Conquering Gotham

The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels

By: Jill Jonnes

Narrated by: David Drummond

The demolition of Penn Station in 1963 destroyed not just a soaring neoclassical edifice, but also a building that commemorated one of the last century's great engineering feats: the construction of railroad tunnels into New York City.

Now, in this gripping narrative, Jill Jonnes tells this fascinating story - a high-stakes drama that pitted the money and will of the nation's mightiest railroad against the corruption of Tammany Hall, the unruly forces of nature, and the machinations of labor agitators.

In 1901, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Alexander Cassatt, determined that it was technically feasible to build a system of tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island. Confronted by payoff-hungry politicians, brutal underground working conditions, and disastrous blowouts and explosions, it would take him nearly a decade to make Penn Station and its tunnels a reality.

©2007 Jill Jonnes (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"An exemplary construction epic." ( Booklist)
"An important addition to the popular literature of...New York." ( Publishers Weekly)

Amazing historic book

The book is a compendium of stories related to the construction of the tunnel that connects Manhattan island to the mainland. The flow of the book is ok, some details did not have a meaning to me.

Must read for Railroad History buffs

I really enjoyed the story. Great quotes and historical background on the construction of the Pennsylvania station and the East River tunnels. Important context given the current discussion on the new replacement tunnels.

Business history

This was a good book, and it did make me feel better that politicians are probably a little better now than they were then. Only criticism is that I doubt Cassatt was the saint she makes him out to be. You don't rise to that level by being a 'nice guy' even if you're very honest and forthright, and have the best of intentions.

A trip to the past

The descriptions of the people and places of the first decade of the 20th-century, and the details of tunnel-building.

A Project Greater than the Technology of its Day

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook to a friend because of the story. Even though we know that New York Penn Station was built and the tunnels were completed, hearing the amazing feats of engineering that needed to be accomplished and fact that they did not completely understand all that they were doing makes for an engaging story. And then there is the political corruption in New York at the time and how the Pennsylvania Rail Road refused to do anything underhanded to build these projects. It is surprising how much depended on luck and determination.

Have you listened to any of David Drummond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first performance that I have heard of David Drummond's. He was an exceptional reader.