The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge

by John van der Zee

The Gate is an absorbing panoramic account of the building of one of the world's most beautiful and famous landmarks. In a narrative richly laden with detail and the flavor of the period, John van der Zee reveals for the first time the complete history of the longest single-span suspension bridge of its time-including the identity of the man who actually designed it, which has been obscured since its completion in 1937.With novelistic flair, van der Zee recounts an exciting drama of human greed, ambition, frailty, courage, and intellectual achievement."It is among the top books on California I have ever read."-Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California and author of Americans and the California Dream"A case study of personal and technological adventure bordering on hubris...The engineers in this bok come alive as people, with all the faults and foibles associated iwth the human species. A fascinating work that shows that the best of cutting-edge engineering is much, much more than science and technology."-Henri Petroski, Nature

Genres: History, Engineering, Nonfiction

388 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[ALLEN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid and well-researched overview of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and its technical and political background, with ample drawings and charts. My two misgivings: it's a little too long, and (even so) there's not a single color plate in the book. Along with its unique Art Deco design, this bridge gave the world its distinguishing feature, "Delux International Orange," so that's a real shame. Hence, four stars instead of five.

[Stephen Rech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this AFTER The Great Bridge by McCullough and consider then Roebling wire company and engineering that went into the gate bridge years later.

[georginagem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Would have been 5 stars if only it were available in a better format, rather than this poor quality print on demand reproduction. I've visited the Bridge three times in my life so far and am about to go back to run across it in the San Francisco Marathon next weekend. Reading this book has enhanced my tremendous love for this captivating structure!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly researched book about the history of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. It described in great detail the political and engineering struggles faced by bridge constructors and how they overcame every obstacle.

[Patrick Probably DNF · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would be an adequate text for a grade school course on the subject, were it not 60% filled with political discussions and needless backstory.

[Pat Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and it's politics and adventures. The mystery of who actually designed the bridge but wasn't really compensated nor recognized for it. The promoter who worked on that for years before anything was committed to. Pretty good stuff.

[Richard]

Very informative