{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0823455637?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"0823455637","authors":["Laurie Lawlor"],"book_id":"9780823455638","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/many-voices-9780823455638","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780823455638.jpg?v=43c5416c4f4e3b7c","description":"“The Nation’s First Superhighway” existed before the spread of cars… or even railroads! This immersive photo book ferries readers through the past and present of the Erie Canal, from impossible idea to groundbreaking reality. In the twenty-first century, it’s hard to imagine a canal as cutting-edge technology. Yet even to the most scientifically-minded, the Erie Canal once seemed an unachievable dream. Thomas Jefferson himself called it “nothing short of madness;” one critic felt sure it was impossible as “building a canal to the moon.” Yet with eight years and nearly $185 million dollars in today’s currency, the Erie Canal opened in 1825 to celebratory cannon fire: an innovating—and enduring—marvel of engineering. But as the Canal shaped the flow of American history, the sociopolitical impact reached much further than its shores. A largely untold tale of creativity and cowardice, sacrifice and greed, heroism and prejudice, the Erie Canal’s story is as complex and compelling as that of America itself. Award-winning nonfiction author Laurie Lawlor captures the landmark achievements of the Erie Canal while diving deep into corporate greed, environmental devastation, poor working conditions, and its impact on the Haudenosaunee people. Pairing rich back matter (including maps, source notes, an index, bibliography, glossary, and timeline) with attention grabbing photographs, accomplished STEAM storyteller Laurie Lawlor connects the Erie Canal’s past and present to plumb the depths of unexplored American history. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Named to the NSTA-CBC Best STEM Books List! Named to the Illinois Reads List","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780823455638","publication_date":"20250819","publisher":"Candlewick Press","slug":"many-voices","subtitle":"Building Erie, the Canal That Changed America","title":"Many Voices"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"JNF025200","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th Century U.S.","score":0.7482,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036080","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Middle Atlantic History","score":0.7405,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TEC009110","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Dams & Reservoirs","score":0.7374,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"JNF025200","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th Century U.S.","score":0.7482,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036080","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Middle Atlantic History","score":0.7405,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TEC009110","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Dams & Reservoirs","score":0.7374,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"JNF025200","confidence_band":"high","label":"19th Century U.S.","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"JNF051120","confidence_band":"high","label":"How Things Work","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"JNF057020","confidence_band":"high","label":"Boats & Ships","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"19th Century U.S.","score":0.7482,"slug":"19th-century-u-s"},{"label":"Middle Atlantic History","score":0.7405,"slug":"middle-atlantic-history"},{"label":"Dams & Reservoirs","score":0.7374,"slug":"dams-reservoirs"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in the Erie Canal’s history and engineering","Readers exploring the canal’s social and environmental impacts"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["David McCullough"],"book_id":"9780671457112","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780671457112.jpg?v=0f3a731b4333b00d","score":0.7064,"title":"The Great Bridge","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780671457112"},{"authors":["David McCullough"],"book_id":"9780671244095","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780671244095.jpg?v=71ddc2d4d7347bf6","score":0.6854,"title":"Path Between the Seas","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780671244095"},{"authors":["Boyce Upholt","Gabriel Vaughan","Highbridge Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781324110477","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781324110477.jpg?v=59798d8d07044ca3","score":0.6706,"title":"The Great River","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781324110477"},{"authors":["Edward L. Ayers"],"book_id":"9781324086307","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781324086307.jpg?v=afad6c39ba31deb7","score":0.6688,"title":"American Visions","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781324086307"},{"authors":["Angus Kress Gillespie"],"book_id":"9780813550039","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780813550039.jpg?v=eebef30cd9d1148d","score":0.6678,"title":"Crossing Under the Hudson","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780813550039"},{"authors":["Edward Eggleston"],"book_id":"9781627931533","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781627931533.jpg?v=65de3e4396e15cba","score":0.6677,"title":"A First Book of American History","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781627931533"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:engineering books for kids"],"label":"Kids","score":1,"slug":"kids"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:american history"],"label":"History","score":0.4536,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:school books for kids"],"label":"School","score":0.1154,"slug":"school"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:learning books for kids"],"label":"Learning","score":0.0532,"slug":"learning"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Canal engineering, Environmental impact, Social and historical consequences.","Themes: Kids, History, School.","Reading lane: 19th Century U.s. and Middle Atlantic History."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.94,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in the Erie Canal’s history and engineering","Readers exploring the canal’s social and environmental impacts"],"themes":["Canal engineering","Environmental impact","Social and historical consequences"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":2,"goodreads_ratings_count":18,"goodreads_reviews_count":5,"quality_score":0.8463}}