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The Great Bridge

The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

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The Great Bridge

Written by: David McCullough
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
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About this listen

 First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time: the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

This monumental audiobook, which presents extended unabridged passages from the book, brings back a heroic vision of the America we once had. It is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events during the Age of Optimism, a period when Americans were convinced that all great things were possible.

In the years around 1870, the concept of building a great bridge to span the East River between the 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 the bridge's construction, the odds against its successful completion seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives were 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 heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or obstructing this great enterprise.

©1972 David McCullough (P)2004 Simon & Schuster, Inc. Engineering United States Young Adult
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What the critics say

"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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Profile Image for John F R Harper

Fascinating Social and Engineering History

The Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
#audible1 Edward Herrmann, the narrator, is one of my favourite audible narrators. His voice is expressive and warm, his diction and pronunciation clear. He carries the story along with authority and sympathy. The very model of a non-fiction narrator.
Now to the story of the building of the great Bridge. It joined two of the greatest cities in America, New York and Brooklyn, then 1st and 3rd in population. They were each industrial powerhouses.
The project was worthy of the burgeoning country in the last half of the 19th century. McCullough tells the story of this generational project, the cost in lives in treasure to build something as transformational as the transcontinental railways.
An epic told with verve and completeness.

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