I love that book! I was never a huge fan of history in high school, but when I read “The Great Bridge” all I could think was THIS is how history should be taught...when the story focuses on the people and the events that shaped their lives at the time they lived, it is so much more interesting that a bunch of dates and wars and treaties. I have often gone back to reread the course study that Roebling followed at Rensellear college - OMG, it was grueling. Our “higher education” standards have really gone downhill. Such a great book - I have recommended it many times.
I love that book! I was never a huge fan of history in high school, but when I read “The Great Bridge” all I could think was THIS is how history should be taught...when the story focuses on the people and the events that shaped their lives at the time they lived, it is so much more interesting that a bunch of dates and wars and treaties.
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Indeed. One of the interesting “nuggets” of knowledge I remember from the book was that when Roebling designed the cables, being a new technology, he designed them to support 10X the intended load. Good thing, as the supplier of the steel cables cheated on the materials and the cables only ended up being 5X beyond rated load.