Description
Book SynopsisTells the story of New York's evolution as a great city by examining its struggle for that vital and basic element - clean water. This book demonstrates how quickly the shallow wells of Dutch New Amsterdam were overwhelmed, leaving the English and American city beleaguered by filth, epidemics, and fires.
Trade Review"A fascinating, play-by-play tale based on an exhaustive review of personal narrative, anecdotes, primary sources, and nearly forgotten archives...Koeppel reveals his eye for interesting detail."--Library Journal "Koeppel ... has written a vivid history of how Manhattan finally got reliable drinking water... Koeppel's graceful history is written with wit and intelligence."--Publishers Weekly "New York journalist Koeppel tells the lively, labyrinthine tale of how the burgeoning metropolis struggled for decades to obtain an adequate supply of water."--Booklist "A tale of ingenuity in the face of enormous natural and social challenges, ably narrated by the journalist Gerard T. Koeppel... Let us toast the engineers, the laborers and the politicians--the heroes of Koeppel's account--with a glass of clean, clear Manhattan tap water."--Laurence A. Marschall, The Sciences "Mr. Koeppel has made ... an engaging tale of material that could easily have become leaden. His prose is unfalteringly elegant, his eye for enlivening detail is keen, and his thorough research has been splendidly assembled. This is most certainly not just a book for New Yorkers."--Philip Ball, The New York Observer "Extraordinarily well-researched and remarkably readable... Entertaining and highly useful."--Caleb Carr, The New York Times Book Review "New York ... has a good tale to tell of city hall intrigue and corruption and fortunes made on the back of cruel epidemics and of a heartening triumph for engineering...The story is well told by a good journalist."--Fred Pearce, The Times Higher Education Supplement "An engaging tale... [Koeppel's] prose is unfalteringly elegant, his eye for enlivening detail is keen, and his thorough research is splendidly assembled. This is most certainly not just a book for New Yorkers."--Philip Ball, New York Observer "Vivid... Koeppel's graceful history is written with wit and intelligence."--Publishers Weekly "Koeppel's study, an engaging read, follows the tortuous origins of the city's much-delayed water system. In doing so, Water for Gotham uncovers a rich history--a history that seemed to have been forgotten nearly as soon as the fresh water began to flow."--New York History
Table of ContentsIllustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii ONE "Give Us Cold Water" 1 TWO Manahata Goes Dutch 7 THREE English Well-Being 17 FOUR Tea Water and the Works That Weren't 28 FIVE New City, Old Trouble 50 Six Aaron's Water 70 SEVEN Fools of Gotham 102 EIGHT Catching the Croton Bug 139 NINE The Work Begins 185 TEN Taking the High Road? 218 ELEVEN Filling the "Big Teapot" 246 EPILOGUE New York's Waterfrom Then to Now 285 Notes 293 Index 341
