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)

Good listen!

There was a lot of detailed information throughout the book which helped in understanding the processes it took to build the Brooklyn Bridge. It amazes me to think how thing were done over 100 years ago!! Recommend to anyone..

Take a step back in time

If you could sum up The Great Bridge in three words, what would they be?

Authentic, Historic, Personalities

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mrs. Roebling comes across as perhaps the most able person in the story.

What about Nelson Runger’s performance did you like?

It was very fitting to the book style.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I am amazed by some of the things they decided to try, working with the limited knowledge of the time. The discussion of men working under pressurized air in truly terrible conditions was quite moving.

Any additional comments?

I like the way McCullough weaves in not just the story of the building of the bridge, but also a great deal of historical context and other events happening at the same time.

More a story of an era than of a bridge

I thoroughly enjoyed this reading and the overall story. I did wonder at points why so much detail was given, but it was not so much as to become bored. It just seemed sometimes more than necessary.

As with many of this author's books, the story tells more about the age and the circumstances than the central character. If the central character here was the bridge and its chief engineer, the story simply used them as the constants as it moved through time from a very much agrarian America to the real start of the industrial revolution.

What an age that must have been.

every great work

every great work of engineering should have a book like this one.
please read it, or listen to it. it is worth it, at least to appreciate great effort of great men.
thank you Mr McCullough for your wonderful story.
angels are in the details

Favorite non-fiction book

I adore this book and have listened to it several times. The story is interesting and the narrator does a great job.

McCullough makes history come alive

This was historian David McCullough’s second book and was originally published in 1972. I’d previously done two of McCullough’s other books about The Wright Brothers and John Adams. Those were great and this one was up to that standard.

This book chronicles the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge is a suspension bridge and at the time of its completion, it was by far the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge was an engineering and practical marvel at the time. It took over 13 years to construct. It was designed by John A. Roebling, but John died as a result of tetanus from an accident at the start of construction and his son, Washington Roebling ended up being the engineer for the project.

Construction of the bridge began in 1870. One of the most difficult and dangerous tasks was the building of the two towers on which the cables would be hung to support the bridge. The base of the tower on the Brooklyn side is more than 40 feet under ground on the floor of the river. The base of the tower on the NYC side is almost 80 feet deep. The digging was done in huge wooden caissons which were air tight and filled with compressed air. At the completion of the digging, these caissons were filled with concrete and became the base of the towers. Working in the compressed air under pressure caused health problems for most of the men including Washington Roebling. It was a new phenomenon that the doctors of the time would never fully understand during the construction. The descriptions of the construction of the caissons and work inside them were incredible.

I started the book before a recent trip to NYC and did get a chance to walk on the bridge during the trip. It is absolutely amazing they were able to construct it 150 years ago.

It’s an excellent book. The engineering issues and problems are explained in a way that non-engineers like me can understand and appreciate them. The political issues of the construction make it clear that little in that department has changed in 150 years. I’d highly recommend the book.

Not Bad

I had to return to this a few times as my attention drifted away. It's supposedly a masterpiece and I cant say I didn't like it, just didn't feel gripped or fully engaged at any time. One thing I did get was a different perspective on that historical period and I think that's very good exchange for the credit.

Interesting and Informative

The Great Bridge tells the history of one of the most iconic pieces of US engineering genius.

Simply brilliant

Just an astonishingly awesome account of history...a must listen. every chapter was so very captivating

An Amazing Tour Of A Chunk Of American History.

Rich in context of the time. The politics, corruption, and pragmatic truth of creating a great work at that period in history. Most of all the story of what a person with a vision and the will to pursue it can accomplish. Equally true for Roebling and his wife Emily.