I am a fan of historian, David McCullough, so I picked up his "The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge" thinking I would read a few obligatory pages. I am no engineer, and how interesting can a narrative built around bridge trusswork and cables really be? Turns out it can be really, really interesting. McCullough describes the technical aspects of bridge building with just enough detail to make them understandable. His explanation of the underwater caissons and the workers inside them digging below the East River is fascinating. More importantly, the book reads like a novel, an epic novel at that. There was no end of human and political drama that accompanied the bridge building, and McCullough tells the whole story with empathy and admiration for the engineers and workers, particularly, Chief Engineers John A. Roebling and Washington Roebling. His portrayal of the many politicians involved in the project, including the infamous Boss Tweed, is done with insight and sensitivity. Even Brooklyn itself becomes a character in the drama. My only criticism is I wish he had devoted more pages to Emily Roebling, Washington's wife who served as a kind of all around assistant/secretary/public relations manager etc. after he fell ill. Yet, McCullough's treatment of Emily was still detailed enough to give us a sense of the incredible woman she was. A wonderful read!

My Brooklyn roots ate up each and every page to the very end. I have always enjoyed the Brooklyn Bridge, but am now very eager to cross it again some day. I am no engineer, but the chapters on caisson construction were fascinating and riveting. What man has built! What genius and courage. Loved the chapter on Emily, Washington Roebling’s dutiful and talented wife. It is good to see her contribution recognized and celebrated. She nursed him endlesslessly through a lifetime of suffering side effects from the bends. “At first I thought I would succumb, but I had a strong Tower to lean upon, my wife, a woman of infinite tact and wisest counsel.” A very enjoyable and inspiring read.

I love David McCullough. I have yet to be disappointed by a book of his, and I have read most of them, and will read them all. “The Great Bridge” is no exception, but there were times when I had to push myself to read through (only a few times). This is not the fault of the author, but my own. As this book is about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge McCullough at times (appropriately) talks about engineering and other matters of science and my mind does not naturally attach itself to such things. If yours does, then there will not be a dull moment. If you are a humanities guy (like me) there will be moments of struggle, but they are short and necessary.
Like all history, this book is really the about the times and people, and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is a catalyst around which to illuminate the times. As I told someone the other day, this text is “about all of the things about the Brooklyn Bridge that I did not know I needed to know.”
In McCullough’s capable hands the era comes alive and one cannot help but be astonished at the amazing engineering and genius that allowed such a marvel to be constructed in the manner in which it was conceived and executed, in the 1870s no less!
“The Great Bridge” is about us really, as we are today, because people are people and the struggles, triumphs, foibles and follies of those whose lives intersected with the construction of this bridge are our own. Read this book to learn something about an amazing engineering marvel, a piece of iconic American history, and to jump into the lives of some interesting people. You will find the past for sure, but you will also recognize a bit of the present. Good historians do just that, and David McCullough certainly fits that bill.

In an age when simply knowing a lot about something is enough to see you denigrated and dismissed, it's nice to read a work of history celebrating the Expert and the Expert's achievements. It's also telling to read that political wits even in the second half of the 19th century were aware of this, with a journalist saying one engineer like John Roebling was worth more than a hall of bickering, petulant politicians.
I don't have little to add other than that. Like all of McCullough's works, this is a fine history of something you might not necessarily give two shakes about. But you should, because although the Brooklyn Bridge is impressive in and of itself, the building of it was a most mythical undertaking. As always, McCullough sets the event against its proper backdrop: NY politics, Boss Tweed, all the scandalous shenanigans of the time, the Bridge's place amidst other innovations at the time. Finally, it is the story of a father and son, John and Washington Roebling, the former who died before work really got going, the latter who took over, despite years of sickness that meant he was mostly directing work from afar, with his wife's help.
If you want the real meat of what America as a society can accomplish, stop reading the news and go find your local bridge-builder.

David McCullough delivers once again with ‘The Great Bridge,’ a well- researched story that transports readers back to the 1800s. The book covers everything from the Roeblings’ engineering feats to the rollercoaster of New York politics. Painting a vivid picture of the era and the monumental task of building the Brooklyn Bridge. Despite the dense technical details, they underscore the meticulous investigative effort McCullough undertook to tell this story comprehensively.

What stands out, especially in the epilogue, is the profound significance of the Brooklyn Bridge in American history. This book leaves me eager to experience the bridge firsthand and appreciate its legacy up close. Another great read.

I wonder how many people who regularly use the Brooklyn Bridge know about the genius and suffering of John and Washington Roebling, the father and son responsible for this long-standing marvel. And the bridge itself is the monument to them, since no statues or other memorials were erected in their honor.

It was difficult at first to follow the jumping-back-and-forth-in-time format of the book, but after a while I almost looked forward to that; I think parts of it could have gotten tedious otherwise. David McCullough is superb in writing 500+ pages of what could have been a dry treatise on a marvelous undertaking.

FanTASTIC. Such an interesting history and incredibly relatable characters

One of the best non fiction books I've read. David McCullough is an extraordinary historical writer. To understand that this bridge was built over 150 years ago without all the modern excavation tools and equipment that we have today is amazing. The Brooklyn Bridge is still standing and still a valuable asset to travelers to this day.

As the title makes clear, this book tells the story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The book is well-researched, but for my tastes there were just way too many detours from the main story, such as very lengthy descriptions of the flora and fauna around the bridge as well as of some individuals who only played a minimal role in the building project. Still it is a fascinating story, and so if such detours do not bother you, it is worth the read.

I've watched duplicate documentaries about the same bridge before and even my love of bridges couldn't keep me engaged in this book. Tried reading this book on two separate occasions but only got about 100 pages in. The content of the book seemed solid and told the story of building the bridge, but it was informative instead of inspiring. Reminded me of reading a textbook.

A well spun tale of vision, dedication, brilliance, hard work and achievement. The stories of John Roebling and Washington Roebling, the designers and builders of the Brooklyn Bridge take their place among the stories of the great men who built America. McCullough delivers on the human and the technical front, although the construction details can get tedious at times. The Brooklyn Bridge was a pinnacle of engineering success and a monument to the times. In addition to the bridge and its creators we are treated to stories of people like Boss Tweed, Henry Ward Beecher and many other salient figures of the day. We get a peek into the New York of the 1870’s as we witness a city, state and country leaping into the modern age. Highly recommended.

What an amazing book! Very well researched, and quite captivating from the Brooklyn to Manhattan politics to bridge building. Some of the technical things went over my head, but the writing was really fantastic and easy to understand. For anyone interested in New York City History, Brooklyn history, bridge building. I would highly recommend this.