Fabulous for both adults and teenagers

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	• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge David McCullough, 1983 - 562 pages average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fabulous for both adults and teenagers

David McCullough is one of the best authors in America and this effort is a fabulous departure from his presidential works and is worthy of anyone's time and energy to learn of those, like all Americans, climbed out of obscurity to create a magnificent work to benefit all mankind.

The quality of the work is exemplar like all of McCullough's books. My wife, I, and all my older children have experienced this work and we all favor it as one of our favorites and the story of the builders has left us more appreciative of our ancestors and inspired to equal their efforts. We give this work and all of McCullough's works our highest recommendations.

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A surprise!

I was a bit skeptical about a book centered on a bridge. The author masterfully puts it in its historical context with emphasis on the individuals (Roeblings) responsible for its successful building. The prose is excellent and it flows well. I would have appreciated more information from the perspective of the men who received orders from Emily and who actually built it i.e.the assistant engineers and the army of work men. McCullough concentrated on the personalities and events. As a consequence, he did not spend as much time sketching the structural implications of the design and how it differed from contemporary bridges. As a first stop, I think this is a great book to start.

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What a great story!

As a civil engineer, I love reading about engineering masterpieces, and David McCullough does a great job writing about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The engineering details were fascinating, but the political background and doings, and the life of the chief engineer, Washington Roebling, all come together to make an incredible story.

Washington Roebling and his father John, were two remarkable people, and McCullough brings them to life with his writing. They experienced both triumph and tragedy in the building of the bridge, with John dying from a freak accident just as construction began, and Washington suffering the bends in the caissons of the bridge. Washington's wife Emily is also finely drawn and shown to be indispensable in the building of the bridge.

At times, the political dramas that played around the planning and construction of the bridge in Brooklyn and New York interrupted the flow a bit, but there were so many political factors involved, including scandals and back-room dealings, that politics could hardly be ignored. As with many stories, there were plenty of villains as well as heroes.

But the building of the bridge was what I was most interested in, and the author did a wonderful job of describing the various steps in the construction, keeping it simple enough that a layman could follow it. Some actual photographs and drawings of the construction add hugely to the enjoyment of the book.

Highly recommended reading about a monument to engineering and a can-do spirit!

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A Well Told Story.

In "The Great Bridge", David McCullough tells the tale of the building of one of the great landmarks of America. This book is thorough and well written, as we expect from David McCullough. McCullough examines the story from all angles. We read of the engineering challenges, the public support, the political scandals and the personalities involved in the building of the bridge. I am sure that the story has particular appeal for residents of Brooklyn and New York. New Jersey residents will have an interest in the oft cited chief engineer, Washington Roebling, of Trenton. For a resident of Kirkwood, Missouri, the mention of railroad engineer, James Kirkwood, and the frequent comparisons to James Eads of the Eads Bridge and Eads Boat Works of St. Louis, give this book a personal touch.

I debated whether I should rate this as a "3" or a "4" before ending with a "4". As I often say in my reviews, one way that I test a book is by whether it inspires me to read more about the subject. This one fails that test. I have no enhanced desire to read about New York or bridges. For my tastes, there was a bit too much about the engineering and the actual construction practices. The sections about the civic and political leadership were a bit too parochial to generate any further interest on my part. I finally concluded that the problem is in me, not the book. For a reader who loves New York or has a passion for civil engineering, this book would be great. If you fall into those categories, you will probably love this book. For a reader without those interests, David McCullough's story telling magic will hold your attention. For my interests, it is a good read, but not a topic to which I would assign a high priority.

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So Much History

Granted, I am a McCullough devotee. I read whatever he writes but enjoy his work to different degress I must admit. This is at the top of my list. The implication of the Brooklyn Bridge is felt on so many different stages and the author graphically brings the curtain up on all of them. Beginning with the suspension bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati to the Golden Gate, the Brooklyn Bridge is part of an amazing array of stories. Roebling and Straus ...the two least known American heroes in history. Both strange and quirky. Who could guess that the story of an American landmark could contain so much texture. And I love that McCullough gives Emily Roebling such credit. Read the book, walk the span and I predict it will remain deep in your psyche.

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