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 Brooklyn 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. “The impact of the soaring structure upon the American imagination and American life has now been measured with sagacity and style by David McCullough. . . . The Great Bridge is a book so compelling and complete as to be a literary monument, one of the best books I have read in years. McCullough has written that sort of work which brings us to the human center of the past.” —Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times “ The Great Bridge is a great book. . . . What David McCullough has written is a stupendous narrative about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, with a cast of thousands (give or take 100), whose major characters come alive on the page as authentically, as creatively, as would their fictional counterparts if one had the imagination to dream up such a yarn. Once again, truth is not only stranger than fiction but a hell of a lot more entertaining. Get your hands on The Great Bridge . . . . This is the definitive book on the event. Do not wait for a better try: there won't be any.” —Norman Rosten, Newsday “David McCullough has taken a dramatic and colorful episode out of the American past and described it in such a way that he sheds fresh light on a whole era in American history.” —Bruce Catton “After reading David McCullough’s account, you will never look at the old bridge in quite the same way again.” —Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times “McCullough is one of our most gifted living writers.” —Marie Arana, The Washington Post David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams , and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback . His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood , The Great Bridge , Brave Companions , 1776 , The Greater Journey , The American Spirit , The Wright Brothers , and The Pioneers . He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com. Great Bridge 1 The Plan The shapes arise! —WALT WHITMAN THEY MET AT HIS REQUEST on at least six different occasions, beginning in February 1869. With everyone present, there were just nine in all—the seven distinguished consultants he had selected; his oldest son, Colonel Washington Roebling, who kept the minutes; and himself, the intense, enigmatic John Augustus Roebling, wealthy wire rope manufacturer of Trenton, New Jersey, and builder of unprecedented suspension bridges. They met at the Brooklyn Gas Light Company on Fulton Street, where the new Bridge Company had been conducting its affairs until regular offices could be arranged for. They gathered about the big plans and drawings he had on display, listening attentively as he talked and asking a great many questions. They studied his preliminary surveys and the map upon which he had drawn a strong red line cutting across the East River, indicating exactly where he intended to put the crowning work of his career. The consultants were his idea. In view of “the magnitude of the undertaking and the large interests connected therewith,” he had written, it was “only right” that his plans be “subjected to the careful scrutiny” of a board of experts. He did not want their advice or opinions, only their sanction. If everything went as he wanted and expected, they would approve his plan without reservation. They would announce that in their considered professional opinion his bridge was perfectly possible. They would put an end to the rumors, silence the critics, satisfy every last stockholde