Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City

by Eric W. Sanderson, Markley Boyer (Illustrator)

On September 12, 1609, Henry Hudson first set eyes on the land that would become Manhattan. It's difficult for us to imagine what he saw, but for more than a decade, landscape ecologist Eric Sanderson has been working to do just that. Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City is the astounding result of those efforts, reconstructing, in words and images, the wild island that millions of New Yorkers now call home.
By geographically matching an 18th-century map of Manhattan's landscape to the modern cityscape, combing through historical and archaeological records, and applying modern principles of ecology and computer modeling, Sanderson is able to re-create the forests of Times Square, the meadows of Harlem, and the wetlands of downtown. Filled with breathtaking illustrations that show what Manhattan looked like 400 years ago, Mannahatta is a groundbreaking work that gives readers not only a window into the past, but inspiration for green cities and wild places of the future

Genres: History, Nonfiction, New York, Science, Nature, Environment, Natural History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2009

Reviews

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the spatial modeling & GIS methods used for the Mannahatta project. In that regard, I was rewarded w/ rich detail & well-made, beautifully mapped, intensely researched work recreating the historic landscapes, hydrography, topography, habitats, soil types, & species distributions of Manhattan island in 1609. He describes the processes step-by-step of the models he wrote & the layers he overlaid, making his methods very applicable not just for his Mannahatta project, but for other scientists hoping to do similar work in other locations.

What I did not like was his ridiculous assumptions of what Manhattan will be in 2409. He assumes that New Yorkers can have their cake and eat it too, w/o personal sacrifice, much in the same way that people are living now. With the global context of resource exploitation, habitat degradation, climate change, & overpopulation that the world is dealing w/ now, this is unrealistic.

[Yuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reallyreally wanted to be able to give this 5 stars. I give 5 stars for the 10 years of painstaking research, the amazing digitalized images of NYC as it would have looked the day Henry Hudson arrived 400 years ago, the old maps, botanical prints, inspiration and message. But Sanderson's text is dry and pedantic, and seems to be addressed to 8 year-olds who need the explanation that landscape is not just a bunch of shrubs to a "landscape ecologist" with a PhD such as he.

In the book THE WORLD WITHOUT US Alan Weisman's few paragraphs that refer to Eric Sanderson and his "Mannahatta Project" are what enticed me into investing in this large book (at half price, thankfully). If Sanderson could write with the "clarity and lyricism" of journalist Weisman, this would've been a magnificent work!

[Aharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical pigeon-and-beaver propaganda.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to get so into a book about landscape ecology, but it was super interesting to see how unrecognizable NYC was just a couple hundred years ago. It’s easy to forget how dense nature can be outside of built up areas.

Slightly academic, but still a relatively easy read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impeccable integration of geologic/biological/anthropologic research. The maps alone are a reason to read this. Very hopeful vision at the end with what New York and Manhattan could become in the post climate change times

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not entirely rubbish, if sifting through ancient ArcGIS maps for glimpses of a natural condition of a precolonial Manhattan is ur thing, but Sanderson is overly reliant on savvy hokum in generalizing the Lenape peoples. This book reads like a fifth grader's plagiarized presentation on the traditions of Thanksgiving, and offers similar insights.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I frequently wonder about what my surroundings looked like before colonization and modern habitation. By showing what Manhattan looked like in the early 17th century through gorgeous illustrations and extensive research, this book really scratch that curiosity itch for me. It’s a remarkable project.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a totally fascinating book, and not quite what I had expected going in. I didn’t realize before reading it that there’s substantial new scientific research described here, based on Sanderson’s expertise and studies in landscape ecology and modeling. In addition to a thorough exploration of what had been documented historically about the ecology, topography, biota, etc. of Manhattan, starting with the arrival of European colonists, a huge part of the book focuses on recreating those layers in extensive detail using modern modeling approaches. Many of the book’s extensive illustrations derive from those efforts. This blending of historical accounts with informed projections was fascinating. Mannahatta is a must-read for anyone interested in New York City and/or the biology and ecology of urban environments.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This not like anything I would typically read, I'm not a big earth-science guy. This book was fascinating though, and it made me want to read more scientific books that aren't slogs like the textbooks. Unfortunately the writer for the book wasn't the best (you can't expect someone to be a great writer AND scientist!). The section about the future of Manhattan made a lot of claims that seemed unnecessary and self-assured. The pictures were very interesting, and a lot of the things Sanderson says near the beginning of the book were quite informative. This was a very quick read, and since I'm studying New York City this was a great place to start, since it focuses on the landscape and history of New York City before the Dutch even arrived.

[Stephen Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully presented and written. A really beautiful book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using an array of science disciplines, and historic maps and documents, the Manhattan that Hudson might have seen in 1609 is recreated through GIS. Marvelous on so many scales!!

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful edition with lush, thick pages and gorgeous photographs, illustrations and maps. This is a great companion to the Welikia Project (https://welikia.org/) that focuses on a few crucial historical moments for recreating this major natural history project. I'll use this alongside Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York in my Urban History course to further develop the environmental history component of the course. I'd like to use the British Headquarters map to work on some mapping lessons and maybe some comparative analysis. I'm confident that the Welikia Project would stand on it's own, but having this book helped me narrow my focus to the points that will be most accessible for me, and hopefully my students.

[Merrilyn Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review - Mannahatta

This is the sequel to Caledonia, the author’s second novel. The plot takes the reader on a journey back in history as the main character researches her family history.

This is a compelling story that is obviously very well researched as the author takes the reader back in history and forward to the present. Characters in the family saga come to life as the author describes details of their being and life of the times.

I can highly recommend this work of historical fiction. I would recommend that the reader begins with the first book in this series, Caledonia, as this story follows from the previous. If that is not possible, Mannahatta has sufficient reference to events that occurred in the Caledonia.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would have been very happy to pay full price.

Merrilyn R
From Australia

[Kate Hornstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. First, it's beautiful to look at. Second, I am so impressed by this project: documenting all the flora and fauna that would have existed on Manhattan on September 12, 1609 (Contact with the Dutch). Third, Sanderson's writing is poetic, but not flowery--does that make sense? Fourth, the book is helpful and hopeful. Rather than a "Life after People" that imagines a world without people as a state we might want to return to, Sanderson thinks about how we might make Manhattan better for the plants, the animals, the physical environment, and perhaps most hopefully, for the people he hopes will continue to live here in the future. Of note: couldn't get this on Amazon, library has like a million holds, but I found it in a small, independent bookshop. They should do a re-print!! P.S. Read other reviews for a more complete description of all Sanderson teaches us in this book.

[Hugolane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really engaging book. These days I tend to limit my book-buying to out of print German literature or history books that relate to my historical research, but I think everyone in New York, and maybe the US should read this book. This is just amazing environmental history made possible, in large measure by a map the British made of Manhattan during the Revolution. Sanderson uses that to sort out the many different environments on the Island. He also presents a very good short account of the Lenape and how they lived on Manhattan. The pictures, many reconstructions are amazing. It is a coffee table book for the ages, and one that one really ought to read. The closing chapter offers ideas about how we might make a more livable and sustainable Manhattan in the coming centuries.

[Ray LaManna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been effectively locked out of Manhattan, the island where I was born and raised and spect my entire working career...I miss it very much. So I decided to read a book that gives a holistic view of the island from its founding by Henry Hudson in September, 1609 to the present day. The book is fascinating...tracing neighborhoods I've known all my life back to the way they looked in 1609. I have also learned a great deal about ecology, estuaries, water flows and other topics I never studied. This book is great.

[Bronwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been much, much better as a physical book and not a Kindle book. There are so many photographs and maps and such that are pretty much unviewable on the Kindle. Nevertheless, there was some fun stuff in here, though it feels like it's more about the process of doing science than the results of said science (however, I did not dig through the many, many appendices that summarized a lot of the results in tables and lists). The last chapter is oddly hopeful--a rare optimistic view of what Manhattan could be in 400 years if we get our act together even just a little bit.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bulk of the book was a solid 4 stars, and I’ll likely buy a copy for my US history classroom library. However, the final chapter seemed incredibly dated to me. The 70s and 80s featured a host of books making supposedly scientific predictions about future life, and the last chapter of this book fell squarely in this camp, adding, I feel, very little to the book.

[grub · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a really cool book. very lyrical and pretty at times, but really grounded. would be interested in an indigenous perspective of this issue because the author constantly references "the lenape would..." and im like.... mr eric sanderson idk if ur qualified to say that. i also think someone who lives in nyc would have gotten waaaaay more out of this than i could

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked to read a shorter book that focused on the city history and speculative natural history, with the historical maps and a few views of the simulated natural history maps. The writing style was very accessible. Still, sometimes I felt like I was reading the “methods” section of a research paper.
The simulated historical maps are very cool and a big draw for this book.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maddeningly close to what I want to know about, but the prose is too fawning for me and the illustrations not juicy enough. Maybe it is that we are here over in 2025, ready for the goriest stuff AI can re-imagine for us. I respect the scholarship and carefulness of these maps, but they just don't take me far enough -- into the past or the future.

[Bob Ferrante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

If you prefer your history interspersed with natural history; if you want to know as much (or more than) about what lies beneath the soil as what's on tv, you'll enjoy this fascinating journey.

[Daan Bultje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoe zag New York eruit voor de Europeanen aan land kwamen? Buitengewoon divers! Prachtige grafische reconstructies. Soms wat technisch, maar het idee achter het boek is al een reden om het eens van de boekenplank te pakken.

[Lyle Probert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst I would say some parts of this part are a little too technical, overall this was fascinating insight into Manhattan prior to Hudsons arrival in 1609. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Lenape that would have lived there and how they impacted the environment around them.

[Linda Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

The maps in this book are fantastic, and it would have been great to get more closeups of those maps.

[Felicia Roff Tunnah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not to be read on your phone. I really could see the maps very well. I like the idea of this book but may need to look at a hard copy.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched.
Tough to get through.

[Josh Fogelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about Manhattan before development... a little too detailed for me to read cover to cover, but interesting photos and fun to browse.

[Mary Nodulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hills, springs, and Lenape. Great maps and charts