The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge (1972)

While I enjoyed the people parts of the story, I became bogged down in the engineering of the bridge parts, may try to finish it up with the book so I can skip over the parts of little interest to me. ( )

It is not easy to build bridges.

Let me bring up a local case, of a bridge between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Canada, has led to years of heartache, political opposition from stubborn 80-year old billionaires, controversial political deals with the devil, and years of time spent. And the thing hasn't even been built yet.

McCullough covers not only the political side of Bridge-building, but the technical side well. This is arguably his most famous book, and with good reason. He makes the dullest of technical details shine. The obscure historical characters of a century past are given a new luster. The great bridge is almost a natural formation in the city now, like the Hudson River, but now the reader is taken back to the triumphal opening, where president Chester Arthur shook the hand of the mayor of Brooklyn, and P. T. Barnum sent a parade of elephants across, a show of durability that is uniquely American.

Excellent stuff. McCullough is a phenomenal narrative historian and biographer, and it's good to revisit him again. ( )

The author goes into great detail about the building of the bridge. You have to concentrate as it is so detailed. The book is over 500 pages. I've been fascinated by this bridge, as having lived in Cincinnati for many years and seeing the Roebling Suspension bridge which connects Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky, everyday. The Cincinnati's bridge was built before the Brooklyn bridge and is still in use. It's a beautiful structure.
It was nice to see the connection between the two bridges.Very interesting book. ( )

I must say that if David McCullough had written before I was in school, I might have ended up a history major instead of a math major. His style and manner of writing makes his books not only informative, but a pleasure to read, as well. ( )

Once called the eighth wonder of the world, by some, the Brooklyn Bridge stands as one of the great engineering feats in American history. In this substantial and comprehensive book, David McCullough details the history of the bridge from conception to completion.

Until the bridge was built, Brooklyn, although the third largest city in America at the time, was considered something of a backwater. One man, asked why he wanted to cross the footbridge into Brooklyn (before the entire bridge was completed) replied:
“I am a stranger here.”
“Where are you from?” asked Murphy.
“From New York,” the man replied gravely.

The personalities involved are integral to the story, from John and Washington Roebling – the father and son designer and Chief Engineer, to the politicians that both helped and hindered the effort. The bridge and its builders survived bribery, contractor fraud, and the many machinations of the corrupt Boss Tweed and other politicians from both sides of the river.

When the bridge opened in 1883, after fourteen years of construction, one woman who was alive for both events described the public excitement as being more than when man walked on the moon, years later. ( )