| The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge |  | Author: David McCullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
List Price: $20.00
Buy Used: $2.99
as of 9/5/2010 09:04 MST details
You Save: $17.01 (85%)
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Seller: vladimirkirshenbaum
Rating:  99 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 562
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 067145711X
Dewey Decimal Number: 624.55097471
EAN: 9780671457112
ASIN: 067145711X
Publication Date: January 12, 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780671457112 | | • | Condition: USED - Very Good | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Amazon.com Review
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.
Product Description
Celebrating the centennial of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, here is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 99
 Excellent book July 27, 2010
Klassy Books
Excellent, informative and very well written. Although very technical, very good reading to the novice.
great response from seller May 19, 2010
Mary C. Villanova (Farmington CT)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ordered a needed book. It was in excellent condition and arrived quickly. I find the used book service through Amazon to be amazing and thrifty
A great read from American history March 31, 2010
E. Baxter (Hawaii)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
David McCullough had already made me a fan with his books 1776, John Adams, and Mornings On Horseback, and with The Great Bridge he extends his winning streak. The book tackles the engineering feats of our country around its centennial while flavoring the trip with characters all too human. As the bridge itself is a study in contrasts, so is are the people who designed, built, and funded it. I found this book to be especially interesting as it details the political jousting of the age with regard to managing the bridge's construction, an age which closely mirrors ours today. Front and center throughout the book are the near super-human efforts of the Roeblings. First father, then son, command our attention as they attempt to harness the ingenuity of the American people to accomplish an awe-inspiring and lasting tribute to American audacity. The engineering feats required to build the bridge are staggering and while the book details these obstacles it does so without getting bogged down in technical lingo, letting the mens' lives and times drive the narrative forward.
The reader is drawn in to watch as the massive caissons upon which the bridge rests are slowly sunk, the air pressure increasing the deeper they go. The onset of "caisson disease" begins making itself known, baffling the doctors of the time. We see tons of granite, steel, and iron rise hundreds of feet into the sky and come together, the product of years of work. All the while the mastermind, Washington Roebling, faces his own physical struggles. The management of the bridge's construction proves riveting as well. Good men hamstrung by corrupt and ambitious politicians strikes a familiar chord. McCullough gives his readers a bridge-eye view of 1870-80s Brooklyn and New York as they are in the process of slowly becoming what they are today. In fact, it is largely the Great Bridge that sealed their destiny. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a renewed appreciation our history and ingenuity as a country. Highly recommended.
Who knew engineering could be so fascinating? March 16, 2010
Bradley Nelson (Minneapolis, MN)
I have this strange relationship with David McCullough: I know his books are good, but a couple of them I suspect I won't really like. This was one of them. But it didn't take long for me to get fully taken in by this story. This is quite an incredible tale of engineering and daring. There was a lot of risk and interests involved in building the Brooklyn Bridge, and it was pushing the envelope on what had been done before. They were facing problems that engineers had never faced (much less solved) before in history.
If you've read any of McCullough's books before, I don't need to sell you on this one. If you think engineering isn't very interesting, you're wrong! This is like the best episode of Discovery's Extreme Engineering: there are so many aspects to this tale, it's incredible. There is intrigue and crime and politics and disease and death and more! It's a mighty thick book, but McCullough's proven style makes it a quick read.
Absolutely amazing book March 11, 2010
T. Wade (Providence, RI)
I could barely put this book down. Another amazing story by McCullough, about the only negative thing I can say is that after going into great length about sinking the first cassion and the science related, the rest of the book seems to give building the bridge short shrift, and focusing mostly on the politics. Oh, and for some odd reason he mis-spells the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island as "Cassino", something it was never called (I know, I worked at the building for three years as an archivist! Nit picking to be sure!).
Please read this book if you are at all interested in American history, you won't be let down.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 99
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