The Making of an Icon: The Dreamers, the Schemers, and the Hard Hats Who Built the Gateway Arch, Second Edition

by Jim Merkel

With his fourth book from Reedy Press, The Making of an Icon, Jim Merkel captured the spirit behind the conception and construction of one of America’s most distinctive and beloved national monuments. More than two million visitors stand in awe at the Gateway Arch each year, and the stories behind it were unearthed in breathless detail in the first edition. Back with even more lore and the addition of beautiful color images, Merkel brings new information on the Arch grounds and museum to this updated and revised second edition. Now expanded, his book includes more stories compiled from interviews with the visionaries, finaglers, protesters, and intrepid workers who built the arch while one misstep away from a fatal fall. Merkel’s book will help us appreciate the relentless pursuit, innovation, and toil that raised the Arch to the sky.

Jim Merkel grew up in St. Louis where he watched the progress of construction on the Gateway Arch with his father in the 1960s. He is the author of The Colorful Characters of St. Louis, Hoosiers and Scrubby St. Louis’s South Side, and Beer, Brats, and German-Americans in St. Louis. He has appeared on KWMU, KDHX, and Fox 2’s News in the Morning, among other programs. For more information, visit www.jimmerkelthewriter.com.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2014

Reviews

[Lillian VanBennekom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best written, but thoroughly enjoyable and informative!

[Melissa Stutsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very educational read on the making of the St. Louis Arch.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 1/2 of the book is very interesting, it's about the politics of making the St. Louis Arch. That part of the book is 4 stars. The second half of the book is filler (and I skipped large parts of it), that part is 3 stars. I gave the book 4 stars since I really enjoyed the first part.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, if fairly basic, read. Very enjoyable, but in more of a "trivia" way...