722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York [Paperback]

Professor Clifton Hood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Clifton Hood traces the complex and fascinating history of the New York City subway system. At its opening in 1904, the tracks covered the twenty-two miles from City Hall up to 145th Street and Broadway, the longest stretch ever built at one time. From that initial route through the completion of the IND, the Independent Subway, in the 1940s, the subway grew to cover 722 miles -- long enough to reach from New York to Chicago.

"Clifton Hood's 722 Miles is the fullest and most authoritative account of the building and impact of the New York City subways, the most extensive system of urban transportation in the United States and perhaps the world." -- Nathan Glazer, Harvard University

"A clear, perceptive and carefully researched study of this engineering feat and the ways in which the subway led to an expansion of the metropolitan area." -- Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New York City's rapid transit system, the longest in the world, was built between 1904 and 1940, and initally was operated as three separate lines (Interborough Rapid Transit, or IRT; Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit, or BMT; and the Independent System, or IND), all of which were eventually unified into one municipal system. Hood, a professor of history at Hobart and William Smith College in New York, here provides a clear, perceptive and carefully researched study of this engineering feat and the ways in which the subway led to an expansion of the metropolitan area. Financed by both private and public funds, construction was hampered by conflicts between financiers and politicians, as well as by geological obstacles which led to devastating underground accidents. Hood convincingly argues that the takeover of the subways by the Transit Authority in 1953 resulted in a progressive deterioration that can only be remedied by government subsidies. This is a strong contribution to urban studies. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The New York subway was the vision of a few enlightened politicians working with a tight-knit mercantile elite who saw the potential that a high-speed underground rail system would have as a vehicle for urban development. Hood (American history, Hobart and William Smith Coll.) tells the fascinating story of the individuals who created this unparalleled achievement of civil engineering. This concise, scholarly history describes the impact on urban life and the creation of new neighborhoods (the Upper West Side, Harlem, Jackson Heights) separated only by a nickel fare from the heart of the city. Hood chronicles the changes in the city's political climate, from a laissez-faire mood at the onset of the century through the rise of the progressive reform movement, concluding in the big-government era of the 1950s. Hood's work fills an important chapter in the history of the city; recommended for urban history, planning, and architecture collections.
- Thomas P.R. Nugent, New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; First Edition edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801852447
• ISBN-13: 978-0801852442
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable work for city scholars June 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

In you are looking for a tour guide of New York's vast subway system, or a concise timeline of its construction and equipment, look elsewhere.

What Clifton Hood has produced is a political history of the subway which should be read by every student of New York history and every person who wants to understand better the workings of New York City politics today.

The reader will find such familiar personages as Boss Tweed and Fiorello LaGuardia, but will also read about John F. Hylan, mayor from 1918-1925.

Hylan's is hardly a household name in popular New York history--he is known instead to the relative handful of people who delve into the recesses of Big Apple politics of the early 20th century.

In 722 Miles, Hood places Hylan in his proper place as the man who politicized the NYC transit system and, in so doing, set the stage for the long deterioration of the system which is only now being reversed.

I could quibble with various aspects of Hood's book--perhaps he focuses too much attention on one or another story relatively peripheral to the system's development while treating too lightly other threads. For example, he doesn't visit the influence of the BRT (later BMT) system until it became involved in the subway building contracts of 1913.

Additionally, to address the concerns of an earlier reviewer, there are lapses in editing which are odd in so heavily researched and footnoted a work. For example, at one point (using my hardbound copy as reference), Hood described a laborer's pay on the first subway as being $2.00 or $2.25 PER HOUR, a princely sun at the time, when he clearly meant PER DAY.... Elsewhere, in describing the distastrous Malbone Street accident of 1918, he twice specifies that the fully wrecked car was number 109, when it is well known to have been 100--an insignificant detail, perhaps, but one which causes one to wonder what others details might have been mistated.

All in all, however, these lapses do not dim Hood's achievement in producing the only modern work of its kind, a compelling and perceptive look at the way New York City politics have interacted with perhaps its most significant public work. Read more ›

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't cover everything, of course. March 11, 2002

By yarily_holp

Format:Paperback

As another reviewer mentioned, this isn't a tourist guide. There aren't that many maps, and the ones present do not show stops. Aside from the creation of new suburbs such as Jackson Heights, there isn't a whole lot of discussion of how the subways affected neighborhoods after they were built, especially after cars began to take over.

The main point this book makes is how the combination of enforced low fares and the perception of rapid transit as a business rather than a public service caused the subways' decline. The beginning of the book describes some of the engineering problems involved in building subways in New York. I would have liked to have seen more of that, especially for later, non-IRT subways; diagrams of the terrain in question would have been interesting.

Anyway, the book has to stop somewhere. For all that's left out, the discussion of people and politics, and of how things could have turned out differently, is fascinating.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Wake me up! November 23, 2003

By butter

Format:Paperback

As a daily rider of the New York subway system, I find it dynamic and exciting piece of living history. This book, however, was not. It is a plodding academic treatment that focuses more on politics than the actual system. The pictures were too few. The maps were poorly realized and uninformative. As the system is still in place largely as it was decades ago, I would have liked references to the current line and station names instead of trying to guess or sit there with my own maps (something you can't do if reading while riding the subway). The subway system represents both a technological marvel and an instrument of great social change. Where is that book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not A Tourist Guide? February 14, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

In response to other reviewers: this book is not MEANT to be a tourist guide, it IS, however, an academic study, and a very good one indeed. For those who did not enjoy the book, because of it's lack of pictures, perhaps the problems lie with the reader rather than the author?

5.0 out of 5 stars The subways and the transformation of New York December 28, 2012

By R. Resor

Format:Paperback

I worked for the New York City transit system (then known as the New York City Transit Authority) from 1982 to 1987, so I had an "up close and personal" look at what it takes to operate the largest rapid transit railroad in the Western Hemisphere on a daily basis. This book is not the one to read, though, if you're fascinated with the details of daily operations. Try Jim Dwyer's book "Subway Lives" for that.

But if you want a close and expert look at the public policy decisions that drove where and when subway lines were constructed, this is your book. The story of the "dual contracts" is well told. This may be the first example in the United States of a "public-private partnership", as they're now called, with the city building the fixed plant and then contracting with private operators to provide service.

There is also the sad story of "Red Mike" Hylan (his nickname was not due to his hair color), who set out to build a city-owned and city-operated subway with the express aim of bankrupting the two private operators. He got his wish. However, his legacy is the "Independent City-Owned Subway", some of the most magnificent, fast, and high-capacity subway lines ever constructed anywhere. The city could not do without them today.

The last chapters, which cover the city takeover of the two private operators in 1948, are not as comprehensive and well-done as the earlier sections of the book, but this is a minor quibble. Many books and articles cover the history of the New York City Transit Authority, created in 1953 to run the subways, later expanded to run most city buses, and finally folded into the New York MTA in 1967.

All told, an excellent read for any student of public policy and transportation.