I learned so much from this book but at times it was a very dry read. ( )

A detailed history of both the artist and the statue and its long road from development to completion. It is a wonder that the Statue of Liberty was ever built because its faced major hurdles all along the way not just in design but more importantly in funding. The United States and France were to share the cost but while the French fairly quickly paid for the statue itself the US could not find donors to pay for its base. Were it not for Joseph Pulitzer (newspaper fame) taking the fundraising under his wing we might never have seen this wonderful monument built. This and many other insights are shown in this highly informative book. ( )