A collection of short NY Times essays, these were fun to read and finally answered the question I've always had about the Knickerbocker sign at the Grand Central/Times Sq. train platform. Not really a historyof the subway, but a nice sampling of stories of the subway and it's users/inhabitants/workers.

A colleague of mine taught this book to a class of new immigrants. As a daily denizen of the NYC subway system, I wondered if they really would want to read about the very thing they had to grudgingly trudge through to get to class (or read on it on the way).

"It's fun," she said. "Read it, you'll see!"

Two years after I quit that teaching job, I finally read the book. I wish I hadn't waited so long. For one, it would have been more timely, as the book is essentially a collection of NYTimes columns from 2000-2004. But more importantly, my colleague was right - it is a lot of fun. Kennedy catches the character (and characters) of the subway with flair, pathos, and a strong reporter's eye (to the point of that stodgily self-referential first-person "the reporter" when he finds himself in his stories).

In Kennedy's hands, the subway is a 500-mile-long Coney Island, with a strange (but all too recognizable to any New Yorker) assortment of heroes, bums, workers, entertainers and representatives of both sides of the law. As could be guessed by its time period, it ends with a section of pieces from the aftermath of 9/11, but even then things never get too heavy; at its heart the book is 225 pages of a transplant's love of the city under the City (Kennedy's from Texas), a fun, elucidating read for any immigrant, whether from Korea or Kansas.

This is a great book and a fun read by Randy Kennedy. I'd never read his Tunnel Vision article before, but am certainly glad that he compliled a bunch of them to form this great little book.

Kennedy approaches the articles a sort of "snapshots" into the often strangish world of the Subway. Although he doesn't come out and directly say it, you can tell from the flavor of the whole book that on pretty much any given day you can find more diverse things going on in the subway than virtually anywhere else in the world. Bill Cosby said it better when he said, "If you plan on moving into New York City, don't bring a lot of money with you. They've got all the entertainment in the world here for just [$2] - just ride any of the subway cars they have here!" Kennedy makes this all come alive by sharing the daily workings of New York's underground railed caverns: most of which, if they happened anywhere else, you'd be sending people off to asylums.

But that might paint the book as too much of a 'book about insanity' when really it's a lot more. Kennedy shares about not only about the odd things and people who ride on the subways, but about the track workers, conductors, lost and found workers, repair workers, etc., all who keep the world's largest subway system running. And sometimes, running smoothly.

I've only lived in New York City (mostly Brooklyn) for about three years now, but even in that short time I've seen a lot of the things that Kennedy talks about in his book - in fact one of my favorite things about reading the book was being like "Hey! I know that guy!" (the saw player, et. al) or "I've seen that!" (the track tester train, which I've seen three times, et. al.).

I think that the most satisfying part of the book for me was when Kennedy talked about "pre-walking" (wherein you know which part of the platform your exit will be on and walk to that spot before you even get on a trian to begin your journey if there's no train in the station to leap onto). I started pre-walking after only riding the subway for about four months because it just makes sense. Most people I get on the subway with, even people who live here, look at me like I'm crazy when I arrive on hte platform and just keep walking...this book has validated my pre-walking life. THank you Randy Kennedy.

If you're reading this book before you come out to NYC, read close his chapter on Helpful Tips for the First-Time Traveler, and no irritated New Yorker will give you the rules in a much ruder fashion. One thing that I will say though that I'm not sure Kennedy mentions in the book. That is this: if you get lost on the subway, just ask someone where to go. People are used to having people ask, and are usually very friendly and more than willing to help out.

Great book!

new yorkers learned first hand how vital the iron horses are to the city when the mta went on strike for three days last year. i have never taken the work the subway operators do for granted. coming from a small town, i think it's cool to jump on the train at any time and go anywhere. of all the transportation systems i have ridden, MBTA, Chicago Transit Authority, San Francisco MUNI, Paris Metro, London Underground, etc, mta transit is hands down the best...randall kennedy's essays cover the exploits of the subway workers, the people who ride the trains and the underground characters who bring life to the subway. kennedy, a new york times writer, also gives you a history of the new york city subway, which is also quite cool...it was interesting to discover that the g train is the only train that doesn't go into manhattan or that the travel time on the a train can take over an hour, it being the longest route in the subway system, going from queens to manhattan or that the mayor rides the iron horse once a week...this book is cool...

I've traveled a bit but I've never spent any time in NYC. I am going to spend a week in the city in October and besides some good tour books I wanted to read something that made me feel like I lived in the city. This book was a nice journey. The essays are well written and amusing but also help explain, for those of us who live elsewhere some of the humanity and heart of the city and why people love to live there...

For years, Randy Kennedy's columns were the most enjoyable part of the NY times. Their combination of humor, sociology, and history made them a great window on life in NYC.

This compilation of his best columns does not disappoint - it has the token suckers,the subway performers, the pigeons that ride the train and the dreaded leg-spreaders. Every New Yorker will thoroughly enjoy this book. Even if you don't live in the city, you'll find these vignettes of the great subway melting pot enjoyable.

"Subwayland", collated from the New York Times' column "Tunnel Vision" by Randy Kennedy over a period of several years, immediately brings to mind the word - MICROCOSM. As an itinerant contract programmer, I am currently a street-walking New Yorker - which to many would be a contradiction in terms, but here I am. So, I was fascinated and really thrilled to learn more about this world that exists a few levels below the streets that I see every weekday.

The articles give a good perspective on how the subways enforce brotherhood and/or tolerance amongst New Yorkers, who represent a vast diversity of ethnic and monetary backgrounds. This is seen as central in building a New York state of mind, and contributes significantly to the "melting pot" simile that is almost synonymous with NYC.

The book glorifies the subway as a world unto itself. A world that has developed its own cadences, sleep patterns, behaviours, characters, and identity. I read that pigeons ride the subway for food, and get off at the next stop. I was adviced that the E train is the best for spending a homeless night of sleep, because it rides entirely underground, which makes it very desirable in winter.

I learnt that hardcore subway buffs are called "foamers" because they tend to foam at their mouths (!);
that the lettered lines (E,A,G..) and the numbered lines (6,7..) actually descend from two different transit systems;
about crimes like "token sucking" that are unique to the subway;
about subway stations that double as schools;
about monster vacuum-trains that suck muck off the tracks at the rate of 72,000 cfm and sound like the "end of the world";
about hi-sci-fi "train geometry" cars that run at night and ensure that the 370-odd miles of subway are fit for another day's pounding;
about the fact that the hydraulics department matter-of-factly pump thousands of gallons of seawater seeping into the tunnels everyday;
about using "racial profiling" for increasing your chances of getting a seat when jockeying into position near the most likely candidate to get off at the next station (e.g., Chinese person before Canal Street);
about the characters - both subway performers and transit personnel - that make the subway their home and livelihood;
and, about the behavioural adaptations "subwayland" engenders (e.g. - the "subway stare", the "leg spread" for marking territory, and so on.)

It is a quick read, humourous in spurts. The book's final chapter is "The day the trains stopped" , which refers to the special trials and challenges of September 11, when the subway station under the towers was among the many casualties of that day. I'm especially happy to have read this book just before the official centenary (Oct 27th 2004) of the subway, so that I can feel some history the next time I'm down there.

Kennedy's book, a collection of his NY Times columns was a fascinating read (although if you look closely on the cover, there are two discarded NY Times papers on the sidewalk--kudos to the Times for it's oh so subtle product placement). I do not get to read Mr. Kennedy's columns as I don't subscribe to the Times or read it online enough. However, I might well check out his column weekly from now on. The book is a delight. It is fascinating account of the hidden history of a city. I think New Yorkers or ex-New Yorkers will love this book the most, but even as someone who ridden the subways as tourist, I can revel in his prose and tales. It reminds a bit of Joe Gould. Fine writing and his love the people shines through.

Too many books about the New York City subway system are content to impress the reader with their data gathering and mounds of trivia. Others focus on its history and/or social and economic impact on the city. Many of them are quite good, most are not. However, Randy Kennedy's "Subwayland: Adventures in the World Beneath New York" is a welcome break from all that. Part anecdotal, part instructional, part historic, and part sheer joy, "Subwayland" offers a great deal more than statistics. What Kennedy has proven, in a way, is that the subway system isn't just a transportation option. The subway is a city under the city. Let me take it a step further, the subway is another New York City underneath New York City, complete with its own eccentrics, complexities, codes and rituals, dangers, and attractions.

I ride the subways at least 10 times a week, and have done so since I was a kid growing up in the 1960s. There are plenty of others like me in this regard. But "Subwayland: Adventures in the World Beneath New York" will surprise even the most ardent and experienced subway rider. Many times I found myself smiling in acknowledgement, and muttering, "That's right! I never really noticed that before!" There are many great moments like that in this book. I recommend it highly and it makes a great companion to Brian Cudahy's "A Century of Subways".

Rocco Dormarunno, author of "The Five Points"