Brooklyn Bridge

"It so happens that the work which is likely to be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, but a bridge."So wrote one architectural critic of the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the grandest and most eloquent monuments to the American spirit that our country has produced. Its magnificent site, breathtaking span, cutting-edge technology, and sheer beauty have made it the subject of poems, paintings, photographs, novels, plays, and movies.Beneath the Brooklyn Bridge's triumphant arches lie astonishing tales of death, deception, genius, and daring. Over the fourteen-year course of its construction, there were many deaths, including that of John A. Roebling, designer and chief engineer; an underwater fire; and even fraud.Finally, though, the bridge was finished, and as part of the opening day festivities, the president, and two mayors crossed it.In this stunning visual history, Lynn Curlee tells the fascinating story of the history and construction of the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

Lynn Curlee was educated as an art historian and worked as a fine artist for many years before he began to illustrate children's books. He is the illustrator of Horses with Wings by Dennis Haseley, and the author-illustrator of Ships of the Air, Into the Ice: The Story of Arctic Exploration, Rushmore, and Liberty. Mr. Curlee lives on the east end of Long Island, New York.