Reddit reviews Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City

I'll elaborate here, saying that the oyster beds and other food products (shad, eel, other fish, crabs, shellfish, etc.) from the sea, back before the industrial revolution and the rise of pollutants in the rivers and harbor would have been common sources of food right off the island, helping to support the population. Source: Mannahatta by Eric Sanderson

Also, Brooklyn, Queens, the Hoboken area, and areas that are now suburban were largely farms that sold food to markets in the city.

There's a book I've meant to read called Mannahatta that's a natural history of the island. The cover's a wild photo with 1/2 of Manhattan built-up and the west 1/2 is all trees.

This looks like it comes from the Mannahatta project and its associated book.

Here is an interactive map of precolonial Manhattan.

Here is a TED talk about the mapping project.

There is also a scientific paper about this mapping project.

If you find this interesting, I highly recommend this book, which is all about the natural history of Manhattan island: https://www.amazon.com/Mannahatta-Natural-History-York-City/dp/1419707485

Had it not been developed, Manhattan might have become one of our most biodiverse and spectacular national parks...

This, maybe?

It's from the book Mannahatta, a project to reconstruct how Manhattan Island looked when the Dutch first arrived.

Some great books suggested here. I'll second "The Power Broker" as /u/cantcountnoaccount suggested.

Two further ones I read recently (and one I have yet to read):

• Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York - Ted Steinberg - This is more focused on the relationship between New York and the physical environment it's build on and around. A good companion book to this (or at least, according to my Professor) would be Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City - Eric Sanderson
  
  
• The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the search for Authenticity in Postwar New York - Suleiman Osman - More or less exactly what it says on the tin. This is focused on the neighborhoods radiating out of Downtown Brooklyn.
  
  Hope this helps!

For anyone that liked this, I suggest you take a look at the book Mannahatta by Eric W. Sanderson. It's really fascinating.