The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge [Paperback]

John van der Zee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2000

<>The Gate is an absorbing panoramic account of the building of one of the world's most beautiful and famous landmarks. In a narrative richly laden with detail and the flavor of the period, John van der Zee reveals for the first time the complete history of the longest single-span suspension bridge of its time—including the identity of the man who actually designed it, which has been obscured since its completion in 1937.

With novelistic flair, van der Zee recounts an exciting drama of human greed, ambition, frailty, courage, and intellectual achievement.

"It is among the top books on California I have ever read."—Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California and author of Americans and the California Dream

"A case study of personal and technological adventure bordering on hubris...The engineers in this bok come alive as people, with all the faults and foibles associated iwth the human species. A fascinating work that shows that the best of cutting-edge engineering is much, much more than science and technology."—Henri Petroski, Nature

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Gate is carefully crafted and wonderfully readable." -- A.C. Greene, author of A Personal County

About the Author

John van der Zee is the author of ten books. His works has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles times, the San Francisco Examiner, Town & Country, Hard Row to Hoe, and Ramparts and Zyzzyva.

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Backinprint.com (June 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595094295
• ISBN-13: 978-0595094295
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thriller for engineers and others., September 29, 2000

By 

Tom Brody (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (Hardcover)

The book is one of the few books that I've ever read twice. And I find that I've continued to tell other people about this book from time to time. I would characterize the book as a thriller or, at least a drama, for and about engineers. The book is highly location-conscious. After reading the book, you'll be able to relate how the Golden Gate Bridge is related to engineering companies in New York City, to fund-raising efforts in the northern counties in California, to engineering professors in the mid-west, to a theater designer of the 1939 World's Fair on Treasure Island, to professors at U.C.Berkeley, and to a certain humble bascule bridge that continues its unsung day-to-day chores in an obscure part of San Francisco. To repeat, I really liked the author's interconnections, that he related in the book. The book deserves to be back in print, and it deserves to be in every gift shop in the City. The book is highly fact-based (it is not laced with fanciful commentary), and yet the book is difficult to put down. Perhaps the most striking and sad part of Van Der Zee's book, is that the engineer responsible for most of the innovations of the bridge was left off of the plaque (for political reasons), which is mounted on the Golden Gate Bridge.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Stop Reading This Book!, March 12, 2006

By 

katodisc (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (Paperback)

I have a bad habit of picking up books that look interesting and then giving up after the first hundred or so pages. This book is one of the few out there that gain and hold your interest, with such compelling detail that it boggles the mind how the author could have compiled and written this book in just 18 months. This is a wonderful, well-researched book with many surprising twists and turns. In fact, I bank with Bank of America, and now when I go up to the ATM and see the picture of the Golden Gate on the screen, I know why that image is there. A must read, and you will never look at the Golden Gate the same way again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Text - Photos not so good., July 16, 2010

By 

nickvv - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (Paperback)

This is an excellent narrative of the building of the Golden Gate bridge. Unfortunately, the number (few) and quality (poor) of the illustrations do not match the excellent and detailed written descriptions of the technical aspects of the bridge. Since it is a paperback, the type of paper used limits the quality of illustrations and overall, it was somewhat of a disappointment.