Reviews
Well researched, engagingly told, and rich in historical, sociological, and economic detail, Waterfront Manhattan represents a new way to look at the ascendancy and growth of America's most important city.
In Waterfront Manhattan, Schlichting has woven an impressive narrative which is sure to shed light on this underappreciated aspect of New York City history.
This is an important book. There is much to ponder on the future of New York City's harbor, encompassing all five of the city's boroughs and also New Jersey's shoreline.
This book will command serious and broad attention. A worthy successor to Schlichting's first two books, which made important contributions to the history of New York City and transportation history. I enthusiastically recommend it.
Anyone with an interest in New York City will want to read this book. Schlichting succeeds admirably in describing the evolution of Manhattan's waterfront through the past several centuries—so far as I know there is no published work of such scope and richness. It will also be a valuable addition to courses on urban history, urban planning, and role of civil engineering in changing cities and society.
Waterfront Manhattan is a great book. It explains, better than any other volume I've read, why New York became a great metropolis. Schlichting vividly brings to life the stories of the men and women who made that greatness possible—from international financiers to longshoremen and sailors. It is sure to remain the definitive account of New York's waterfront world for years to come.
Schlichting’s Waterfront Manhattan deftly weaves myriad historical sources—census rolls, shipping timetables, maps, government reports—into a complex narrative radiating from Manhattan’s shoreline, unfolding across space and time, at scales from local to global. It’s a critical new telling of the city’s frenetic historical geography.
An exceptionally important and riveting study of Manhattan and its relations to its waterfront over the years.
Book Details
Preface
1. Growth, Decline, and Rebirth
2. Water-Lots and the Extension of the Manhattan Shoreline
3. The Ascendency of the Port of New York
4. New York's Waterway Empires
5. The Social Construction of the
Preface
1. Growth, Decline, and Rebirth
2. Water-Lots and the Extension of the Manhattan Shoreline
3. The Ascendency of the Port of New York
4. New York's Waterway Empires
5. The Social Construction of the Waterfront
6. The Port Prospers, the Railroads Arrive, and Congestion Ensues
7. The Public and Control of the Waterfront
8. Crime, Corruption, and the Death of the Manhattan Waterfront
9. Rebirth of the Waterfront
Notes
Index