David McCullough: The Great Bridge

• Paperback: 562 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (January 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067145711X

This monumental book 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 things were possible. 
In the years around 1870, when the project was first undertaken, the concept of building an unprecedented 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 great cathedrals. 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 exploiting the surpassing enterprise.

 I have been ranting about The Great Bridge pretty much since I finished it yesterday. I absolutely adored this book. There were some dry bits, certainly, but overall I think it was brilliant.
 The story is about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, both the people involved and the surrounding political climate and its effects on the bridge. I was most amazed by chief engineer Washington Roebling. First off, this guy was a genius. He had almost total recall and at times appeared that he wasn't focusing much on what he was seeing or being told, but could later write it all down in all its details. He was not one to be swayed by the politics of the day and he fought physical illness to complete the bridge in fourteen years, not a moment of which was he able to relax or leave behind the pressures of having a gigantic public work resting almost solely on his shoulders. The admiration I have for this man is boundless. His wife was a force to be reckoned with too, and I can only really say that it's a rare American who has the courage and moral backbone that these people had.
 But he is only one part of the story McCullough weaves. While there are the noble men, like the Roeblings, there are the devious men like Tweed and Kingsley, and the men who were just out for themselves like Slocum and Hewitt. Several times the political maneuverings of the Directors and Trustees placed in charge of bringing the bridge to fruition with a minimum of cost and effort were the ones who almost destroyed it. Aside from the personalities of the people involved and the amazing fact that the bridge got built at all, the bridge itself was a feat of engineering that still stands with little maintenance. The amount of deaths over fourteen years were very few, especially for the times, and most of the deaths were the result of the idiocy of the men involved, not the machinery or the engineering. What was more impressive was the fact that everything went smoothly and almost entirely to plan. Incredible.
 McCullough tells the story in a coherent manner that doesn't leave the reader confused or fumbling for answers. While at times the technical side of bridge got to be a little much for someone who isn't an engineer or initiated into the mathematics of physics, those parts were fairly brief and bearable. I don't know why McCullough had to give those details, other than as an exhibition of his knowledge or to impress with the sheer mass of the components of the bridge. But if you like math, then...power to you.
Overall: A+
 I obviously loved this book and I would recommend everyone read it, even if history isn't your thing. If nothing else, it's a glimpse of New York and Brooklyn in the late 1800's.