High Rise: How 1,000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million Building a Skyscraper (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Planned during the mid-1980s real estate boom, the office tower built by developer Ian Bruce Eicher at 1540 Broadway in midtown Manhattan became a victim of the soaring office-vacancy rates of the '90s. In a crisp narrative told with pizzazz, Newsweek senior writer Adler describes the project from financing through completion. A morass of disputes, snafus, red tape, cost overruns and personality clashes beset the Broadway State building, which was conceived to bring a glorious shopping mall to the Times Square area along with corporate tenants. Ultimately, the German publishing firm Bertelsmann, owner of Bantam Doubleday Dell, bought the tower from the bankrupt Broadway State Partners last year; it is now the Bertelsmann Building and will be headquarters for the Manhattan staff of the publishing conglomerate. The book suggests that erecting Egypt's pyramids must have been child's play compared to constructing a Manhattan skyscraper. A great read. Photos. First serial to New York magazine.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Adler, a senior writer at Newsweek , presents a case study on the process of constructing an office building on Broadway at New York City's Times Square. Begun in 1987 at the tail end of a booming real estate market, the project advanced during a time of declining prices for commercial real estate. Adler, who had first-hand access to the developer, Bruce Eichner, provides insight into the frustrating web of practices, legal and otherwise, that define the construction industry in New York. Libraries that have benefited from adding Douglas Frantz's From the Ground Up ( LJ 9/15/91) will want to this too. Recommended for both general and informed readers.
- Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060167017
• ISBN-13: 978-0060167011
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #929,223 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A primer in high stakes game of high rise development, January 5, 2000

By	Michele Flipside "Michele Flipside" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

For a person who rarely finishes a book - I didn't put this one down. I must admit that I happen to know what the above review meant by quote about the May 13th deadline to get the FAR, but all concepts such as this are explained by the author in simple terms so a complete novice can follow along. This is a true story about a N.Y. developer in the mid 1980s with a small amount of money on his own who sets out to develop a skyscraper in Times Square and unfortunately due to the 1987 stock market crash and subsequent recession looses it all, including his development company. Author develops the many real persons who where involved in the story and the book is very humorous and one can't even believe all the comedy of errors that befuddles the development - i.e., if it weren't true it would be funny, but sadly they lost it all after years of hard work. If one wonders what motivates a developer, an architect or wants to understand the entire process of development of a skyscraper project such as this, read this book! This is a truly gut-wrenching drama of the highest sense.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, April 7, 2002

By	John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: High Rise: How 1,000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million Building a Skyscraper (Paperback)

This book really delivers with an interesting story. On the face of it I was not that excited to pick up a book about the construction of a building and the finance side but this book made it interesting. The whole process from the buying of the land, getting financing, and the construction are told very well by the author. He does a good job of making sure the reader keeps in tune with the issues and does not let you get lost in finance speak. You really come away from the book understanding the process and the people that were involved. It is also a kick to see the building in real life as I did on a trip to NYC last summer. This book is well put together and keeps the reader interested through out. I would recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in how building is built today.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Insight Into How An NYC Highrise Office Building Gets Built, April 12, 2009

By	A. Calvo "Explorer5" (Tinton Falls, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This book offers unique insight and a behind the scenes look at the dealings and problems of building a modern high-rise office building in New York City. Everything is documented here - arguments between architect and developer over cost savings, ways building code regulations are circumvented (not making the building any less safe though) to dealing with a big name commercial real estate broker.

High Rise also demonstrates how difficult and complex it is to build in New York City - if the building this book was written about was based in any other city besides New York, it probably wouldn't be as much fun to read.

An excellent book for anyone who wonders what goes into building an office building - for both those inside and outside of New York City.