Ted Steinberg

Today, the topography of New York City contains skyscrapers, subways, and iconic bridges. But New York was once home to oyster reefs, whales, and blueberry bog thickets. In his book, Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York, Ted Steinberg brings a vanished New York back to life and tells the story of the ongoing struggle between the metropolis we know today and the natural world. 

When a storm hits, our attention often shifts from science to God. But what do we lose when we place the burden of a natural disaster upon a higher power and wipe our hands clean from...