Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
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First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Winning acclaim for its comprehensive look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book helped cement David McCullough's reputation as America's preeminent social historian. Now, The Great Bridge is reissued as a Simon & Schuster Classic Edition with a new introduction by the author. This monumental book brings back for American readers the heroic vision of the America we once had. It is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events in our nation's history during the Age of Optimism — a period when Americans were convinced in their hearts that all great things were possible. In the years around 1870, when the project was first undertaken, the concept of building a great bridge to span the East River between the great cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn required a vision and determination comparable to that which went into the building of the pyramids. Throughout the fourteen years of its construction, the odds against the successful completion of the bridge seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives lost, political empires fell, and surges of public emotion constantly threatened the project. But this is not merely the saga of an engineering miracle: it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and of the heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or obstructing the great enterprise. Amid the flood of praise for the book when it was originally published, Newsday said succinctly "This is the definitive book on the event. Do not wait for a better try: there won't be any."Los Angeles TimesThe Great Bridge is a book so compelling and complete as to be a literary monument...McCullough has written that sort of work which brings us to the human center of the past.
Contents Introduction Author's NotePART ONE1. The Plan 2. Man of Iron 3. The Genuine Language of America 4. Father and Son 5. Brooklyn 6. The Proper Person to See 7. The Chief EngineerPART TWO8. All According to Plan 9. Down in the Caisson 10. Fire 11. The Past Catches Up 12. How Natural, Right, and Proper 13. The Mysterious Disorder 14. The Heroic ModePART THREE15. At the Halfway Mark 16. Spirits of '76 17. A Perfect Pandemonium 18. Number 8, Birmingham Gauge 19. The Gigantic Spinning Machine 20. Wire Fraud 21. Emily 22. The Man in the Window 23. And Yet the Bridge Is Beautiful 24. The People's DayEpilogue Appendix Notes Picture Credits Bibliography Index
