John Randel Jr. (1787 1865) was an eccentric and flamboyant
surveyor. Renowned for his inventiveness as well as for his bombast
and irascibility, Randel was central to Manhattan s development but
died in financial ruin. Telling Randel s engrossing and dramatic
life story for the first time, this eye-opening biography
introduces an unheralded pioneer of American engineering and
mapmaking.
Charged with gridding what was then an undeveloped, hilly
island, Randel recorded the contours of Manhattan down to the rocks
on its shores. He was obsessed with accuracy and steeped in the
values of the Enlightenment, in which math and science promised
dominion over nature. The result was a series of maps, astonishing
in their detail and precision, which undergird our knowledge about
the island today. During his varied career Randel created surveying
devices, designed an early elevated subway, and proposed a
controversial alternative route for the Erie Canal winning him
admirers and enemies.
The Measure of Manhattan is more than just the life of an
unrecognized engineer. It is about the ways in which surveying and
cartography changed the ground beneath our feet. Bringing Randel s
story into the present, Holloway travels with contemporary
surveyors and scientists trying to envision Manhattan as a wild
island once again. Illustrated with dozens of historical images and
antique maps, The Measure of Manhattan is an absorbing story of a
fascinating man that captures the era when Manhattan indeed, the
entire country still seemed new, the moment before canals and
railroads helped draw a grid across the American landscape."
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