make install DESTDIR=/not/root/directory

[David Mazieres <dm_(_at_)_amsterdam_(_dot_)_lcs_(_dot_)_mit_(_dot_)_edu>]

I may just be missing something obvious, but is there some way of
creating all the proper directories in $DESTDIR before attempting to
build there?

When I make install to a DESTDIR other than /, the make breaks because
a lot of the directories under $DESTDIR do not exists
(e.g. /usr/share/man, etc.).

Thanks,
David