Since the first subway opened in 1904, the New York subway system and its trains have provided millions of New Yorkers with cheap, fast, and remarkably reliable transportation. The New York subway system lacks the electronic complexity of such modern operations as the Washington Metro or San Francisco's BART, and New Yorkers have few qualms in admitting that theirs is not the world's most beautiful subway.

But as it is in no other city on earth, the subway of New York is intimately woven into the fabric and identity of the city itself.

Tracing the system from the first short IRT loop to the extensive net work of today, with information about such fascinating sidelights as the city's tram systems and the PATH trains linking New York and New Jersey, Cudahy has produced a complete, thoroughly researched and annotated, and fully illustrated history that will delight subway buffs, students of urban affairs, and all those who love the city of New York.