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FREE THE MOLE PEOPLE: LIFE IN THE TUNNELS BENEATH NEW YORK CITY PDF Jennifer Toth | 280 pages | 01 Oct 1995 | Chicago Review Press | 9781556522413 | English | Chicago, United States 20 Secrets About The Mole People Living In New York City's Tunnels Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Thousands of people live in the subway, railroad, and sewage tunnels that form the bowels of New York City. This book is about them, the so-called "mole people" The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City alone and in communities, in the frescoed waiting rooms of long-forgotten subway tunnels and in pick-axed compartments below busway platforms. It is about how and why people move underground, who they are, a Thousands of people live in the subway, railroad, and sewage tunnels that form the bowels of New York City. It is about how and why people move underground, who they are, and what they have to say about their lives and the treacherous "topside" world they've left behind. There are even the voices of young children taken down to the tunnels by parents who are determined to keep their families together, although as one tunnel dweller explains, "once you go down there, you can't be a child anymore. They are a diverse group, and they choose to live underground for many reasonssome rejecting society and its values, others reaffirming those values in what they view as purer terms, and still others seeking shelter from the harsh conditions on the streets. Their enemies include government agencies and homeless organizations as well as wandering crack addicts and marauding gangs. In communities underground, however, many homeless people find not only a place but also an identity. On these pages Jennifer Toth visits underground New York with various straight-talking guides, from outreach workers and transit police to vetern tunnel dwellers, graffiti artists, and even the "mayor" The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City a large, highly structured community several levels down. In addition to chilling and poignant firsthand accounts of tunnel life, she describes the fascinating and labryrinthine physical world beneath the city and discusses the literary allusions and historical points of view that prejudice our culture against those who "go underground". Toth has gained unprecedented access to a strange and frightening world, but The Mole People is not a daredevil jo Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Mole Peopleplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Dec 13, karen rated it it was ok Shelves: nonfictionsbooks-everyone-loves- but-me. View all 56 comments. Sep 07, Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing Shelves: politicsfavoritescultural-studiessociology. Their stories are both heart breaking and uplifting View all 4 comments. Dec 18, Erin rated it liked it. Not very well-written, but I always say that about journalistic style Hey journalism people: if even analytic philosophers can learn how to write well, why can't you? Oh, back to the book: the mole people The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City interesting, but don't expect Ms. Toth to reveal much about them that you don't already know, or can imagine. She was very naive when she was doing her research entering the tunnels alone, taking the Not very well-written, but I always say that about journalistic style Hey journalism people: if even analytic philosophers can learn how to write well, why can't you? She was very naive when she was doing her research entering the tunnels alone, taking the promises and proclamations of drug addicts at face value, placing her safety in the hands of people she knew were killers and for anyone who has worked with the homeless and with substance abusers, or who has lived in the city longer than a year, none of what she "finds" is a revelation, except for the large community under Grand Central with children, a mayor, and a nurse. Also, I found it downright amusing when she had to explain what "dissing" is, as well as ecstasy [a hallucinogenic drug]. But I can't really fault Toth for her naivete; no person can help where they are raised, and if the author found it difficult to understand urban slang, or lacked the basic survival skills your average urban 10 year old has, then at least her wide-eyed shock at what she sees in the tunnels provides a clear perspective on the living conditions of the homeless in NYC. While pretty much everything she encounters is to be expected, her childlike awe demands that the reader ask why it is that we are so jaded, specifically why it is that we simply assume that these people are too far removed from "surface society" to be rehabilitated. Why do we simply shrug at their hopelessness? It's a good question to ask, and had Ms. Toth been able to answer it, this book The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City have been far more interesting. As it is, her research came to an abrupt and decisive halt, for reasons you will have to read the The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City to find out, and she left NYC. I wonder if Ms. Toth were to return to the tunnels now, 15 years later, would she have something substantial to say? There is also a lot of debate about some of the communities Ms. Toth describes The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City the book, about whether or not they exist, about the locations of the tunnels, about the children living underground. I'll say only this: I used to work up at st street in Manhattan, The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City when you get off of the 1 train there, you have to take an elevator to street level, The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City the station platform is about 13 stories below ground I'd have to look up the exact number. The bedrock of most of Manhattan is granite, the hardest rock there is, meaning that you can dig many, many layers below street level. I also used to work in the parks, and if you think that the homeless aren't capable of seeking out any crevice or tunnel or natural cave to live in and create a home or small community, then you are mistaken. I can vouch for the existence of "secret" tunnels underneath Manhattan not that I ever got to go in any, I just know where a couple of the entrances are. I'm tempted to think that Ms. Toth inaccurately described the locations of tunnel entrances in order to keep her readers out. But whatever, the purported existence of underground communities is not what interests me. I'll leave that debate to you all. Update: I work in a university library, and I got the pleasure of checking a book out to Jennifer Toth the other day. Yeah for me! But it still wasn't as cool as when Arthur Danto came in. Jul 17, Antisocialite rated it liked it. I'm having a hard time rating this book, even weeks after finishing it. I don't even know what it is that has me so conflicted: it's well-researched and required great personal risks by the author Jennifer Toth was only 24 when she wrote it, and climbing around the tunnels under New York, talking to criminals, murderers, drug addicts and the insane. But some of the chapters, particularly one devoted to the literary tradition of the underground, felt absurdly academic in the middle of all the r I'm having a hard time rating this book, even weeks after finishing it. But some of the chapters, particularly one devoted to the literary tradition of the underground, felt absurdly academic in the middle of all the realism. In other places, despite Toth's constant efforts to not romanticize tunnel life, she did seem to want too much to mythologize it. Maybe this is commendable, as it seemed to come out of her intense identification with her subjects, but many times it The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City as though she was trying too hard. Overall, though, an interesting look at lives you would have never heard about otherwise. Dec 29, Jess Bensley rated it did not like it. Extremely interesting subject matter, terrible author. She definitely doesn't let you forget that most people don't get the access that she had. The real live people Toth describes are almost clownified by the way she describes them. Their interesting and sometimes tragic pasts are often only briefly mentioned. Toth seems to love pointin Extremely interesting subject matter, terrible author. Toth seems to love pointing out all the little weird things that the tunnel dwellers do. She does focus a lot on their interesting community dynamics, but even then she does a sloppy job. Was super excited to read this and dropped it less than halfway through extremely disappointed.

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