FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF JOHN ADAMS First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time -- the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. This monumental audiobook which presents extended unabridged passages from the book brings back a heroic vision of the America we once had. It is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events during the Age of Optimism -- a period when Americans were convinced that all great things were possible. In the years around 1870, the concept of building a great bridge to span the East River between the cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn required a vision and determination comparable to that which went into the building of the pyramids. Throughout the fourteen years of the bridge's construction, the odds against its successful completion seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives were lost, political empires fell, and surges of public emotion constantly threatened the project. But this is not merely the saga of an engineering miracle: it is a sweeping narrative of the heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or obstructing this great enterprise.