The Great Bridge


Book Description

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."




The Great Bridge-building Contest


Book Description

The award-winning husband-and-wife team relate the true story of the building of the only wooden bridge built without nails that serves a U.S. highway today, built in the 19th century in Virginia over the Tygart River by a West Virginian with only a third grade education. Full color.




Building Big


Book Description

Companion volume to PBS series which originally aired October 2000.




Engineers of Dreams


Book Description

Petroski reveals the science and engineering--not to mention the politics, egotism, and sheer magic--behind America's great bridges, particularly those constructed during the great bridge-building era starting in the 1870s and continuing through the 1930s. It is the story of the men and women who built the St. Louis, the George Washington, and the Golden Gate bridges, drawing not only on their mastery of numbers but on their gifts for persuasion and self-promotion. It is an account of triumphs and ignominious disasters (including the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which literally twisted itself apart in a high wind). And throughout this grandly engaging book, Petroski lets us see how bridges became the "symbols and souls" of our civilization, as well as testaments to their builders' vision, ingenuity, and perseverance. "Seamlessly linked...With astonishing scope and generosity of view, Mr. Petroski places the tradition of American bridge-building in perspective."--New York Times Book Review




Genius LEGO Inventions with Bricks You Already Have


Book Description

Calling All Tinkerers, Experimenters & Inventors! Unleash Your Creative Powers with Exciting LEGO® Innovations Use science and engineering to transform your bin of LEGO® bricks into amazing, movable toys, machines and gadgets. Bestselling author Sarah Dees is back with an all-new collection of projects featuring ingenious designs and simple scientific principles that real engineers use every day. Make yourself a robot pal whose legs move as he rolls along, or a drummer who really plays the drums. Build a wind-up car complete with a flywheel that’ll send your minifigures zooming. Or challenge your friends to a game of pinball on a LEGO® pinball machine you built from scratch. Each project is cooler than the next! It’s easy and fun to build each of these awesome contraptions and games by following the clear step-by-step instructions and photographs. Think you have a different way to build something? Exercise your inventing muscles and tinker away! You’re in charge of your designs, so experiment and tweak to make your inventions personal to you. No matter what you end up creating, you’ll learn exciting new things about science, impress your family and have a blast along the way. Collect the whole series with Sarah Dees' other bestselling LEGO books: - The Big Book of LEGO Creations with Bricks You Already Have - Awesome LEGO Creations with Bricks You Already Have - Epic LEGO Adventures with Bricks You Already Have - Incredible LEGO Creations From Space with Bricks You Already Have




Building the Golden Gate Bridge


Book Description

Silver Award Winner, 2016 Nautilus Book Award in Young Adult (YA) Non-Fiction Moving beyond the familiar accounts of politics and the achievements of celebrity engineers and designers, Building the Golden Gate Bridge is the first book to primarily feature the voices of the workers themselves. This is the story of survivors who vividly recall the hardships, hazards, and victories of constructing the landmark span during the Great Depression. Labor historian Harvey Schwartz has compiled oral histories of nine workers who helped build the celebrated bridge. Their powerful recollections chronicle the technical details of construction, the grueling physical conditions they endured, the small pleasures they enjoyed, and the gruesome accidents some workers suffered. The result is an evocation of working-class life and culture in a bygone era. Most of the bridge builders were men of European descent, many of them the sons of immigrants. Schwartz also interviewed women: two nurses who cared for the injured and tolerated their antics, the wife of one 1930s builder, and an African American ironworker who toiled on the bridge in later years. These powerful stories are accompanied by stunning photographs of the bridge under construction. An homage to both the American worker and the quintessential San Francisco landmark, Building the Golden Gate Bridge expands our understanding of Depression-era labor and California history and makes a unique contribution to the literature of this iconic span.




Building the Bridge As You Walk On It


Book Description

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadershipthe fundamental state of leadership. The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrityreflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.




This Bridge Will Not Be Gray


Book Description

A “witty [and] compelling” true story for kids about San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge—and why it’s orange—by the New York Times–bestselling author! (Fast Company). In this delightfully original nonfiction book, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dave Eggers tackles one of the most famous architectural monuments in the world: the Golden Gate Bridge—and all the arguments and debates about building it and what it should look like. Cut-paper illustrations by Tucker Nichols enliven the tale, and this revised edition also includes real-life letters from local constituents making the case for keeping the bridge orange. With sly humor and lots of fascinating historical facts, this is an accessible, enjoyable read for kids (or adults), transporting readers to the glorious Golden Gate no matter where they live. “Eggers’s featherlight humor provides laughs throughout.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review). “A love letter to infrastructure.” —The New York Times “A story compelling enough to keep adults interested as they read it (and re-read it and re-read it) each night at bedtime.” —Fast Company




Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1869-1883: An Illustrated History, with Images in 3D


Book Description

Building the Brooklyn Bridge reminds us of the historic importance of this iconic bridge that was once considered the eighth wonder of the world. It opened up development across the East River and made travel between the two independent cities of Brooklyn and New York quicker and more reliable; especially once the bridge railway was fully operational in September 1883, four months after the bridge's opening. Historian Jeffrey Richman describes in engaging detail how the Brooklyn Bridge was built over fourteen years and clearly explains the function of each of its parts, from the anchorages to the massive cables. The story of the construction is also told through 255 remarkable images, many never before published, including 44 images in 3D, specially created for this book. These historic photographs, woodcuts, color lithographs, and engineering drawings take us back in time to when all of America, and much of the world, watched with excitement as a singular bridge of unprecedented size and technology was built over one of the busiest waterways in the world. The book illuminates long-forgotten details and presents the bridge as the engineering marvel that it is-one that still elicits awe and admiration. This is an incredible journey back in time to when all of America-and much of the world-excitedly watched as the Brooklyn Bridge was being built. Reading the book will be a real treat to anyone who has ever stepped onto this beloved icon and been moved by its majesty. A pair of 3D glasses is included with every copy of the book.




Tom Paine's Iron Bridge


Book Description

In a letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams judged the author of Common Sense as having "a better hand at pulling down than building." Adams's dismissive remark has helped shape the prevailing view of Tom Paine ever since. But, as Edward G. Gray shows in this fresh, illuminating work, Paine was a builder. He had a clear vision of success for his adopted country. It was embodied in an architectural project that he spent a decade planning: an iron bridge to span the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia. When Paine arrived in Philadelphia from England in 1774, the city was thriving as America's largest port. But the seasonal dangers of the rivers dividing the region were becoming an obstacle to the city's continued growth. Philadelphia needed a practical connection between the rich grain of Pennsylvania's backcountry farms and its port on the Delaware. The iron bridge was Paine's solution. The bridge was part of Paine's answer to the central political challenge of the new nation: how to sustain a republic as large and as geographically fragmented as the United States. The iron construction was Paine's brilliant response to the age-old challenge of bridge technology: how to build a structure strong enough to withstand the constant battering of water, ice, and wind. The convergence of political and technological design in Paine's plan was Enlightenment genius. And Paine drew other giants of the period as patrons: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and for a time his great ideological opponent, Edmund Burke. Paine's dream ultimately was a casualty of the vicious political crosscurrents of revolution and the American penchant for bridges of cheap, plentiful wood. But his innovative iron design became the model for bridge construction in Britain as it led the world into the industrial revolution.