mha_cover1_350jpg.jpegA couple of weeks ago, I got a copy of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City — a cool new book by Eric Sanderson. Today I finally had a chance to look at it carefully. Wow.

If you ever wondered what Manhattan was like in 1609, when Henry Hudson first sailed into New York Harbor, Mannahatta offers a startling and powerful glimpse. You’ll be amazed at what the city looked like before it even existed.

This is definitely a book for both sides of your brain. Sanderson, a landscape ecologist, has used cutting-edge techniques in computational geography and visualization to create a book that’s not just intellectually compelling, but also physically beautiful. Indeed, Mannahatta shows that carefully constructed books — Pentagram had a hand in fashioning this one — can still do things that e-readers and web sites simply cannot.

Also:
— The NY Times reviewed the book last month; so did the San Francisco Chronicle
— Sanderson has some cool stuff on his website.
— Prediction: The counterintuitive idea that big cities are greener than most places is going to be a hot new meme, thanks to Mannahatta and David Owen’s upcoming book.

3 Responses to “Book recommendation: Mannahatta”

  1. Ben Knight says:
    June 5, 2009 at 8:41 am

    Dan the idea of cities being more sustainable is quite an old one, maybe just becoming fashionable now: http://bit.ly/bqnII

    Actually I am forgetting the place but I remember Le Corbusier talking about Radiant City being sustainable (though totalitarian).

    I remember another publication recently discussing the sustainable actions of NYC 🙂 http://bit.ly/15jzJb

  2. Dan Pink says:
    June 5, 2009 at 9:05 am

    Good point, Ben. What’s old is new.

  3. Jason Kucherawy says:
    June 5, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    As a tour guide, this book could be a fantastic resource. I’ll be sharing the link with my tour guide friends and definitely checking this book out! Thanks Dan!