The Race Underground

If you’ve ever ridden on a subway in a major city, you may have wondered how this type of transportation was initially developed. If so, this book will answer all your questions about the origin of the subway system in two of America’s most well-known cities.  

There were a number of factors that led to the development of subways.  In a nutshell, the major catalyst was the need to find a safe and efficient form at transportation to address the chaos of extremely dense populated cities.  Nineteenth century urban areas were burgeoning with population growth from wave after wave of immigration.  Although the need for better transportation was known by mid-century, a whole host of stumbling blocks stalled this innovation from being realized until the turn of the 20th century.

I really liked this book because I consider myself to be a proponent of mass transportation and I also love riding trains.  Whenever I visit Chicago or New York, I feel like the trip isn’t complete unless I get to take a ride on a subway or elevated train.  So if you are a fan of mass transit or trains you’ll probably enjoy this book.