The great bridge the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge
Summary
Published on the fortieth anniversary of its initial publication, this edition of the classic book contains a new Preface by David McCullough, "one of our most gifted living writers" (The Washington Post). Built to join the rapidly expanding cities of New York and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge was t... Full description
Summary: |
Published on the fortieth anniversary of its initial publication, this edition of the classic book contains a new Preface by David McCullough, "one of our most gifted living writers" (The Washington Post). Built to join the rapidly expanding cities of New York and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge was thought by many at the start to be an impossibility destined to fail if not from insurmountable technical problems then from political corruption. (It was the heyday of Boss Tweed in New York.) But the Brooklyn Bridge was at once the greatest engineering triumph of the age, a surpassing work of art, a proud American icon, and a story like no other in our history. Courage, chicanery, unprecedented ingenuity and plain blundering, heroes, rascals, all the best and worst in human nature played a part. At the center of the drama were the stricken chief engineer, Washington Roebling and his remarkable wife, Emily Warren Roebling, neither of whom ever gave up in the face of one heartbreaking setback after another. The Great Bridge is a sweeping narrative of a stupendous American achievement that rose up out of its era like a cathedral, a symbol of affirmation then and still in our time. |
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Item Description: |
Unabridged. |
Physical Description: |
1 online resource (26 audio files) : digital |
Playing Time: |
27::2:4: |
Format: |
Requires OverDrive Listen (file size: N/A KB) or OverDrive app (file size: 771037 KB). |
ISBN: |
9780743594080 |
Author Notes: |
His first book, The Johnstown Flood, was published in 1968. His other books include 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. He received the Pulitzer Prize twice for Truman and John Adams and the National Book Award twice for The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal and Mornings on Horseback. He also won two Francis Parkman Prizes, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award. Two of his books, Truman and John Adams, have been adapted into a television movie and mini-series, respectively, by HBO. In December 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also made the New York Times Best Seller List in 2015 with his book The Wright Brothers, and in 2017 with The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For. (Bowker Author Biography) |