Engineers of Dreams

Petroski reveals the science and engineering--not to mention the politics egotism and sheer magic--behind America's great bridges particularly those constructed during the great bridge-building era starting in the 1870s and continuing through the 1930s. It is the story of the men and women who built the St. Louis the George Washington and the Golden Gate bridges drawing not only on their mastery of numbers but on their gifts for persuasion and self-promotion. It is an account of triumphs and ignominious disasters (including the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which literally twisted itself apart in a high wind). And throughout this grandly engaging book Petroski lets us see how bridges became the symbols and souls of our civilization as well as testaments to their builders' vision ingenuity and perseverance.. . Seamlessly linked...With astonishing scope and generosity of view Mr. Petroski places the tradition of American bridge-building in perspective.--New York Times Book Review