The Race Underground is peopled with the famous, like Boss Tweed, Grover Cleveland and Thomas Edison, and the not-so-famous, from brilliant engineers to the countless "sandhogs" who shoveled, hoisted and blasted their way into the earth's crust, sometimes losing their lives in the construction of the tunnels. The Race Underground book. The Race Underground (Paperback),In the late 19th century, as cities like Boston and New York grew more congested, the streets became clogged with plodding, horse-drawn carts. The Race Underground is peopled with the famous, like Boss Tweed, Grover Cleveland and Thomas Edison, and the not-so-famous, from brilliant engineers to the countless "sandhogs" who shoveled, hoisted and blasted their way into the earth's crust, sometimes losing their lives in the construction of the tunnels. The Race Underground is not just a story of railroads, it's also a mini-history of Boston and New York packed (perhaps too closely for comfort) with memorable characters like Henry Melville Whitney who ran his father's Metropolitan Steamship Company. Audience Reviews for American Experience: The Race Underground. Doug Most's The Race Underground is the story of how two brothers and past inventions and their inventors led to two of the greatest achievements of man. Directed by Michael Rossi. Trailer The Race Underground: Trailer. The Race Underground. Watch Preview. Season 29 Episode 11 | 53m 8s | Video has closed captioning. Engineers overcome challenges to construct America's first subway system in Boston. The Race Underground, Most’s fervent and admiring history of the two cities’ quest for rapid urban transport, is a crackerjack tracing of that evolution as it draws portraits of both the characters at work to make it happen, and the vile, homicidal, and weirdly mesmeric streets. The Race Underground, Chapter 1 The dramatic story of the nation's first subway, chapter 1. It was Boston — a city of so many firsts — that overcame great engineering challenges and the fears of its citizenry to construct America’s first subway. The Race Underground, Chapter 1 The dramatic story of the nation's first subway, chapter 1. The Race Underground is a superbly written history of world-wide ingenuity, which culminated in twos cities triumph over congestion, graft, politics and proving America as a world innovator. The Race Underground is peopled with the famous, like Boss Tweed, and Thomas Edison, and the not-so-famous, like the countless "sandhogs" who dug and blasted into the earth's crust, sometimes losing their lives in the process of building the subway's tunnels.