---
product_id: 1609850
title: "The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge"
price: "KSh9292"
currency: KES
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.co.ke/products/1609850-the-great-bridge-the-epic-story-of-the-building-brooklyn
store_origin: KE
region: Kenya
---

# Longest suspension bridge in 1883 - 1595 ft span 800+ pages of rich historical & technical narrative Engineering feat: 70 ft underwater caisson foundations The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

**Price:** KSh9292
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🌉 Build your legacy with the story behind the bridge that changed a city forever.

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
- **How much does it cost?** KSh9292 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.ke](https://www.desertcart.co.ke/products/1609850-the-great-bridge-the-epic-story-of-the-building-brooklyn)

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- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

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## Key Features

- • **Behind-the-Scenes Drama:** Uncover the gripping tales of corruption, politics, and personalities that shaped the Brooklyn Bridge’s creation.
- • **Collector’s Must-Have:** Own a well-preserved used copy of a #1 ranked bridge engineering bestseller with stellar 4.6-star reviews.
- • **Epic Engineering Marvel:** Dive deep into the world’s longest suspension bridge of its time, a true testament to human ingenuity and mechanical mastery.
- • **Inspiration for Innovators:** Fuel your passion for engineering and leadership with real stories of bravery, innovation, and perseverance.
- • **Immersive Historical Insight:** Experience the late 1800s culture and engineering challenges through David McCullough’s masterful storytelling.

## Overview

David McCullough’s 'The Great Bridge' is an 800+ page historical masterpiece chronicling the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the longest suspension bridge of its era. Combining technical engineering feats like 70-foot underwater caissons with vivid portraits of the engineers, political intrigue, and cultural backdrop of the late 1800s, this book offers an inspiring and educational journey into one of America’s greatest infrastructure achievements. Highly rated and a bestseller in bridge engineering and history, this used copy is a treasure for professionals and history enthusiasts alike.

## Description

The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge [McCullough, David] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

Review: Educational. Inspirational. Entertaining. - This book profiles the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the engineers and their personalities, the corruption and bribery of the times and the overall culture of the late 1800's. As always, David McCullough writes with a literary style that is enjoyable but also educational. This book is a history lesson combined with the pleasure of understanding the mindset and life of those who lived before us and is a great testimony to human ingenuity. Pros: - David McCullough's writing style: His sentences are lucidly crafted so that such a distinct image in your mind is created as a result.He has to gift to blend technical information of the bridge with poetic grace that is both a pleasure to the reader as well as an education. - Understanding of the prevailing culture of corruption and bribery of politicians and executives during this era: The building of the Brooklyn Bridge wasn't built without its trace of bribery and corruption amongst the board overseeing its creation, and, as a result, causes the reader to view the bridge from a different perspective other than that of a sheer feat of human ingenuity. - True insight into the personalities of all the characters involved in the building of the bridge: Colonel Roebling wasn't only known for being the Chief Engineer of The Great Bridge; he was also a courageous and decorated Civil War Veteran participating in multiple key battles. - Provides inspiration for those of a mechanical aptitude, or for anyone who realizes modern industry wasn't magically created, but was created by the hard work and intelligence and bravery of mankind: Understanding what is required to erect a bridge of this magnitude will shock and awe the average reader who has no prior knowledge of engineering. Cons: - Technical details of bridge engineering require extra attention and focus for understanding: For those with a background not related to engineering, the technical details of how the bridge was built is difficult to understand and requires constant referencing the dictionary to comprehend what the author is trying to convey to the reader. - At times, the non-technical descriptions of the magnificence of the bridge is verbose and repetitive
Review: A powerful story. - The Great Bridger by David McCullough For me this is a rare read. It is over 800 pages. Fortunately, the last 20% are appendices which I did not studiously read nor look over. This story begins with the early years of suspension bridges in the United States as they prepared the way for the building of the Great Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge. This is about building of the bridge, the people who built the bridge and convincing the communities to undertake this endeavor. At the time of its completion in 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, (1595ft). Its center span rose 127 feet above mean high tide to facilitate the passing of sailing ships. In 1883 its towers were the tallest structures in New York. (272 feet above the water. McCoullough gives us backgrounds on all the key participants in building the bridge and in opposing the bridge. Yes, the building of the bridge was a roaring controversy from its conception throughout its construction. (There was a significant cost overrun.) McCoullough also gives us insight into the politics of New York City, Albany and even the U. S. These were the years of the Tammany Hall Gang, and nothing got done in New York without some level of participation of the leadership at Tammany Hall. In spite of accusations of corruption surrounding the financing of the bridge a post construction review of the bridge reported that there were no misspent funds. The third focus of the book is on the actual construction of the bridge. To give you some idea of the challenges faced by the engineers and the workers. The first step in the construction is creating firm foundations 70 feet below the water. This was done by creating a large watertight box (called a caisson) the size of several basketball courts that is then forced down by clearing away boulders and other debris until it sits on ground firm enough to support the bridge. As the box descends below 30 feet the interior air pressure increases to dangerous levels causing what was called ‘caisson disease’, or as we now know it, the bends. This had debilitating effects on the work men and on Washington Roebling the Supervising Engineer, who joined the laborers working in the caisson. The Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel upon completion and remains an iconic marvel to the day. McCoullough book breathe life into the stones and steel of this iconic structure. This book has moved walking to the center of the bridge is to the top of my bucket list.

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #21,513 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Bridge Engineering #12 in History of Technology #48 in U.S. State & Local History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,273 Reviews |

## Images

![The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71oMGZlJD8L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Educational. Inspirational. Entertaining.
*by A***T on August 25, 2015*

This book profiles the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the engineers and their personalities, the corruption and bribery of the times and the overall culture of the late 1800's. As always, David McCullough writes with a literary style that is enjoyable but also educational. This book is a history lesson combined with the pleasure of understanding the mindset and life of those who lived before us and is a great testimony to human ingenuity. Pros: - David McCullough's writing style: His sentences are lucidly crafted so that such a distinct image in your mind is created as a result.He has to gift to blend technical information of the bridge with poetic grace that is both a pleasure to the reader as well as an education. - Understanding of the prevailing culture of corruption and bribery of politicians and executives during this era: The building of the Brooklyn Bridge wasn't built without its trace of bribery and corruption amongst the board overseeing its creation, and, as a result, causes the reader to view the bridge from a different perspective other than that of a sheer feat of human ingenuity. - True insight into the personalities of all the characters involved in the building of the bridge: Colonel Roebling wasn't only known for being the Chief Engineer of The Great Bridge; he was also a courageous and decorated Civil War Veteran participating in multiple key battles. - Provides inspiration for those of a mechanical aptitude, or for anyone who realizes modern industry wasn't magically created, but was created by the hard work and intelligence and bravery of mankind: Understanding what is required to erect a bridge of this magnitude will shock and awe the average reader who has no prior knowledge of engineering. Cons: - Technical details of bridge engineering require extra attention and focus for understanding: For those with a background not related to engineering, the technical details of how the bridge was built is difficult to understand and requires constant referencing the dictionary to comprehend what the author is trying to convey to the reader. - At times, the non-technical descriptions of the magnificence of the bridge is verbose and repetitive

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A powerful story.
*by S***T on June 21, 2023*

The Great Bridger by David McCullough For me this is a rare read. It is over 800 pages. Fortunately, the last 20% are appendices which I did not studiously read nor look over. This story begins with the early years of suspension bridges in the United States as they prepared the way for the building of the Great Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge. This is about building of the bridge, the people who built the bridge and convincing the communities to undertake this endeavor. At the time of its completion in 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, (1595ft). Its center span rose 127 feet above mean high tide to facilitate the passing of sailing ships. In 1883 its towers were the tallest structures in New York. (272 feet above the water. McCoullough gives us backgrounds on all the key participants in building the bridge and in opposing the bridge. Yes, the building of the bridge was a roaring controversy from its conception throughout its construction. (There was a significant cost overrun.) McCoullough also gives us insight into the politics of New York City, Albany and even the U. S. These were the years of the Tammany Hall Gang, and nothing got done in New York without some level of participation of the leadership at Tammany Hall. In spite of accusations of corruption surrounding the financing of the bridge a post construction review of the bridge reported that there were no misspent funds. The third focus of the book is on the actual construction of the bridge. To give you some idea of the challenges faced by the engineers and the workers. The first step in the construction is creating firm foundations 70 feet below the water. This was done by creating a large watertight box (called a caisson) the size of several basketball courts that is then forced down by clearing away boulders and other debris until it sits on ground firm enough to support the bridge. As the box descends below 30 feet the interior air pressure increases to dangerous levels causing what was called ‘caisson disease’, or as we now know it, the bends. This had debilitating effects on the work men and on Washington Roebling the Supervising Engineer, who joined the laborers working in the caisson. The Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel upon completion and remains an iconic marvel to the day. McCoullough book breathe life into the stones and steel of this iconic structure. This book has moved walking to the center of the bridge is to the top of my bucket list.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exhaustive, and exhausting
*by M***S on July 29, 2017*

Early on, David McCullough tells us when he went to where the archives of the Brooklyn Bridge's Chief Engineer, Washington Roebling, were being held, he was stunned at their total disarray. It appears his book is (partly) proof of time spent reorganizing and categorizing the archive, a noble deed, indeed. McCullough has written an exhaustive, and exhausting, history. It is an epic story, and is treated as such by the author. Their is enough in here about the life and times of the period to satisfy a social history buff. There is enough biography of key, and not so key, players to satisfy a memoir buff. There are enough technical details, to satisfy (I suspect) an engineer. Trouble is, taken together, there is too much of too many angles to keep me absorbed. I found myself skimming through many pages of tedious detail. I already knew that a number of workers died of what we now call the bends, and was interested in knowing more about that. But it could've been condensed without sacrifice. I'm not sure I had to learn so much about doctors who were investigating the problem or the life histories of other engineers whose projects experienced similar deaths. I was fascinated by the political machinations of key players, including Boss Tweed. But the biographical sketches of so many players left my head spinning; I wanted to get back to bridge building, so to speak. I was awed by the granular engineering details, but was the author just showing off? Showing us how much he gleaned from the archives? Did I have to know the length, width, height and weight of the bolts -- and so many different kinds, too? Perhaps Mr. McCullough goal was to write a book that would be deemed the definitive history of the Brooklyn Bridge. Or maybe his editor lacked the contractual power to force consolidation and cuts. But as the late, great Elmore Leonard advised, cut out the parts that people tend to skip.

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*Product available on Desertcart Kenya*
*Store origin: KE*
*Last updated: 2026-03-16*