The Great Bridge, David McCullough
The Great Bridge, David McCullough
57 Rating(s)
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The Great Bridge
The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

Author: David McCullough

Narrator: Edward Herrmann

Abridged: 10 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/2004

Synopsis

A monumental tale of American ambition, told by Pulitzer Prize–winning author and master historian David McCullough. This gripping saga of the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the country’s boldest engineering achievements, reveals not only the politics and personalities behind "America’s Eiffel Tower," but charts New York’s ascent as a thriving metropolis.

Around 1870, during the Age of Optimism—a time when Americans believed anything was possible—the ambitious idea of constructing an unprecedented bridge across the East River to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn took root. This monumental project demanded a vision and determination on par with the efforts that built the great cathedrals of history.

Spearheaded by the Roebling family, the project faced staggering odds throughout its fourteen years of construction. Bodies were crushed, lives were lost, political empires fell, and waves of public emotion constantly threatened its progress. The Roeblings, too, were not immune to personal tragedies. Yet, Emily Roebling rose above these challenges to become the pivotal force behind the bridge’s completion, shattering all societal expectations of her era. This is not just the story of an engineering miracle; it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and the heroes and rascals who either built or exploited this groundbreaking enterprise.

About David McCullough

To say that Pittsburgh native, David McCullough, has had an interesting life would be an understatement. He was born in 1933 and is of Scots-Irish descent, and one of four sons. He is self-described as having a "marvelous" childhood. McCullough was interested in many things.......sports, art, books, and history among them. He loved every day of school. He graduated from Yale University where he felt privileged to associate with their great faculty of the likes of John O'Hara, John Heresy and others. He frequently ate lunch with Thornton Wilder, who taught him that a good writer should maintain "an air of freedom" in their writing so that the actual end is never predictable, even in non-fiction.

McCullough enjoyed delving into the research and then doing the writing of a non-fiction book. He studied Art and English, ultimately receiving his degree, with honors, in English literature at Yale (1955). While there, he was a member of Skull and Bones and served valuable apprenticeship with Time, Life, the U.S. Information Agency, and American Heritage.

McCullough has received the Pulitizer Prize for his books on Truman and John Adam's. His other books include: The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback, The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The Wright Brothers, The American Spirit, and his latest, The Pioneers.

McCullough has been a teacher, editor, lecturer, and familiar voice on television. He was the host of Smithsonian World, The American Experience, narrator of numerous documentaries such as Ken Burn's The Civil War. His narrative of Seabiscuit, the movie, and the Tom Hanks directed seven-part mini-series, John Adam's were very successful.

McCullough and his wife Rosalee have five children and nineteen grandchildren.......and one great-grandchild! In the words of a citation given with his honorary degree from Yale, "As an historian, he paints with words, giving us pictures of the American people that live, breathe, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character".

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on August 27, 2015

This is an engaging history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge was one of the greatest engineering feats of its time. The book goes into great detail about the bridge itself, its design and construction techniques. But most of the book is devoted to the people involved. And the two p......more

Goodreads review by James on October 15, 2010

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 wh......more

Goodreads review by Colleen on May 10, 2022

I love McCullough's work- from Truman to John Adams, to Mornings on Horseback, and many more- I have read and given everyone 5 stars. This book is well written, thoroughly researched, and has some very interesting information in it. That said, it seemed that I could have built the bridge in a shorte......more

Quotes

"The Great Bridge is a book so compelling and complete as to be a literary monument. . . . McCullough has written that sort of work which brings us to the human center of the past."
—Los Angeles Times

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