Conquering Gotham

It is the most fascinating book I have ever read. Just learning about the greatness of Alexander Cassatt is worth the cost of the book, no matter the cost. Leadership and greatness this country no longer has. If you aren't a fan of history, you will be after you read this. As others have said, all those I told about this book read it and loved it.

I LOVED this book, am very grateful to the person who gave it to me as a gift, and have heard nothing but equally enthusiastic thanks from everyone I've told about it and who has read it. Not a topic that many might ordinarily be inclined to read about, this book has it all - fascinating personalities and intriguing relationships, larger-than-life challenges, old-time graft, corruption and politics in the Tammany Hall days, turn-of-the century Teddy Roosevelt trust-busting, railroad magnates, seemingly impossible technological challenges, wealth, power, and raw competition and rivalries on both a corporate and very personal level. The insight into the everyday plight, and dangers, of laborers, immigrants and prostitution houses run amok in old-time Manhattan is gripping. The inspirational vision and leadership of one man running the Pennsylvania Railroad and his unswerving determination is something our leadership sorely lacks today, and it is a lesson that directly ties into our worn out, overburdened infrastructure of today that gets plenty of lip service but marginal attention. But, be prepared for the heart-breaking rise and fall of what had been one of America's true, magnificent, artistic, archeological accomplishments and icons - the original Penn Station - on the site of the present-day disgrace. A true page-turner, this book is a fascinating must-read!