Conquering Gotham
The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels
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Narrated by:
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David Drummond
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By:
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Jill Jonnes
About this listen
Now, in this gripping narrative, Jill Jonnes tells this fascinating story - a high-stakes drama that pitted the money and will of the nation's mightiest railroad against the corruption of Tammany Hall, the unruly forces of nature, and the machinations of labor agitators.
In 1901, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Alexander Cassatt, determined that it was technically feasible to build a system of tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island. Confronted by payoff-hungry politicians, brutal underground working conditions, and disastrous blowouts and explosions, it would take him nearly a decade to make Penn Station and its tunnels a reality.
©2007 Jill Jonnes (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles
- By: Fran Leadon
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Broadway takes us on a mile-by-mile journey that traces the gradual evolution of the 17th century's Brede Wegh, a muddy cow path in a backwater Dutch settlement, to the 20th century's Great White Way. We learn why one side of the street was once considered more fashionable than the other; witness construction of the Ansonia Apartments, Trinity Church, and the Flatiron Building and the burning of P. T. Barnum's American Museum; and discover that Columbia University was built on the site of an insane asylum.
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Give My Regards To Broadway!
- By Steven on 08-20-18
By: Fran Leadon
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Chief Engineer
- Washington Roebling, the Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge
- By: Erica Wagner
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but after John Roebling's sudden death, Washington Roebling built what has become one of American's most iconic structures - as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognizable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten - and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, of the frontier, of the greatest crisis in American history, and of the making of the modern world.
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Monumental
- By charles mueller on 07-09-19
By: Erica Wagner
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Last Train to Paradise
- Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Del Roy
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The paths of the great American robber barons were paved with riches, and though ordinary citizens paid for them, they also profited. Les Standiford, author of the John Deal thrillers, tells how the man who turned Florida's swamps into the playgrounds of the rich performed the almost superhuman feat of building a railroad from the mainland to Key West at the turn of the century.
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A Pleasant Surprise
- By Roy on 04-05-09
By: Les Standiford
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Supreme City
- How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrated by: Frangione Jim
- Length: 29 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In four words - "the capital of everything" - Duke Ellington captured Manhattan during one of the most exciting and celebrated eras in our history: The Jazz Age. Radio, tabloid newspapers, and movies with sound appeared. The silver screen took over Times Square as Broadway became America's movie mecca. Tremendous new skyscrapers were built in Midtown in one of the greatest building booms in history.
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the background to the NYC we now live in
- By Marcie on 03-05-15
By: Donald L. Miller
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Train
- Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World - from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief
- By: Tom Zoellner
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Tom Zoellner loves trains with a ferocious passion. In his new audiobook he chronicles the innovation and sociological impact of the railway technology that changed the world, and could very well change it again. From the frigid Trans-Siberian Railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the futuristic maglev trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of man's relationship with trains. Zoellner examines both the mechanics of the rails and their engines and how they helped societies evolve. Not only do trains transport people and goods in an efficient manner, but they also reduce pollution and dependency upon oil.
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The world history of trains up to the present
- By matthew on 03-06-14
By: Tom Zoellner
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Dark Tide
- The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
- By: Stephen Puleo
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters were playing cards in Boston's North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like, "a roaring surf," one of them said later. Like, "a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence," said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window - "Oh my God!" he shouted to the other men, "Run!" A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour.
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INTERESTING STORY - ABOUT 2x TOO LONG
- By The Louligan on 09-07-14
By: Stephen Puleo
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Water to the Angels
- William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created - William Mulholland's Los Angeles aqueduct - a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man whose vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today.
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Water challenges never end
- By John Matel on 04-10-15
By: Les Standiford
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Eighty Days
- Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World
- By: Matthew Goodman
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly, the crusading young female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s World newspaper, left New York City by steamship on a quest to break the record for the fastest trip around the world. Also departing from New York that day—and heading in the opposite direction by train—was a young journalist from The Cosmopolitan magazine, Elizabeth Bisland.
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Who knew?
- By Susan Gardner Bowers on 03-18-13
By: Matthew Goodman
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Rising Tide
- The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
- By: John M. Barry
- Narrated by: Barry Grizzard
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
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An American epic of science, politics, race, honor, high society, and the Mississippi River, Rising Tide tells the riveting and nearly forgotten story of the greatest natural disaster this country has ever known, the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated the homes of nearly one million people, helped elect Huey Long governor and made Herbert Hoover president, drove hundreds of thousands of blacks north, and transformed American society and politics forever.
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Where is the rest of the book?
- By Susie on 10-21-13
By: John M. Barry
What listeners say about Conquering Gotham
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jeff s
- 12-05-15
Must read for Railroad History buffs
I really enjoyed the story. Great quotes and historical background on the construction of the Pennsylvania station and the East River tunnels. Important context given the current discussion on the new replacement tunnels.
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- Blank
- 09-19-08
Business history
This was a good book, and it did make me feel better that politicians are probably a little better now than they were then. Only criticism is that I doubt Cassatt was the saint she makes him out to be. You don't rise to that level by being a 'nice guy' even if you're very honest and forthright, and have the best of intentions.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Nessuno
- 06-13-24
Amazing historic book
The book is a compendium of stories related to the construction of the tunnel that connects Manhattan island to the mainland. The flow of the book is ok, some details did not have a meaning to me.
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- Margaret
- 01-15-10
Everything but the pictures
I have been listening to books about the history of NYC and this was a great addition. The story is engaging and it was interesting to learn how a railroad centered in Philadelphia could have such an impact on Manhattan, but maybe not as much as it would have liked. I do wish the narrator had done a bit more homework on pronunciation of place names like Haverford and Bala Cynwyd. As a native of that area, I found the mispronunciations jarring. A very small complaint.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-20-13
A Project Greater than the Technology of its Day
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this audiobook to a friend because of the story. Even though we know that New York Penn Station was built and the tunnels were completed, hearing the amazing feats of engineering that needed to be accomplished and fact that they did not completely understand all that they were doing makes for an engaging story. And then there is the political corruption in New York at the time and how the Pennsylvania Rail Road refused to do anything underhanded to build these projects. It is surprising how much depended on luck and determination.
Have you listened to any of David Drummond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is the first performance that I have heard of David Drummond's. He was an exceptional reader.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sarino
- 02-10-15
Excellent book
It was filled with information about NYC in that era. It gave proper context to subject. And Well narrated too.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Colin W.
- 09-10-09
Brilliant
An absolutely wonderful history book. A compelling tale brought to life by an excellent author and an excellent reader. Highly recommend for anyone who likes history, trains, New York City, or stories set in the early-20th century.
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1 person found this helpful
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- IdontWantToTell
- 03-11-21
Well told story. Engaging and a bit suspenseful
I was as really surprised about this piece of American history and technology. It was even a little suspenseful. Not knowing anything about this I was surprised and emotional at the ending. This a good read and/listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Edouard
- 02-08-08
A good tale of the times
Being a fan of history and railroading, I chose this book on a whim because Audible doesn't have an enormous choice of books which cover both of those subject fields simultaneously: Beggars can't be choosers. Nonetheless... I got lucky. The writer tells a story that is informative and interesting. It is entertaining and educational. The descriptions of political and industrial scandal and achievement will cause you to draw comparisons between Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates. Between Boss Tweed and Huey Long. Between Google and the PRR. The French have a phrase: "Plus ca change, plus c'est pareil" (The more things change, the more they stay the same).
This book describes the political and business atmosphere of the early 1900s in New York, and what it took physically, monetarily, politically, and socially, to build tunnels under New York's rivers that would allow the PRR's trains to come straight into Manhattan instead of having the passengers debark from their trains in New Jersey to take the ferry across. The entire exercise was a turning point in New York's coming of age in being the major metropolis of the United States and a global force to be reckoned with. The narrator blends into the background for the most part, leaving the story to tell itself. When you listen to a story and don't hear the telling, you know that it was well written, and that the story teller treated the material as superior to his or her ego.
There are some books that you will read (or listen to) many times because you like the tale, or the author, or because you want to pick up on the little bits that you missed the last time. I won't listen to this book a dozen times, but I will listen to it three or four more times because the tale is good. It speaks of courage and conviction and crime and corruption. The good people are inspiring and the sociopaths will make you wonder why we still have people like the Ken Lays and Jack Abramoffs of the world.
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23 people found this helpful
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- chris
- 07-16-10
Great for railroad or NYC historians
Excellent snapshot of 1900 business circles. Never could such a feat be accomplished today with all the red tape that surrounds this kind of endeavor. Recommended for any historian of industry, business, railroads, and/or New York City.
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1 person found this helpful