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Summary:
In the 19th century, the Brooklyn Bridge was viewed as the greatest engineering feat of mankind. The Roeblings--father and son--toiled for decades, fighting competitors, corrupt politicians, and the laws of nature to fabricate a bridge which, after 100 years, still provides one of the major avenues of access to one of the world's busiest cities--as compared to many bridges built at the same time which collapsed within decades or even years. It is refreshing to read such a magnificent story of real architecture and engineering in an era where these words refer to tiny bits and bytes that inspire awe only in their abstract consequences, and not in their tangible physical magnificence.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
A classic and extraordinary saga
Customer Rating:
This is a sublime account of the Brooklyn Bridge told so skillfully it delivers a vital profile of an entire epoch. Celebrated as the "eighth wonder of the world" on opening in May 1883, the fourteen-year construction project surmounted remarkable challenges of technology, scale and complexity, as well as man-made burdens of incendiary journalism, political pandering, and licentious corruption.
Heroes (John A. Roebling, Colonel Washington Roebling, Emily Warren Roebling) and villains (William Marcy Tweed, Abram Hewitt, J. Lloyd Haigh) are fully explored in a colorful account worthy of the best non-fiction. Contemporary rival projects like the St. Louis bridge by Captain James B. Eads allow appreciation of the Roeblings' accomplishment in an era when caisson disease (the `bends') was poorly understood and bridge collapses common (forty per year - one in four - in the 1870s).
The Brooklyn Bridge remains a beloved symbol after 125 years of use. McCullough's account is an equally enduring classic.
Enjoyed the book but...
Customer Rating:
I did enjoy this book and I loved learning about the inter-workings of New York/Brooklyn politics of that time period. I have to admit that I did skip some of the more mundane historical accounts but I'm sure some others were facinated by them. If you like McCulloch you will find it worth your while reading this wonderful history.
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
Customer Rating:
I have read all of David McCullough's books since May of 2008. They are all true masterpieces. The Great Bridge, along with Truman, are stand outs - but none disappoint! I visited the Brooklyn Bridge after reading this book and actualy saw the expanse for the first time. Before it was just a bridge. After reading the book it became alive with the story of the great(and not so great)people of the times. McCullough is an artist as well as a writer.
"Hey, I have this Bridge in Brooklyn that I want to sell to you!!"
Customer Rating:
The engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge was John A. Roebling. Unfortunately he never saw the results of his genius. It was his Son Washington Roebling along with his wife Emily who would bring the bridge to fruition over the East River. It was the major connect between Manhattan and the borough of Brooklyn, Long Island. It doesn't sound like much but this bridge developed the great metropolis of New York City into the center of the Western World in the late 19th Century and onto the 20th Century. The span took over 13 years to complete. The most difficult aspect of its building was the building of the foundation of the bridge. The underground work in the formation of the Caissons proved to be difficult and in many cases fatal to the workers. Eventually these problems were resolved and the bridge was completed under the auspices of the directions of Emily Roebling. Washington Roebling by this time was only the symbolic leader of this enormous project. David McCullough has written a masterpiece. I believe it to be one of the major historical works of the 20th Century. He wrote this book as he lived and breathed in Brooklyn, NY. Five Stars and as you well know, No Problem!!!!
Great Bridge, great book
Customer Rating:
I drive over it every day to work and know that it's the most beautiful bridge in the world, but I had no idea of the labor, engineering innovation, political dealmaking, and family drama involved in building it until I read this terrific book. McCullough is at his best describing the Roeblings, the father and son engineering team who pioneered the use of steel cable in suspension bridges, and stewarded the Brooklyn Bridge through to completion. He also gives a vivid picture of the harrowing work done by the "sandhogs" who had to dig the underwater foundation of the bridge's towers. But McCullough, who knows and writes about American history as well as anyone alive, is surprisingly slightly less good when it comes to discussing the political back and forth between the Tweed ring and the New York state Republicans who originally sponsored the project. On the whole though, this is a great read. I highly recommend it.
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