Bridges: Three Thousand Years of Defying Nature (Paperback)

by David Brown (Author) "We cannot of course know when, where or how man first used a bridge, but many of our earliest hunter-gatherer ancestors must surely have had..." (more)
Key Phrases: approach viaducts, stiffening truss, main span, New York, Golden Gate, Forth Bridge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Brown offers a history of more than 100 of the world's greatest bridges, organized chronologically. He explains their origins and structure principle, beginning with the ancient world (Rome and China) and the medieval period (France, Italy, and the Czech Republic). Chapters deal with bridges of iron and stone, steel, concrete, and those with stay cables. Each chapter has an introduction, and vital statistics are given for each bridge--location, date of construction, and its designer. Brown writes that from prehistoric times to the present, the line of technology is unbroken; what has changed is its level of sophistication and comprehensibility. There are more than 300 color and black-and-white illustrations in this very informative account. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
The world's greatest bridges, organized chronologically... There are more than 300 color and black-and-white illustrations in this very informative account. (George Cohen Booklist 20060201)

A wonderful coffeetable book for architecture and civil engineering buffs... this one is truly global in scope. (Denise A. Brush Science Books and Films 200606)

Exceptional clarity of form and superb color photographs... clear, complete and suitably journalistic prose... Essential for undergraduate design collections. (Paul Glassman Library Journal 20060401)

Full of beautiful color photos and diagrams, the book offers a detailed and affectionate look at these construction marvels. (Science News ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: MBI (November 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760312346
• ISBN-13: 978-0760312346
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,840,245 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars missing something, February 21, 2007

By	DB "dbri" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bridges: Three Thousand Years of Defying Nature (Paperback)

This covers every possible aspect of bridge building that a layperson could think of. Except for one thing. It hardly mentions the laborers who are responsible for the work that made these bridges possible. Yes, a bridge is made from concrete, brick, steel, timber, cable, iron, and whatnot, but what about the blood, sweat, and tears? The book goes into the construction of piers, the methods used to erect various parts of the bridge, and so forth. But it stops short of mentioning how the laborers were organized, who they were, where they came from, and how many of them died building these works of art.

So, although the book filled me with knowledge, I finished it feeling a little bit empty, as if I had seen the surface of all the seas and oceans of the world, but never a whale or fish.