I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the large amount of time it took to read. It is very dense with a lot of historical information but the author did a good job of creating a narrative and giving the reader a feel of what it was like to see the bridge as it was going up. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about what it was like to work down in the caisson and learning about how they discovered the physical tolls of working at high pressure.

I feel like I've accomplished something as big as the Brooklyn Bridge now that I've read this book. While the building of the bridge was fascinating, McCullough's attention to detail got a but much at times, although certainly not enough to make me stop reading. Washington Roebling and his father John both had a hand in the design. After John died, Washington took over and saw it through to the end which took 14 years. It was a spectacular accomplishment and at the time was considered the eighth wonder of the world. Most of the workmen who worked inside the huge cassions on both ends of the bridge suffered from "the bends" and many of them quit rather than submit to the painful condition. They were paid $2.00/day. Washington Roebling spent so much time in the cassions that he was permanently disabled and had to watch most of the work from his house in Brooklyn, although he lived a long life in spite of it, dying at 89. The political aspect of it's building was interesting as well, with people like "Boss" Tweed and Tammany Hall heavily involved and profiting nicely. After so long with the book, I've got to go to New York and walk over the bridge in order to finish things off completely.

Listened as an audio book and really enjoyed. The making of the bridge was fascinating and it was well balanced with side stories of the individuals involved, the politics of Manhattan/ Brooklyn and even on the Bends.

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 to the good part.

My favorite part of the book was the characters. Absolutely fascinating men and women. People of such talent, brilliance, and incredible work ethic. These are the people we all lean upon. There are men and women like this in every era. They make our lives better in more ways than we can imagine.

As expected with a David McCullough book, this one is excellent, at least 4.5/5 stars. The book encompasses the entire 14 years of construction from 1869 to 1883. Those were years of rapid growth of the country, spanning from immediately after the devastating Civil War, to the dawning of electricity and the edge of the twentieth century. McCullough does a good job of giving the reader that historical perspective. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was an undertaking of mammoth proportions at that time. They attempted things in this project on a scale never before tried. The story of the man responsible for the design and construction of the bridge, Washington Roeblings, is as fascinating as the story of the bridge itself. Key characters are brought vividly to life. I recommend this book to anyone interested in U.S. history or the development of the modern industrial age.

Ok ngl i was struggling through the first couple chapters and asking my self why i thought a book about a bridge was a good idea
but i live this author so i trusted the process….

turned out it was super interesting especially if you’re from the local area (NYC or NJ)

i love the details that were given about HOW the construction was done in the time because it truly was the minds of genius men that made what we still have today.

I'm usually a great fan of David McCullough ("The Path Between the Seas"; "John Adams"). But, after forcing myself to read (and often, when it came to the technical engineering descriptions, merely to skim) the first half of "The Great Bridge", I've decided that life is too short to continue to plow on through. The author provides an almost overwhelming amount of detail but never gives a clear picture. All trees; no forest.

Loved this audio version

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 fails to fascinate.

Any book McCullough writes, I will read. Here, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge from 1869 to 1883. With his usual impeccable research and smooth prose, McCullough lets us experience mid-nineteenth-century New York, blended with the politics, personalities, genius, corruption, and especially the unbelievable (for the age) engineering that made construction possible.

I couldn't believe that I was hooked on a 500 page book about bridge building. This is truly an eloquently written and expertly researched epic story of building the Brooklyn Bridge in the late 19th century.

McCullough, a masterful storyteller brought the history of the Brooklyn Bridge to life. The Brooklyn Bridge would not have existed without John and Washington Roebling, father and son. John Roebling was a German immigrant and engineer who designed the bridge with great ingenuity, but died of an accident before the bridge building began. Here are some memorable quotes from the book about him. "His success in everything he turned his hand to was generally attributed to an inflexible will and extraordinary resourcefulness.” "One of his strongest moral traits was his power of will, not a will that was stubborn, but a certain spirit, tenacity of purpose, and confident reliance upon self . . . an instinctive faith in the resources of his art that no force of circumstance could divert him from carrying into effect a project once matured in his mind. . . ."

Washington Roebling became the chief engineer of the bridge after his father’s death and led the arduous and painstaking construction effort for fourteen years. He endured not only many technical challenges and setbacks, but also debilitating “caissons disease” and tremendous political pressure at all times. I was amazed by the brilliance, courage and determination of Washington Roebling as his sacrifice and accomplishment was utterly inspirational.

A significant portion of the book was also dedicated to the politics and corruption associated with this immense public undertaking. Reading “The Great Bridge” gave me a renewed appreciation of the iconic American history of the ongoing growth of immigration, multiculturalism and technological progress.

This is a deeply researched history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. There were a few somewhat technical descriptions of bridge building methods in the book but they were few and far between. I learned about the main considerations of what needed to be done to build a suspension bridge circa 1865-1875 (approximately) and what types of people could make that happen.

The designer of the bridge was injured on the job before the project ever got started. His son, a well-trained engineer, was hired to complete the bridge. There was biographical information about both men. This bridge destroyed both their lives and now stands like a monument to their determination to succeed in a massive effort to improve the lives of future citizens of the New York area.

I read this as part of an ongoing effort to read all the books written by David McCullough during 2024-2026. We are reading his books in the order they were written. I wouldn't call it easy reading, but it is informative.