Manhattan has a pervasive quality of glamour that lends an aura of the fantastic to even its most commonplace locales. As we follow Expect Great Things: The Life and Search of Henry David Thoreau in geographical and chronological progression up Broadway from Battery Park to Inwood, he provides a surprising alternate history of this magical isle. Along the way, he profiles such legendary figures as Harry Houdini and Helena Blavatsky, but also tech wizards like Samuel Morse, Robert Fulton, and the masterminds of the Manhattan Project.