 in 1900. Then he goes on to show step by step how, during the ensuing four and a half years, workers cut through muck and solid rock, built bridges and braces, rerouted sewage and electric lines, laid down track and erected power stations. He also explains how early trains were controlled, and closes with notes on some of the system's distinctive architectural details. As he is vague on the endeavor's human cost, and nearly silent on its turbulent political and historical background, this doesn't tell the whole story-but it does make engrossing viewing, and a good intro to the likes of Lesley A. DuTemple's New York Subways (2003). (brief annotated source list) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
