Bridges: A History of the World's Most Famous and Important Spans

by Judith Dupre

Book Overview

Introduction by Frank O. Gehry. Opening to a dazzling full-yard span, this panoramic tour introduces more than fifty of the world's greatest bridges in 200 high-quality black-&-white photographs and an engaging text that sheds light on the historical and technological background of constructions that range from the ancient Roman Pont du Gard to the newly constructed Tsing Ma bridge in Hong Kong.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 157912660X
• ISBN13: 9781884822759
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 18.3" x 0.6" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

So often we don't even realize what we're driving on

Every day we traverse bridges in our daily lives, scarcely to give them thought. Dupre pulls back the veil and brings highlight to these engineering feats. From the simple to the revolutionary, we are brought on a tour of bridges through time, and around the globe. The superlatives are here: the longest suspension bridge, highest, oldest. But it's not a book about the superlative; it's about what moves us forward in our quest for technology, and for our ability to move across space in a timely manner. It highlights those bridges that mean something to us: where the Romans said "let's make a permanent way of moving water." Where politics came into play and tried to prevent bridges that we can't imagine not being there like the Golden Gate Bridge. Bridges become important to history such as the ones over the Rhine during the World War. And sometimes when we make mistakes and things don't work out like we planned - the most spectacular example being the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that lasted all of 4 months. But as she shows in her book "Skyscrapers," there is an intertwining of form and function, and where man built up in buildings, he builds out via bridges. The book's design even emphasizes - where Skyscrapers was an extremely tall and thin book, Bridges goes for width, to try and bring the spans into the range of the printed page. Yet so often, the task is not possible, and even on the wide pages the bridge disappears into the distance. The book looks at the engineering involved, but does not dwell on it. Rather it celebrates how the improvement of engineering practices have been able to move man forward. A veritable love poem to something that we often take too much for granted.

Bridgesite.net gives unique book 5 stars

This is a book that all bridge lovers will appreciate. It combines a unique presentation (1/2 yard long) with wonderful pictures. This book does only include general information on the bridge so if you are looking for a highly technical book this is not it. However this is a great book to have on your coffee table as your guests will enjoy the unique layout and breathtaking pictures.

wonderful pictures and interesting text

The book immediately draws interest because of its unique shape and size. About three foot long when opened, it is ideally proportioned for profile views of bridges. It is an ideal coffee table book though probably hard to manage on a shelve. It makes good viewing on one day and good reading on another. Some statistical information in the back is a useful check on bridges the reader has visited. Would consider giving it to any young civil engineer type, foreign traveler, or anyone with interest in architecture.

Wide format fun for bridge lovers!

Show an average person the Golden Gate or the Brooklyn Bridge and watch their eyes light up. Tell that average person some history or what design methods were used, and watch their eyes glaze over. History, technology and entertainment is a difficult mix, especially in print, but Judith Dupre' combines them wonderfully in "Bridges" - a worthy follow-up to her best selling "Skyscrapers". Fifty of history's most famous spans are detailed in this wonderful collage of text, photos, graphics and trivia bits. Bridges are wide, and so is this book, which measures a full 36 inches when opened. One most appealing aspect of Judith Dupre's work is the many "sidebar" views she takes of her subjects. Pages are devoted to covered bridges, portable bridges used in war, bridge catastrophes, even "Bridges in the Movies". An interview with the Guinness Book record holder for "most suspension bridges walked across" offers a personal dimension, and mirrors the passion that many readers no doubt feel for these creations. This is a fun book, suitable for the aficionado or for people who would like to enjoy the subject without being overpowered. The author is not afraid to have fun with her subject, and that makes "Bridges" a fun book you will enjoy for a long time! - Jeff Herzer

Rebuttal to comment by Mark Yashinsky

Mr. Yashinsky is a Senior Bridge Engineer at CDOT. Judith Dupre's audience is the world full of people who are NOT Senior Bridge Engineers and her mission is to present the fascinating subject of bridges to that audience. An important part of accomplishing that mission IS about marketing. My personal collection of 182 bridge books includes two volumes by Fritz Leonhardt which I hold in high regard. I am pleased to say that I also hold Judith Dupre's new book in high regard and that I think it admirably accomplishes its goal. Robert Cortright (bridgink@hevanet.com), Tigard, Oregon.