Subway Lives: 24 Hours in the Life of the New York City Subway

Wow! This book is fantastic. I had to do some research on the subway system, so I dragged myself over to the library and grudgingly checked out a couple of books, figuring I would read them in small installments over the course of several weeks. Luckily for me, I opened this book first. I finished half of it before I went to bed that night. The mixture of personal life-stories, fascinating details and a great writing style makes this one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read.

Surprise! Here's a book that not only intrigues with impressionistic detail of the New York City transit system, but that also provides a valuable lesson into how the most complex city in the U.S. lives and breathes. I took it with me on jury duty and it more than carried me through the tedium of long hours of nothingness with my peers. Jim Dwyer has X-ray vision when it comes to looking at the inner workings of the Big Apple.