Description: About this productProduct InformationThe first full biography of a crucial figure in the American story--Washington Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. "I know that nothing can be done perfectly at the first trial; I also know that each day brings its little quota of experiences, which with honest intentions, will lead to perfection after a while." --Washington Roebling His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but after John Roebling's sudden death, Washington Roebling built what has become one of American's most iconic structures--as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognizable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten--and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, of the frontier, of the greatest crisis in American history, and of the making of the modern world. Forty years after the publication of The Great Bridge , David McCullough's classic chronicle of how the East River was spanned, Erica Wagner has written a fascinating biography of one of America's most distinguished engineers, a man whose long life was a model of courage in the face of extraordinary adversity. Chief Engineer is enriched by Roebling's own eloquent voice, unveiled in his recently-discovered memoir that was previously thought lost to history. The memoir reveals that his father, John-a renowned engineer who made his life in America after humble beginnings in Germany-was a tyrannical presence in Washington's life, so his own adoption of that career was hard won. A young man when the Civil War broke out, Washington joined the Union Army, building bridges that carried soldiers across rivers and seeing action in many pivotal battles, from Antietam to Gettysburg-aspects of his life never before fully brought to light. Safely returned, he married the remarkable Emily Warren Roebling, who would play a crucial role in the construction of the unprecedented Brooklyn Bridge. It would be Washington Roebling's grandest achievement-but by no means the only one. Elegantly written with a compelling narrative sweep, Chief Engineer will introduce Washington Roebling and his era to a new generation of readers.Product IdentifiersPublisherBloomsbury Publishing USAISBN-101620400510ISBN-139781620400517eBay Product ID (ePID)228543652Product Key FeaturesFormatHardcoverPublication Year2017LanguageEnglishDimensionsWeight24.7 OzWidth6.4in.Height1.4in.Length9.6in.Additional Product FeaturesIllustratedYesCopyright Date2017AuthorErica WagnerNumber of Pages384 PagesLc Classification NumberTa140.R72w34 2017Publication Date2017-06-27Reviews"Compelling and elegant . . . [an] exploration of the life of Washington Roebling, the engineer whose energy and ideas got the Brooklyn Bridge built . . . the story not just of two engineers, father and son, but also of a son who survived treatment that, as he wrote in a private memoir at the end of the 19th century, could have led to his death . . . [a] powerful book." - The Guardian "As we learn from Chief Engineer , Erica Wagner's highly original biography of Washington Roebling, the little-remembered and rather strange man who built it, the feat of raising such a bridge took over a dozen years of his life--and nearly killed him . . . Chief Engineer also sheds light on matters beyond engineering . . . Where she unquestionably succeeds is in bringing to life, and very probably bringing to the public's attention for the first time in generations, the name--and rather peculiar life--of a man who deserves his place on the top tier of the pantheon of engineers." **** - The Sunday Telegraph "In this engrossing biography. . . Wagner writes detailed, lucid descriptions of the technological advances that made the bridge possible. . . . Wagner grounds her fine study of the human side of industrial progress in patient devotion to science and craft." - Publishers Weekly "With contemporary notes, clippings, and letters, too, [Chief Engineer] makes a fascinating tale . . . A sturdy, illuminating biography." - Kirkus Reviews "A well-judged and well-written portrait." - Booklist "Chief Engineer was made possible by the discovery of an unpublished memoir at Rutgers University and Wagner has mined it well. She tells the story with the thoroughness of Roebling's calculations: the book is as robust in structure and fine in detail as the bridge itself and, like its subject, unlikely to be bettered. It is immaculately researched, meticulously written but exciting and evocative too ." - Spectator "In her bravura book about its creation . . . The magnificent book by Wagner, an NS contributing writer, focuses on the two men responsible for building the edifice: John A Roebling and his patriotically named son Washington." - New Statesman "Powerful." - The Observer "The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time, as well as a great work of public art. Its chief engineer is equally compelling and Erica Wagner brings him and his complicated world to life." - Ken Burns, filmmaker, "Brooklyn Bridge" and "The Civil War" "In this keenly observed and deeply felt biography, Erica Wagner brings Washington Roebling to life, examining both the rigorous mathematics and the complex psychology involved in envisioning one of mankind's greatest built monuments. The narrative is intensely absorbing, the prose tremendously clear, and the characters genuinely unforgettable. This is history of the first order." - Andrew Solomon, author of THE NOONDAY DEMON and FAR FROM THE TREE "Erica Wagner's account of Washington Roebling, the man who built America's most famous bridge, is a classic, as lovingly and meticulously constructed as the bridge itself. It is a triumph of a book." - Simon Winchester, author of PACIFIC and WHEN THE EARTH SHAKES "Erica Wagner has given us a captivating and highly readable portrait of Washington Roebling, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Her book should put to rest once and for all in the general reader's mind any confusion between the relative contributions of Washington and those of his father, John, to that monumental engineering project." - Henry Petroski, Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University; author of ENGINEERS OF DREAMS, "Erica Wagner's first book is an enviable achievement." - The Telegraph on GRAVITY "Wagner's voice is lean and cool . . . an impressive debut from a writer of ability and promise." - The Times on GRAVITY "Wagner--knowledgeable, perceptive, and wise--guides us gracefully through Hughes's poems so that we see with new clarity his responses to his life with Plath, and to her lamentable death." - starred review, Kirkus on ARIEL'S GIFT "For anyone interested in the relationship between art and life, and drawn to the Hughes-Plath legend, Ariel's Gift will be required reading." - Elaine Showalter "Lyrical, compelling, profoundly unsettling, Seizure is a novel like no other. Through her extraordinary weaving of fable, fantasy, and the familiar, Erica Wagner has created an unforgettable world." - Claire Messud, "Wagner-knowledgeable, perceptive, and wise-guides us gracefully through Hughes's poems so that we see with new clarity his responses to his life with Plath, and to her lamentable death." - Kirkus Reviews on Ariel's Gift "For anyone interested in the relationship between art and life, and drawn to the Hughes-Plath legend, Ariel's Gift will be required reading." -Elaine Showalter"Lyrical, compelling, profoundly unsettling, Seizure is a novel like no other. Through her extraordinary weaving of fable, fantasy, and the familiar, Erica Wagner has created an unforgettable world." -Claire Messud, "Ms. Wagner''s writing is graceful, even evocative, conveying a mellow admiration of Washington Roebling that suits the man . . . A welcome tribute to the persistence, precision and humanity of Washington Roebling and a love-song for the mighty New York bridge he built." - Wall Street Journal "[A] solidly constructed biography of Washington Roebling, the man who joined Brooklyn to Manhattan by the grace of a steel and concrete arc held aloft by a filigree of wire. It is a book about connection, but also about disconnection--the lifelong divide between Roebling and his father, John Roebling, also a celebrated engineer, and the son''s struggle to detach himself from the elder man''s influence." - The Economist "Compelling and elegant . . . [an] exploration of the life of Washington Roebling, the engineer whose energy and ideas got the Brooklyn Bridge built . . . the story not just of two engineers, father and son, but also of a son who survived treatment that, as he wrote in a private memoir at the end of the 19th century, could have led to his death . . . [a] powerful book." - The Guardian "As we learn from Chief Engineer , Erica Wagner''s highly original biography of Washington Roebling, the little-remembered and rather strange man who built it, the feat of raising such a bridge took over a dozen years of his life--and nearly killed him . . . Chief Engineer also sheds light on matters beyond engineering . . . Where she unquestionably succeeds is in bringing to life, and very probably bringing to the public''s attention for the first time in generations, the name--and rather peculiar life--of a man who deserves his place on the top tier of the pantheon of engineers." **** - The Sunday Telegraph "In this engrossing biography. . . Wagner writes detailed, lucid descriptions of the technological advances that made the bridge possible. . . . Wagner grounds her fine study of the human side of industrial progress in patient devotion to science and craft." - Publishers Weekly "With contemporary notes, clippings, and letters, too, [Chief Engineer] makes a fascinating tale . . . A sturdy, illuminating biography." - Kirkus Reviews "A well-judged and well-written portrait." - Booklist "Chief Engineer was made possible by the discovery of an unpublished memoir at Rutgers University and Wagner has mined it well. She tells the story with the thoroughness of Roebling''s calculations: the book is as robust in structure and fine in detail as the bridge itself and, like its subject, unlikely to be bettered. It is immaculately researched, meticulously written but exciting and evocative too ." - Spectator "In her bravura book about its creation . . . The magnificent book by Wagner, an NS contributing writer, focuses on the two men responsible for building the edifice: John A Roebling and his patriotically named son Washington." - New Statesman "Powerful." - The Observer "The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time, as well as a great work of public art. Its chief engineer is equally compelling and Erica Wagner brings him and his complicated world to life." - Ken Burns, filmmaker, "Brooklyn Bridge" and "The Civil War" "In this keenly observed and deeply felt biography, Erica Wagner brings Washington Roebling to life, examining both the rigorous mathematics and the complex psychology involved in envisioning one of mankind''s greatest built monuments. The narrative is intensely absorbing, the prose tremendously clear, and the characters genuinely unforgettable. This is history of the first order." - Andrew Solomon, author of THE NOONDAY DEMON and FAR FROM THE TREE "Erica Wagner''s account of Washington Roebling, the man who built America''s most famous bridge, is a classic, as lovingly and meticulously constructed as the bridge itself. It is a triumph of a book., "In this engrossing biography. . . Wagner writes detailed, lucid descriptions of the technological advances that made the bridge possible. . . . Wagner grounds her fine study of the human side of industrial progress in patient devotion to science and craft." - Publishers Weekly "With contemporary notes, clippings, and letters, too, [ Chief Engineer ] makes a fascinating tale . . . A sturdy, illuminating biography." - Kirkus Reviews "A well-judged and well-written portrait." - Booklist "The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time, as well as a great work of public art. Its chief engineer is equally compelling and Erica Wagner brings him and his complicated world to life." - Ken Burns, filmmaker, "Brooklyn Bridge" and "The Civil War" "In this keenly observed and deeply felt biography, Erica Wagner brings Washington Roebling to life, examining both the rigorous mathematics and the complex psychology involved in envisioning one of mankind's greatest built monuments. The narrative is intensely absorbing, the prose tremendously clear, and the characters genuinely unforgettable. This is history of the first order." - Andrew Solomon, author of THE NOONDAY DEMON and FAR FROM THE TREE "Erica Wagner's account of Washington Roebling, the man who built America's most famous bridge, is a classic, as lovingly and meticulously constructed as the bridge itself. It is a triumph of a book." - Simon Winchester, author of PACIFIC and WHEN THE EARTH SHAKES "Erica Wagner has given us a captivating and highly readable portrait of Washington Roebling, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Her book should put to rest once and for all in the general reader's mind any confusion between the relative contributions of Washington and those of his father, John, to that monumental engineering project." - Henry Petroski, Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University; author of ENGINEERS OF DREAMS
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Number of Pages: 384 Pages
Language: English
Publication Name: Chief Engineer : Washington Roebling, the Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Subject: United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, De, Md, NJ, NY, Pa), Artists, Architects, Photographers, Civil / Bridges, Civil / General, Science & Technology
Item Height: 1.4 in
Publication Year: 2017
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 24.7 Oz
Item Length: 9.6 in
Subject Area: Technology & Engineering, Biography & Autobiography, History
Author: Erica Wagner
Item Width: 6.4 in
Format: Hardcover
