High Steel: The Daring Men Who Built the World's Greatest Skyline

by Jim Rasenberger

With the birth of the steel-frame skyscraper in the late nineteenth century came a new breed of man, as bold and untamed as any this country had ever known. These "cowboys of the skies," as one journalist called them, were the structural ironworkers who walked steel beams -- no wider, often, than the face of a hardcover book -- hundreds of feet above ground, to raise the soaring towers and vaulting bridges that so abruptly transformed America in the twentieth century.

Many early ironworkers were former sailors, new Americans of Irish and Scandinavian descent accustomed to climbing tall ships' masts and schooled in the arts of rigging. Others came from a small Mohawk Indian reservation on the banks of the St. Lawrence River or from a constellation of seaside towns in Newfoundland. What all had in common were fortitude, courage, and a short life expectancy. "We do not die," went an early ironworkers' motto. "We are killed."

High Steel is the stirring epic of these men and of the icons they built -- and are building still. Shifting between past and present, Jim Rasenberger travels back to the earliest iron bridges and buildings of the nineteenth century; to the triumph of the Brooklyn Bridge and the 1907 tragedy of the Quebec Bridge, where seventy-five ironworkers, including thirty-three Mohawks, lost their lives in an instant; through New York's skyscraper boom of the late 1920s, when ironworkers were hailed as "industrial age heroes." All the while, Rasenberger documents the lives of several contempor-ary ironworkers raising steel on a twenty-first-century skyscraper, the Time Warner building in New York City.

This is a fast-paced, bare-knuckled portrait of vivid personalities, containing episodes of startling violence (as when ironworkers dynamited the Los Angeles Times building in 1910) and exhilarating adventure. In the end, High Steel is also a moving account of brotherhood and family. Many of those working in the trade today descend from multigenerational dynasties of ironworkers. As they walk steel, they follow in the footsteps of their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers.

We've all had the experience of looking at a par-ticularly awe-inspiring bridge or building and wondering, How did they do that? Jim Rasenberger asks -- and answers -- the question behind the question: What sort of person would willingly scale such heights, take such chances, face such danger? The result is a depiction of the American working class as it has seldom appeared in literature: strong, proud, autonomous, enduring, and utterly compelling.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Architecture, Technology, Construction, New York, Travel

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Very interesting subject. I have a few issues with organization and stuffing the book with things that aren’t necessary or should be in another book. Rasenberger says this is all about the steelworkers, but the average reader needs background info on the history of the work, and that he provides—the creation of steel, pertinent social history and architecture. High Steel is also filled with fun facts like highest (note the book is now 20 years old) and earliest, the bridges that trained the skyscraper men, and the specific dangers these brave men face.

The story of the men and ethnic groups is fascinating. Bridges and buildings in the United States and NYC in particular are noted for families of Kahnawake Mohawks from Quebec and a select group of Newfoundlanders, as well as New Yorkers of Irish and Norwegian descent there from the beginnings of tall steel buildings and bridges. There are many great early photos and professional photos from the 1920s and 30s, but if you read this in ebook form don’t expect to see them in your copy. Use the internet; there are many amazing things to see such as men sitting far above New York on steel girders eating out of lunch boxes.

The history of the building of the Twin Towers and their sad demise is well covered. Many of the same men who were at the towers from day one were there the day they fell to clear the dangerous and toxic rubble.

Evolution of labor laws and unions is naturally here. I had some issues with the length and distractions like jumbled dates and too many repetitious trips to Newfoundland. Steel working on high rise buildings remains a very dangerous job. Rasenberger suggests that after 9/11 building might turn toward new concrete structures. Since the book was written, I don’t think that has happened in NYC or the rest of the world with the Supertalls. In fact, as the author points out, the Twins did not fall because of steel problems. The extreme heat and fire caused the collapses. Steelworkers are still in business. Rasenberger’s questionable suggestion that the men have been racist and on the wrong side of political correctness is unnecessary.

The very saddest thing in the ebook is the frame shaped blanks where photos should be. It’s like looking at an art gallery with blank spaces where paintings are missing. I’m sure this was not the author’s doing though.

[Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good book about history, working men, union strife, death, danger and human inventions/breakthroughs, but with all the potential that was here for this to be a spectacular historical book, it sadly fell far short of that achievement. I was very disappointed. This book had snippets of brilliance smattered throughout, but not consistent enough to maintain interest. I did like the back and forth between past and present, I did like the historical aspects of Chicago, various bridges and the union bombings and other union unrest to flesh out this book, but often the other extraneous things, such as more than 10 pages about the history of Newfoundland as an attempt to flesh out one ironworker was just plain boring. Excellent idea for a novel, but this was not executed up to the potential.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating Read.

For starters, I know nothing about steel workers/ironworkers so when I first came across this book, I thought "What can you really say about steel that would fill even a short book" but I was curious enough to order the free sample anyway. I was rather amused as I figured I'd open the sample pages to see either something ridiculously obvious such as "Steel is very heavy and hard..." or else something to do with calculations and math that I wouldn't understand anyway. I was wrong!
What I found instead is a quite fascinating and very informative book that spans back well over a hundred years until after the World Trade Center attack on 9/11/2001. It covers several geographic locations including Newfoundland, Quebec, New York City, Chicago and California. And it describes the various cultures and their involvement as they work on various projects such as bridges and the beginnings of skyscrapers in Manhattan.
I learned that it was not at all uncommon for the men in families to follow each other into the trade going back several generations just as in other jobs where a father might be a firefighter as he marries and starts his family. Then his son decides to go into it beginning as a junior firefighter and years later, a grandson or granddaughter follows. And similar to some other professions, these folks spend many hours together, form a bond that is critical in terms of knowing there is someone that "has your back" just as you have theirs.
I say "critical" because working high up on steel beams, fitting and connecting them together once the cranes lift them up to you, anything could happen --and back then especially it did. Sometimes a worker would reach out a little too far or leave something behind accidentally on a beam they'd been working on and someone else could come along and trip. Men lost fingertips, limbs, the ability to walk ever again, broken bones and lives. I personally can't imagine it but many wouldn't use any safety harnesses and truly seemed to have no fear a hundred or more feet in the air or high up spanning a bridge with steel cables.
In addition, the book covers some moments of crisis or disasters such as the collapse of a huge bridge in Quebec early on and the aforementioned attacks and subsequent collapse of the WTC Twin Towers. Weather can be a factor as you can probably imagine. Wind can be bad at ground level so I can only imagine what it might be like 120 feet up in the air standing unprotected on a beam only a few inches wide. Or during a rain storm due to rain making the surface of steel quite slippery.
I enjoyed this book and it held my attention easily despite it being a little repetitive here and there. Would definitely recommend.

[Kim Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating construction blending stories of iron workers and their lineages, while following the historical developments in the use of steel in building bridges and skyscrapers. The personal stories of sons, fathers and grandfathers all choosing to face down danger, almost certain serious injury, to reap the rewards of manly camaraderie, and shared experience, doing a job few would ever consider doing. Very enjoyable! I was disappointed the Kindle version did not include the photographic images printed in the actual book.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging story - read most of the book in 2 days.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+. Brief history of American ironworkers.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides insight into a type of work and an industry of which I knew nothing about.

[Amy Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Let me understand what Ironworkers do.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does have some good information, but unfortunately, it drastically bounces back and forth between decades, centuries, people, and locations. To legthen the book, sometimes more background knowledge was added as fluff - looking at you Newfoundland seal fishery.

[Pete Sikora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad dudes slingin' steel - the book is a good history of steel construction. There is a lot of focus on the tough guy ironworker culture. The ironworkers come off as slightly crazy - who else would work such a dangerous job?

Overall tho, there's not a lot of there to this book. It's a good quick read, but ultimately unsatisfying... you expect more, but the book isn't a closer. On the other hand, it's not boring at all... keeps the pages turning.

I would have liked more analysis of the ironworkers' political culture. The best part is a brief section on hardhats beating up Vietnam war protesters.

[Richp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the structural steelworkers themselves. As such I found it good, not great. There is some limited background on building design, economics, and the vast number of other workers, but that material I found to be weak.

The author's political biases intrude from time to time, but that is to be expected: Rasenberger was a NY Times reporter when he put together this book. During this period, the NYT was one of the lead media organizations lying to the US public in order to kill millions of people.

[Michael Haydel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, like Triangle, was great because of the time period it focuses on.

While this book does discuss skyscraper construction up to more recent buildings, it is the tales of the men who built the Chrysler Building, or the Empire State Building, that are the most harrowing.

To think those buildings, which still stand today, were built by men who risked their lives hundreds, if not thousands, of feet in the air, is just awesome.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting (to me) and informative story about men who can do construction work while hanging off buildings a thousand feet in the air. Its a history of some of the most famous buildings and bridges in the country and the people who made them, from the early 1900's to the World Trade Center. The only negative was that photos were not included in the e-book version.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting books I've ever read. This was a book I devoured, word for word. Loved it and I highly recommend it.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book! Interesting history of lives lived at height. No pictures included in the e-book version.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an Ironworker so I loved it.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing and fascinating story. I loved this book