The Great Bridge

The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

By: David McCullough

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Length: 27 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

This monumental book tells the enthralling story of one of the greatest accomplishments in our nation's history, the building of what was then the longest suspension bridge in the world. The Brooklyn Bridge rose out of the expansive era following the Civil War, when Americans believed all things were possible.

So daring a concept as spanning the East River to join two great cities required vision and dedication of the kind that went into building Europe's great cathedrals. During 14 years of construction, the odds against success seemed overwhelming. Thousands of people were put to work. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives lost, notorious political empires fell, and surges of public doubt constantly threatened the project. But the story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is not just the saga of an engineering miracle; it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time, replete with heroes and rascals who helped either to construct or to exploit the great enterprise.

The Great Bridge is also the story of a remarkable family, the Roeblings, who conceived and executed the audacious engineering plan at great personal cost. Without John Roebling's vision, his son Washington's skill and courage, and Washington's wife Emily's dedication, the bridge we know and cherish would never have been built.

Like the engineering marvel it describes, The Great Bridge, republished on the 40th anniversary of its initial publication, has stood the test of time.

Please note: The Great Bridge (Unabridged) is available for just one credit until June 20, 2012, after which point it will be priced at two credits.

©2007 David McCullough (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

“The impact of the soaring structure upon the American imagination and American life has now been measured with sagacity and style by David McCullough.... The Great Bridge is a book so compelling and complete as to be a literary monument, one of the best books I have read in years. McCullough has written that sort of work which brings us to the human center of the past.” (Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times)

" The Great Bridge is a great book. . . . What David McCullough has written is a stupendous narrative about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, with a cast of thousands (give or take 100), whose major characters come alive on the page as authentically, as creatively, as would their fictional counterparts if one had the imagination to dream up such a yarn. Once again, truth is not only stranger than fiction but a hell of a lot more entertaining. Get your hands on The Great Bridge...This is the definitive book on the event. Do not wait for a better try: there won't be any.” (Norman Rosten, Newsday)

“David McCullough has taken a dramatic and colorful episode out of the American past and described it in such a way that he sheds fresh light on a whole era in American history.” (Bruce Catton)

Riveting and thorough!

I can’t get enough of David McCullough and his books. The way he not only brings history alive but also makes the narrative flow is nothing short of amazing. I have reread each of his books many times and always find things I had forgotten along the way. He is a marvelous author to be sure. This book is a must read for anyone interested in New York and it’s history.

An Historian and not a Novelist

I have to disagree to most of the negative reviews from other readers that have posted on The Great Bridge. David McCullough is a historian and not a novelist. He does not write stories with happy endings with complex plots. McCullough writes American history with proven facts.

That being said, The Great Bridge is an awesome story about our engineering, infrastructure, corruption, and American pride. The book is very interesting because it really happened and the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing after 129 years.

Even Hollywood takes tribute to the Brooklyn Bridge in movies. As the world freezes, or aliens conquer the planet, the bridge still stands as a symbol of pride.

I really hope that David McCullough will write on the Hoover Dam next. There are other authors that covered this topic, but I can only imagine that they are not complete.

For History Buffs

There is so much more history in this book than just covering the bridge - it was fascinating

A Striking Story

As a construction manager I really enjoyed the engineering aspects that we're overcome to make this landmark possible in a time just before electricity. having been on the bridge myself I wish I had a chance to listen to this before I did. beware there are some swaths of politics in this book that can drone on. regardless what Washington Roebling and his wife had to deal is astounding. Construction of this scale cannot escape the public or the politicians.

I tip my hat to the honest men and women who worked on the bridge that were briefly mentioned in this book. I know from my own experiences that those are the unsung hero's of all major construction projects

Skip the beginning!

What made the experience of listening to The Great Bridge the most enjoyable?

This book is huge and the background part at the beginning goes on and on. Stick it out, skim it or just skip it. When you get the the the part when the father dies and they start building the bridge, it becomes amazing. The engineering issues, the worksite issues, and New York politics are fascinating. To many people I know couldn't make it through the begining, so they missed a really great book.

Any additional comments?

I am a safety consultant and the material about cassion work was fascinating. A great read for safety geeks like me.

Very good

A great book by a great author.
I will read all his books.
Don’t miss this book

Outstanding performance.

My Great grandfather was a cable engineer from Germany and he was named August Applehuns.

Not McCullough's best

The Wright Brothers, 1176, and John Adams were just so much better. Maybe I just have high expectations.

WoW

A great read, who would of thought that so much would be sacraficed in building a bridge. Personally I would put up a statue of E on top of the Brooklyn tower holding the American flag for what she accomplished. A great written book. David McCullough is a true American gift.

Everyone needs to know this history

Surprised by how much this bridge impacted 19th century America and into the next generations.