Eiffel: The Genius Who Reinvented Himself

by David I. Harvie

Book Overview

David Harvie tells the story of Gustave Eiffel and of the conception, and controversial construction of the tower that bears his name, perhaps the most famous tall building in the world. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750933097
• ISBN13: 9780750933094
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing
• Length: 289 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

engineer of dreams

We owe Eiffel a great debt just for his Paris tower, but who has heard of his stupendous viaduct at Garabit? His works should be more widely know and this new biography goes some way down that path. It is a well researched book, and exposes much about him as a methodical and systematic engineer who created structures of outstanding beauty and integrity. And he cared about the workers who actually built his designs, a rarity in Victorian times. The book can be criticised for being too brief about his achievements, especially the engineering principles which guided him through his career. And the illustrations are frustratingly sparse and unimaginative for his creations. Some of the early works, for example, are the dramatic viaducts on the Gannat railway, and surely deserve modern pictures (they are still standing and still carrying trains). The book deserves a wide readership, but the defintive bio of Eiffel has yet to be written.

It's the perfect pick for a general-interest lending library collection.

Eiffel: The Genius Who Reinvented Himself isn't just for history buffs: it's an excellent survey of an architect's unique challenges producing a tower which combined the needs of art and industry alike, and as such will appeal beyond history audiences into the arts. Those who know little about Eiffel other than his associations with his famous tower will be fascinated to learn of his collaboration on the Statue of Liberty and the locks for the French Panama Canal, as well as other endeavors. It's the perfect pick for a general-interest lending library collection. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch