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Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City Paperback – Picture Book, May 28, 2013

by Eric W. Sanderson (Author), Markley Boyer (Illustrator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 186 ratings
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More than a history, Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City is a book of science, natural history, and imagination, a call for us to stretch our thoughts back to 1609 when Henry Hudson first set foot on the island that would become Manhattan and ahead to 2409 to cities and a world where people and wildlife might thrive together.

“See the salt marsh that is now Delancey Street, the grassy plains of Harlem, the water moving slowly through what is now Times Square to the forests along the banks of the Upper West Side. . . . The fact-intense charts, maps and tables offered in abundance here are fascinating, and even kind of sexy.” —New York Times

What did Henry Hudson see when he first walked through the forests that would become the heart of one of the world’s greatest, most iconic cities? It’s difficult for us to imagine that world, but for more than a decade, landscape ecologist Eric W. Sanderson has been working to bring that world back to us.

In 1609, the island that is now Manhattan had more ecological communities per acre than Yellowstone, more native plant species per acre than Yosemite, more birds than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Manhattan was home to wolves, black bears, mountain lions, mink, and river otters. Whales, porpoises, seals, and the occasional sea turtle visited its harbor. Millions of birds of more than 150 different species flew over the island on their annual migration. Millions of fish—shad, herring, trout, sturgeon, and eel—swam past the island up the Hudson River and its stream as a rite of spring.

Sanderson’s book is the astounding result of his efforts at reconstructing in words and images the wild island that millions now call home. By geographically matching an 18th-century map with one of modern New York City, examining volumes of historic documents, and collecting and analyzing scientific data, Sanderson re-creates the forests of Times Square, the meadows of Harlem, and the wetlands of downtown. His lively text guides readers through this abundant landscape, while Markley Boyer’s breathtaking illustrations transport them back in time.

Mannahatta is a groundbreaking work that provides not only a window into the past but also inspiration for the future.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  4. Publication date
    May 28, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    7.5 x 1.5 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1419707485
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1419707483
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric W. Sanderson is a senior conservation ecologist in the Global Conservation Programs of the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is adjunct faculty member at Columbia University and New York University and has lectured at Princeton, Harvard, and Oxford universities, and at TED.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; Illustrated edition (May 28, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419707485
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419707483
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.22 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1.5 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 186 ratings

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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
186 global ratings
Ordered a “new” copy and received a a very used damaged book without the cover jacket
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Top reviews from the United States

Marguerite Weibel
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
Who would not be curious to see what the place where they grew up looked like 400 years ago? This book does that for every New Yorker, but you don't have to be a New Yorker to appreciate the extraordinary task that Eric Sanderson and his team undertook to create this book. Using old maps and up-to-date computer technology, Sanderson tells a story unlike any other, an amazing feat given that the subject is one of the most written about and photographed places on earth. Matching photographs of sections of Manhattan as we know it today with computer-generated pictures of the same areas as the Lenape Indians would have seen them, Sanderson gives us an almost incredible view of what was once a fertile and thriving ecosystem as well as a deeper appreciation for the long history of this island we think is so familiar to us. The story of how he created this work is as fascinating as the photographs themselves, and the quality of the writing matches the historical and scientific importance of the task. Five stars, indeed.
Marguerite from Seattle
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great overall history of New York.
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
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This book will provide the layperson with a detailed history of New York from 1609 going forward. Both indigenous Americans, colonial period, the revolutionary war and after. An human and ecological history of this great city.
One person found this helpful
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adel
5.0 out of 5 stars BEFORE AND AFTER
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015
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This book is illustrated so beautifully it belongs on the coffee table. Its also big and heavily loaded with information. The concept takes Manhattan back to a pristine wilderness showing the habitat of indigenous species and native inhabitants before the colonials arrived. Using GIS, the author has generated maps of landscapes in 1609 that perfectly match current GPS images. Block by block overlays show the location of a Lenape village, stream, or forest. Using a Muir web, the author also reconstructs the ecosystems of plants and animals that vanished when the skyscrapers went up. The Mannahatta project has set up an interactive website, which allows visitors to travel back in time and see an Indian village at the site of the current City Hall or a beaver dam where the Empire State building now stands. The intent is not a call to return to the jungle, just a reminder of how things change.
3 people found this helpful
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Luane Kohnke
5.0 out of 5 stars If you love NYC, you need this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2020
Verified Purchase
I initially bought the ebook, but I could not read any of the maps or illustrations. Don't bother with the ebook. Get the hard copy. It is fantastic, including the detailed appendices.
The attention to detail is remarkable, including how the conservation team modeled possible options. I learned a lot about Manhattan and the Lenape. More natural history about the changed landscape over 400 years than I thought I would learn.
If you want to impress your friends with amazing facts about NYC, this is the book for you.
4 people found this helpful
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Ravanagh Allan
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
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I always wonder what the land of my favourite cities looked like in its natural state before the urban transformation, and this book really gives it to you in great detail!

The last quarter of it is taken up with speculation about the future, though, just to pad it out.
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Robert D. Sutter
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Concept and Great Insights into what existed before Manhattan
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
Mannahatta is a very well written and illustrated book, with many fantastic maps. The book presents to non-scientists the scientific process of determining what the original vegetation and animals were in an area, that area being Manhattan, a place one tends to forget that there was original vegetation. Eric Sanderson does an excellent job explaining landscape ecology and methods used to determine the original vegetation. As an ecologist who does this type of work, it falls a bit short in the science, but I am not the intended audience. One component that is missing is a more easily used geographic guide to the original landscape. When I was in Manhattan last week, I would have liked to have a more easily accessed description of what existed where Rockefeller Center is today.
One person found this helpful
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Michael Hipius
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Big Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010
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My wife and I had no idea this book existed until we met the author's wife at the NY Botanical Gardens. She matter-of -factly told us an immense number interesting stories in about 15 minutes and threw in a modest plug about Mannahatta. I purchased the book several weeks ago and have not been able to touch it since my wife (a social studies teacher) won't put it down. Actually, I have been able to glance through it and the maps and photos are more than worth the price of admission. Mannahatta is one of those rare classic information books that you can open up at any page and find yourself reading for an extended period of time when you thought you were just going to skim through. Fantastic book- well worth the 10 years the author spent putting it together.
2 people found this helpful
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Sandy
5.0 out of 5 stars After visiting NYC I was interested in its historical perspective ...
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
After visiting NYC I was interested in its historical perspective. This book provides such an interesting perspective on how the Island of Manhatten began before man changed it forever. It also provides interesting insight of the Manhatten of the future. My only complaint is that the book itself was too big for bedtime reading!
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Leo
5.0 out of 5 stars Increible rapidez y presentación
Reviewed in Spain on April 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
Todo lo que se podía esperar, perfecto y a un precio muy ajustado. Encuadernación en tapa dura y guardapáginas incluido.
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DOPPLEGANGER
5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT HENRY SAW
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2011
Verified Purchase
I would imagine that even the author of this impressive book would readily concede that it was never going to be a 'mass seller', but that it would be a 'breaker of new ground' in the art of envisioning and as such be of interest to a fairly wide range of those interested in all aspects of natural history, landscape ecology, American History buffs and those who have an interest/love of, Manhattan.

A landscape ecologist based at the Bronx Zoo, Eric W. Sanderson toiled for 10 years reconstructing the ecology of the island at the moment when Henry Hudson sailed into the Hudson River in 1609 when Manhattan's only occupants were 400 or so Red Indians belonging to the Algonquin tribe, part of the Lenni Lenape aka the Delaware Indians.

Hitherto, it was difficult to envisage what he saw but after much research through historical and archaeological records, and applying modern principles of ecology and computer modelling, Sanderson has been able to re-create the forests of Times Square, the meadows of Harlem and the boggy wetlands of downtown. With many breathtaking illustrations showing what Manhattan looked like 400 years ago, it is a ground-breaking work that gives readers not only a window into the past, but inspiration for green cities and wild places of the future.

Remember the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover", so think about obtaining this book and looking beyond the front cover and you may well find it as interesting as I did and I'm no 'greenie' or history geek!
2 people found this helpful
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Bernhard Kockoth
5.0 out of 5 stars Fans der großen Stadt werden mit einer anderen Sicht belohnt
Reviewed in Germany on February 20, 2010
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Zwar klingt vieles der beschriebenen und fotorealistisch-illustrierten Flora und Fauna auf dem virtuellen grünen Manhattan ein wenig an den Haaren herbei gezogen, aber die plausibel dargestellte andere Sicht auf die Dinge öffnet uns die Augen auch in Bereichen unseres täglichen Lebens. Vor allem denaturisierte Stadtbewohner schätzen das Grün und den Freiraum den die betonierte asphaltierte Stadtwirklichkeit nur allzuschnell verdrängt. Wer möchte nicht gerne die öffentliche Gefahr durch den Staßenverkehr durch nicht minder gefährliche wilde Tiere und giftige Pflanzen ersetzt sehen? Dieses Buch hilft der Fantasie auf die Sprünge - wie würde ihre Stadt ohne Stadt aussehen?!

Der Autor gibt den wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen seinen persönlichen Touch indem er Stücke seiner Biographie einfließen lässt, dadurch flüssig zu lesen und weniger trocken als rein wissenschaftliche Werke.

5 Sterne weil wir sind Fans von New York UND grüner Umwelt.
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Katmonkey
5.0 out of 5 stars America this was the perfect book for me
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2015
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Having an interest in Geography, history, America this was the perfect book for me. immensely informative. Profound in how a landscape has changed so drastically.
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