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Sep 24, 2007

Jhopec rated it:

As David McCullough is one of my favorite writers about history, I expected a lot from this book and was not disappointed. Aside from the immensely engaging story of the obstacles, both engineering and human, faced and overcome to build the bridge, I was struck once again by the cavalier way most of us take great accomplishments for granted. Thank goodness there are people like David McCullough who do not!

I've read this book and listened to it a couple of times on CD, and it never More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Grace rated it:

I listened to this story on audio book. There were a couple of spots where it was a little slow, but for the most part this was an intriguing story. One of the most interesting aspects, for me, was learning of the involvement of Emily Roebling. John Roebling was the man with the idea of the Brooklyn Bridge, but he died before the bridge had hardly taken off. His son, Washington, became the chief engineer, but he became very ill during the construction, so his wife, Emily, took over many of More...

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Jan 14, 2010

James rated it:

The Great Bridge
The Great Bridge by David McCullough (Hist) '08 the story of the design and building of the Brooklyn Bridge by John and Washington A. Roebling (father and son).

Fascinating story of the building of something never built prior to that day on that scale, the incredible sacrifices made, the political graft, the honour of the designer and builder, and the ingenuity of two very brilliant minds.

Quotes:

"Mark Twain said of New York, 'Every ma More...

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Dec 03, 2009

Cv rated it:

Amazingly good, and completely engaging. I didn't have high hopes for a history of the Brooklyn Bridge, but I've liked other books by the author so I picked it up and once started I couldn't stop reading.

This is one of those history books where the reader discoveries unique treasures on page after page - from the early research and treatment of the bends to the amazing story of Washington Roebling who supervised and created the bridge engineering from his bed where he was infirmed f More...

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Oct 15, 2010

James rated it:

When I picked up this book, I was daring McCullough to get me to read the whole thing. How could a 562 page book about a bridge -- not to meantion an antiquated bridge, not the modern technological wonders of today -- keep me going that long, I thought? Yet I had heard reviews...I had to find out what they were talking about.

I finished the book in two weeks, and as it turns out, it's not just a book about a bridge (that really would be boring), it's a book about the people and ev More...

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May 15, 2010

Bonnie rated it:

Very interesting book, and a very good reader, except for the abridged parts, which changed voices entirely. The book gives a very good "picture" of the Brooklyn Bridge--historically, technically, politically, and personally, as to the Roeblings, who engineered the bridge. Learning the story and the significance of the bridge makes the reader want to be there, and walk across the promenade deck!

My one complaint with the book is how it jumps back and forth in time; this ma More...

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Jan 20, 2011

Brian rated it:

For those Readers unfamiliar with David McCullough, he has an incredible way of bringing history to life right on the pages in such a way as transporting the Reader back in time. To say he is an exhaustive researcher is an understatement. This man really puts effort into getting the details and drawing from numerous sources to create for the Reader a great understanding for the society, economy and people of the time period. You can easily imagine living/working/breathing on the banks of the More...

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Nov 22, 2010

Jeanne rated it:

I love David McCullough! This gigantic tome is a blend of unbelievable feats of engineering and bizarre new york politics. I'd heard about how they sank the footings for the towers (gigantic wooden boxes big enough for four tennis courts with no bottom were filled with pressurized air and sunk to the riverbed where men would enter through a pressure lock and go work with pickaxes and shovels and dynamite and slowly dig out the ground beneath them as tons of granite where built up on top!) but t More...

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May 06, 2010

Seth rated it:

I liked the latter half of this book better than the first. I got tired of the stories of political corruption in New York during that time as well as all the details about the the technical aspects of the construction and lowering of the caissons used for the foundations on the bridge on the New York and Brooklyn sides of the river. At the same time, I don't know how the author could've left much of it out. I guess I wish he would've made a bit more concise for guys like me that just wanna get More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Wendy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 05, 2011

Alec rated it:

Put simply, David McCullough could make reading about grass growing sound like a fascinating and profound topic. The Great Bridge is the first book of his that I have read, and I am interested in reading more--when I can devote proper time to getting through another of his tomes.

The book chronicles the entire history of the Brooklyn Bridge, from the history of suspension bridges to the backgrounds of the architects and engineers to the political machines on the board of the bridge.. More...

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Jan 21, 2011

Al rated it:

Mr. McCullough is just the best at what he does -- taking historic people, places and things and turning them into fascinating, living stories. Yes, his books are long, but he writes clearly and weaves in so much contemporaneous activity and local color that you hardly notice the length. Just the right blend of fact and anecdote; beautifully edited. I would have given four stars, but I think this book would have been improved by more illustrations of how the caissons actually worke More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Alec rated it:

Well then, I'd like to go ahead and submit my late application to hop on the David McCullough bandwagon. To sweeten the deal, oh mythical bandwagon keeper, I'd like point out that The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris currently sits on my shelf with its pages waiting to be turned. Did I mention it was hardcover? I look forward to your response.

What an incredible book. Like just about everyone who has ever been to New York and walked (or jogged -- damn you incline) across the Brooklyn More...

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Aug 19, 2010

Anthony rated it:

This book almost pursuaded me to become a civil engineer! It was great. The technical aspects of building the bridge were facinating. I am amazed at what Washington Roebling was able to accomplish on such a grand scale. Here I am playing with little antennas and electronics on a day to day basis, and here he is sinking huge caissons deep below the river to build a giant bridge on which people, automobiles, animals and trains will travel.

The engineering technicalities were only More...

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Feb 16, 2010

Donna rated it:

The bridge is finished!!!
For some reason, this bood took me FOREVER to read, which is only appropriate since the bridge took FOREVER to finish: twice as long and twice the expense as originally estimated. I really loved all the technical engineering details. I found it fascinated how they actually sunk the foundations and spun the wire. The politics get a little old, but I guess it was necessary for the reader to understand. My favorite part was the very end when they explained that th More...

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Mar 04, 2009

Jean rated it:

I loved this book even more that The Path Between the Seas. Both are read by Edward Herrmann. His interpretation enhances David McCullough's fascinating history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough weaves an incredibly detailed tapestry of New York and environs from the mid 1800's through the 1940's, including rich portraits of a great cast of characters, their actions and interactions, the engineering complexities/challenges/solutions of building the bridge, health and medical More...

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Dec 22, 2008

Carol rated it:

I am a McCullough fan, and I "really liked" parts of this book, but the engineering details of the materials used and the construction of the bridge got quite tedious at times, although still definitely fascinating. The history of the times, the good and bad people who were in power (good ol' crooked politicians, yet again!), and the skills, bravery, and dedication of all involved were very impressive. John, Washington, and Emily Roebling are people I would like to have met. The photos More...

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Oct 07, 2010

Linda rated it:

Sometimes I thought the reading of the book would take longer than the building did! The descriptions of all the engineering was just so laborious for me to get through. The politics behind the building of the bridge was interesting, but many too detailed. Nonetheless, I am glad to have read this book and feel much more appreciation for the grand task it took to build something we take for granted today. I liked the portions of the book that concentrated more on the Roeblings and what kind of pe More...

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Jun 21, 2011

Frank rated it:

This is the fourth book by David McCullough that I will read. The others were The Path Between The Seas about the building of the Panama Canal, Truman, and John Adams.
He write with such ease about a subject and he makes that person or historical feat come alive.

I'm about half way through, and here is what I've learned:
The foundation of two towers is a wooden caisson (box) about the size of four tennis courts. Each caisson is water/air tight and allowed workmen to dig More...

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May 03, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

This is a great read about the development of New York city in a time people were coming together to do great things. The history of engineering and the sacrifices people made to build these great structures is well documented with the personal story of the head engineer who lived and died for his work. I found the lengthy descriptions of how they constructed suspension bridges fascinating but they were well spaced out with the biography of the Robling family. It definitely left me with a feeli More...

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Dec 29, 2009

Emily rated it:

David McCullough was the graduation commencement speaker for the University of Utah 2009 class. In his last remarks to the audience members, he spoke of the Brooklyn Bridge and challenged each person to walk the bridge (at least once) during his or her lifetime.

I made that walk last week.

I picked up The Great Bridge about a month before I knew I would be heading to New York. For those of us who are not bridge engineers (which, I assume most people aren't) the information More...

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Nov 04, 2010

Ann rated it:

Fascinating read, but would have been improved with photographs, the more the better. Often times it was very challenging to visualize a process in the construction of the bridge with only the author's words to imagine something I know very little about. I would have loved period photographs and contemporay photos, and reproductions of the architectural drafts. I guess I could say that this book will make me seek out the images that were not in the book, and therefore, it encourages me to con More...

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Feb 20, 2010

Clark rated it:

Finally finished this after numerous pick ups and put downs. That's not a reflection on the book, but on my state of mind, since McCullough deserved better than my divided attention. Once I finally settled in I got just what I was expecting: an evocative portrait of the people, place and events surrounding the building of the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough always finds a way to make history feel vibrant and real while making you feel the magic of the moment. His passion for history really More...

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Feb 04, 2009

Jeff rated it:

A whale at almost 700 pages, but absolutely riveting (I cried at the end)--from the bios of those involved to the political corruption that plagued the city during those post-civil-war years to--most spectacularly--the physical process of building that mighty bridge...

And I'm not just giving it five stars because I've walked across the Bkln Bridge hundreds of times...or because my in-laws believe Brooklyn to be Utopia, literally...or because my wife's 2nd-great-uncle was the Master Mec More...

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Dec 27, 2010

Dan rated it:

Honestly, a bit of a disappointment given both the author and the subject matter. The intro portions were enthralling - why the bridge was built, the background of the engineer, etc - as were the portions about the giant caissons and the dangers involved. But then the story gets bogged down in the politics of the Board of Directors, and once the successful completion of the bridge is a forgone conclusion, it become a tough slog. An amazing subject and a writer with a great track record, bu More...

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Jul 13, 2011

Judy rated it:

Yes, I do know this book is completely outside my normal genres but that's what summer breaks are for! What a masterful storyteller (the first book of his I've read). I was completely indifferent to the subject matter when I started the book and now I want to go to NYC just to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough does a great job of conveying the engineering marvel reflected by the Bridge and the personal stories of the main characters, particularly the Roeblings, father and son, the m More...

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Aug 27, 2009

Diane rated it:

A pretty straightforward history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. I enjoyed it very much and now want to go and walk across the bridge several times - assuming one can still do that.

I usually enjoy books by David McCullough and I enjoyed this one. He seems to have about the right tone for me - not too academic and a fairly good balance of social, political and technological information. In this case there could have been a lot more about Caisson Sickness and Tetany and I pro More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Judy rated it:

Fantastic! This is a great book about a great bridge. It is an epic read filled with fascinating characters, geniuses and villains. The book beautifully captures a time when America was on the cusp of greatness and in danger of falling prey to the corruption that accompanied the new wealth of the emerging Victorian industrialists. Boss Tweed and the many pawns of his corrupt empire contrast with the noble Roebling family and other honest engineers who are doing their best to complete this mo More...

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Feb 11, 2011

Dan-o rated it:

Really, really cool book. David McCullough is a master and bringing to life historical stories about amazing feats. I listed to this book and was captivated as I learned how the Brooklyn Bridge came together. I didn't fall in love with the political parts of it, but they were interesting too and certainly a big part of the story. My favorite part was the engineering and implementation of the caisons and the towers. McCullough actually spent only a small portion of the book discussing the stringi More...

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Jan 18, 2011

Doug rated it:

Let me start out by saying that I have really enjoyed David McCullough's other books. Even though he has tended to be on the long winded side, I really enjoyed 1776, John Adams, and The Path Between the Seas, and I though the Johnstown Flood was pretty good. This book just had way more information than I wanted. I had really thought that this book would mainly cover the physical and engineering challenges of building such a big bridge at that moment in history. It covered a lot about the peo More...

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