Nineteen Reservoirs

On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City

De: Lucy Sante

Narrado por: Lucy Sante

Duración: 2 h y 47 m

Resumen del Editor

Without the nineteen upstate reservoirs that supply its water, New York City as we know it would not exist today.

From 1907 to 1967, a network of reservoirs and aqueducts was built across more than one million acres in upstate New York, including Greene, Delaware, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties. This feat of engineering served to meet New York City's ever-increasing need for water, sustaining its inhabitants and cementing it as a center of industry. West of the Hudson, it meant that twenty-six villages, with their farms, forest lands, orchards, and quarries, were bought for a fraction of their value, demolished, and submerged, profoundly altering ecosystems in ways we will never fully appreciate.

This paradox of victory and loss is at the heart of Nineteen Reservoirs, Lucy Sante's meticulous account of how New York City secured its seemingly limitless fresh water supply, and why it cannot be taken for granted. In inimitable form, Sante plumbs the historical record to surface forgotten archives and images, bringing lost places back to life. Her immaculately calibrated sensitivity honors both perspectives on New York City's reservoir system and helps us understand the full import of its creation.

©2022 Lucy Sante (P)2022 Tantor

Quick hardcore history lesson

Fascinating read that is clear and well written. Now living in Update NY, the book has provided me with a fascinating new way to understand the relationship between powerful cities and its surroundings.

Overview of the reservoirs

The overall story is decent. I wish the author went into more detail about the actual destruction that took place to make the reservoirs. The narration is terrible. The mispronunciation of towns and locations makes me roll my eyes especially when he try’s to say that he lived locally for several years. The bashing of locals in the epilogue is not needed.