The Lost Subways of North America: A Cartographic Guide to the Past, Present, and What Might Have Been
Jake Berman
(Author)
Description
A visual exploration of the transit histories of twenty-three US and Canadian cities.
Every driver in North America shares one miserable, soul-sucking universal experience--being stuck in traffic. But things weren't always like this. Why is it that the mass transit systems of most cities in the United States and Canada are now utterly inadequate? The Lost Subways of North America offers a new way to consider this eternal question, with a strikingly visual--and fun--journey through past, present, and unbuilt urban transit. Using meticulous archival research, cartographer and artist Jake Berman has successfully plotted maps of old train networks covering twenty-three North American metropolises, ranging from New York City's Civil War-era plan for a steam-powered subway under Fifth Avenue to the ultramodern automated Vancouver SkyTrain and the thousand-mile electric railway system of pre-World War II Los Angeles. He takes us through colorful maps of old, often forgotten streetcar lines, lost ideas for never-built transit, and modern rail systems--drawing us into the captivating transit histories of US and Canadian cities. Berman combines vintage styling with modern printing technology to create a sweeping visual history of North American public transit and urban development. With more than one hundred original maps, accompanied by essays on each city's urban development, this book presents a fascinating look at North American rapid transit systems.Product Details
Price
$35.00
$32.55
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Publish Date
November 03, 2023
Pages
272
Dimensions
8.8 X 11.0 X 1.1 inches | 2.85 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780226829791
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
About the Author
Jake Berman is a cartographer, writer, artist, and lawyer. His work has been featured in the New Yorker, Vice, Atlas Obscura, and the Guardian. A native of San Francisco, he now lives in New York City.
Reviews
"Berman's lively history of American subway debates takes us beyond the usual nostalgia of so much writing on the topic. It helps us to see how our ancestors' values and motivations created the infrastructure we have and gives us the courage to make better choices now."-- "Jarrett Walker, author of Human Transit"
"Berman's comprehensive research and accessible writing style make for easy reading, and his complementary text greatly assists the reader in comprehending each locale's unique situation. It is as much a critique of the rise and fall of industrial cities as it is a history of failed transit schemes, for which it should become recommended reading for anyone interested in the effects of unbridled capitalism, corrupt politics, and big egos on North American daily life."-- "Mark Ovenden, author of Underground Cities"
"Berman's many exceptional maps are provocations worth thousands of words each, conveying a history of relative transportation abundance in the U.S. There is no other book on public transportation like it."-- "Steven Higashide, author of Better Buses, Better Cities"
"A comprehensive and accessible history of a profoundly consequential and underexplored cultural event. It makes you wonder at what was lost."-- "Angie Schmitt, author of Right of Way"
"Berman takes us on a whirlwind cartographic and textual tour of urban rail transit's lost lines and unbuilt extensions. Time and again, American voters and political leaders rejected or abandoned plans to create big, fast, bold transit systems that could compete with automobiles. While we can't go back and change history, Berman provides a clear vision of just how much was lost."-- "Nicholas Dagen Bloom, author of The Great American Transit Disaster"
"Cartographer Berman's comprehensive debut succinctly recounts the histories of 23 public mass transit systems built by American cities in the 20th century. . . . For each city, Berman provides his own exquisitely illustrated maps of past, existing, and proposed transit systems. The result is a valuable resource for transit enthusiasts."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Effectively illustrated with past and current system maps, this collection offers fresh insights into how large cities can--or don't--work."-- "Booklist, starred review"
"Berman's comprehensive research and accessible writing style make for easy reading, and his complementary text greatly assists the reader in comprehending each locale's unique situation. It is as much a critique of the rise and fall of industrial cities as it is a history of failed transit schemes, for which it should become recommended reading for anyone interested in the effects of unbridled capitalism, corrupt politics, and big egos on North American daily life."-- "Mark Ovenden, author of Underground Cities"
"Berman's many exceptional maps are provocations worth thousands of words each, conveying a history of relative transportation abundance in the U.S. There is no other book on public transportation like it."-- "Steven Higashide, author of Better Buses, Better Cities"
"A comprehensive and accessible history of a profoundly consequential and underexplored cultural event. It makes you wonder at what was lost."-- "Angie Schmitt, author of Right of Way"
"Berman takes us on a whirlwind cartographic and textual tour of urban rail transit's lost lines and unbuilt extensions. Time and again, American voters and political leaders rejected or abandoned plans to create big, fast, bold transit systems that could compete with automobiles. While we can't go back and change history, Berman provides a clear vision of just how much was lost."-- "Nicholas Dagen Bloom, author of The Great American Transit Disaster"
"Cartographer Berman's comprehensive debut succinctly recounts the histories of 23 public mass transit systems built by American cities in the 20th century. . . . For each city, Berman provides his own exquisitely illustrated maps of past, existing, and proposed transit systems. The result is a valuable resource for transit enthusiasts."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Effectively illustrated with past and current system maps, this collection offers fresh insights into how large cities can--or don't--work."-- "Booklist, starred review"
