Customer Reviews

Liquid Assets: A History of New York City's Water System

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Diane Galusha's new book, "Liquid Assets: A History of New York's Water System" tells the epic tale of the city's water supply from colonial days to the present. It is a spectacular job of research, yet reflects the passion of a native of the city's watershed. The book explores the political intrigues and scandals surrounding the huge sums expended to build the system; the engineering brilliance that has kept the system world famous for more than one hundred and fifty years; the pain and peril faced by the workers who built it, and the sacrifices made by those whose homes, farms and villages were submerged to create the city's vast network of dams and reservoirs.

"Liquid Assets" is well illustrated with historical photographs, drawings and maps. It is highly recommended, especially for those interested in the history of NYC, engineering, or urban studies, and fans of the historic Croton, Catskill and Deleware Aqueducts. The book also gives a context to the current controversies over filtration and watershed protection for NYC's water system.

After you read Liquid Assets, you'll never again turn on the faucet and take for granted what flows into your glass. This book is a masterful project delving into the history of New York's reservoirs.

New York City, the reservoirs in upstate New York, the lands that were taken to build the reservoirs, and the communities and lands surrounding them now are a hot topic. Ms Galusha's exceptional book takes you beyond the heated arguments to see just what was involved in the planning, engineering, and building of the reservoirs. The undertakings were nothing short of an engineering marvel. This tale of scandal, heartbreak, skill and resilience is expertly told with extensive research, photos, maps and a lot of heart.

A lot of work went into this book. This is a great reference providing details about the creation of the New York City Water system. The Author did a excellent job laying out a history which few people are aware of today except for the reservoirs which dot the Towns North of New York City.

The part of the story which is eluded to in sections of the book but is still missing and will likely never be told is the human tragedy and the impact that the New York City water system had on the lives of the people in the Towns North and West of New York City. The problem still continues today with the NYC Stormwater Regulations.

I would recommend this book to anyone as a reference for their library and a history lesson for them and their communities.

A wonderful book that pulls together solid research with the passion found from a "local" who understands the region. As an author of another book on the Croton System, I enjoyed Liquid Assets a great deal and encourage anyone with an interest in New York to read it to understand the impact of water on that great city.

Having read this book several times, I agree with the Historical Society that it is an excellent basis for future research. Possibly by someone who is not an employee. The data collected is wonderfully presented but the actual history is very dry and missing the real impact on the residents outside New York City. The one thing which I think is missing is a comparison to the approaches taken to water supplies by the other great cities of the world. This would make it a very informative and living book. It has local appeal indeed but would make very uninteresting reading indeed to anyne outside of New York. However, as an Engineer, I can appreciate the work involved here and did enjoy it in parts.