Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling

Review

"Richard Haw's Engineering America...succeeds as a remarkable work of primary source scholarship, one that brings Roebling to life in all his human complexity...[with] care and empathy....A great strength of Haw's analysis derives from his engagement with the cultural, social, and economic context of Roebling's life....For those most interested in Roebling's work as a designer/builder of suspension bridges, Engineering America will not disappoint." -- Donald C. Jackson, Technology and Culture"A remarkable work of primary source scholarship" -- Donald C. Jackson, Technology and Culture"Readers have had to wait a century and a half for a definitive biography of America s great engineer, John Roebling; now we have a page-turner in Richard Haw s Engineering America. And, as if a bonus for our patience, we have also in this very readable book an insightful biography of Roebling-era wire suspension bridges, culminating in the masterpieces of Roebling himself. This is a work it was worth waiting for."--Henry Petroski, author of Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America"Like one of John Roebling s bridges, Richard Haw s biography rests on deep foundations of research in Germany and the United States, a knowledge of the complexity of engineering, and an awareness of the social uses and philosophical implications of technology. This definitive work is as grand as its subject is great."--David E. Nye, author of American Technological Sublime"Richard Haw's compelling biography is a portrait of a nineteenth-century titan. German-born John Roebling was a true American visionary, the man who made revolutionary suspension bridges, but more than that too: a scholar, a philosopher, a man driven to extremes by passion and the ceaseless thirst for knowledge. This, at last, is the book the great John Roebling deserves, restoring him to his proper place among the significant men and women who built America and the world."--Erica Wagner, author of Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge"The suspension bridges of John A. Roebling are among the most beautiful of all the engineering works produced in nineteenth-century America; somehow the simple, slender cables hold up a roadway as each bridge spans a broad expanse of water. But to achieve both beauty and simplicity in his bridges, Roebling had to orchestrate a complex mix of natural forces, new materials, politics, and money. In this thoughtful biography, Richard Haw not only traces the complexity of Roebling s bridges but also reveals how each design reflected the complexity of his personality and passions."--W. Bernard Carlson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age"This lengthy biography of a civil engineer who significantly impacted history should engage anyone interested in inventions and engineering."--Library Journal

About the Author

Richard Haw is Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. He is the author of The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History and Art of the Brooklyn Bridge: A Visual History.