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Digs into the human drama behind the Eighth Wonder of the World

Table of Contents

Introduction ? The Impetus ? Vexing Questions ? A Coal Famine ? Th e Wedding Ring ? A Controversy Acute and Personal ? Political and Petty Tampering ? Another Long and Costly Delay ? A Tempest in a Teapot ? The Sandhogs ?? The Holland Tunnel ?? One Work Complete ?? Fires, Blasts Rip Holland Tunnel ?? Built to Last Forever Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

About the Author

Robert W. Jackson is an urban planner and historian, and previously served as a historian for the Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, where he documented historic bridges and highways in Texas, Iowa and Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in American Civilization from University of Texas, and is the author of Rails across the Mississippi: A History of the St. Louis Bridge. He currently lives in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

"When the Holland Tunnel opened in 1927, it was the world's longest and largest vehicular tunnel and was distinguished by an innovative ventilation system. Until then, vehicles were ferried across the Hudson and were subject to the vicissitudes of ice and fog. In "Highway Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland Tunnel" (NYU Press), Robert W. Jackson explores the tortured bistate bureaucratic and political prelude to the construction of the 1.6-mile underwater corridor, which, by the way, was named not for the region's Dutch roots, but for the project's first chief engineer, Clifford Holland of Brooklyn, who died at 41 of heart failure in a sanitarium while undergoing a tonsillectomy." -Sam Roberts, The New York Times ,"Jackson has excavated a vast amount of information, bringing this authoritative history of a ground-breaking tunnel to life." Publishers Weekly "His vivid account features a colorful cast of characters...An important work chronicling a largely unsung American engineering feat...it remains a compelling story that serves as a dramatic reminder that government can accomplish great things that the private sector cannot." LJ "Robert Jackson has skillfully captured the political intrigue, technological challenge, and human drama associated with turning a dream into a reality. " - Henry Petroski, A. S. Vesic, author of The Essential Engineer "Tells a truly engaging story about a great engineering project...Robert Jackson has skilfully captured the political intrigue, technological challenge, and human drama associated with turning a dream into a reality. " Henry Petroski, A. S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University; author of The Essential Engineer "Robert Jackson has given us a terrific story--replete with important engineering challenges and men who braved the odds--and sometimes died --in building the Holland Tunnel." Jameson W. Doig, Research Professor in Government, Dartmouth College; author of Empire on the Hudson