The George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge
Author: Michael Aaron Rockland
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2020-01-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813594626

Since opening in 1931, the George Washington Bridge, linking New York and New Jersey, has become the busiest bridge in the world, with 103 million vehicles crossing it in 2016. Many people also consider it the most beautiful bridge in the world, yet remarkably little has been written about this majestic structure. Intimate and engaging, this revised and expanded edition of Michael Rockland's rich narrative presents perspectives on the GWB, as it is often called, that span history, architecture, engineering, transportation, design, the arts, politics, and even post-9/11 mentalities. This new edition brings new insight since its initial publication in 2008, including a new chapter on the infamous “Bridgegate” Chris Christie-era scandal of 2013, when members of the governor's administration shut down access to the bridge, causing a major traffic jam and scandal and subsequently helping undermine Christie’s candidacy for the US presidency. Stunning photos, from when the bridge was built in the late 1920s through the present, are a powerful complement to the bridge's history. Rockland covers the competition between the GWB and the Brooklyn Bridge that parallels the rivalry between New Jersey and New York City. Readers will learn about the Swiss immigrant Othmar Ammann, an unsung hero who designed and built the GWB, and how a lack of funding during the Depression dictated the iconic, uncovered steel beams of its towers, which we admire today. There are chapters discussing accidents on the bridge, such as an airplane crash landing in the westbound lanes and the sad story of suicides off its span; the appearance of the bridge in media and the arts; and Rockland's personal adventures on the bridge, including scaling its massive towers on a cable. Movies, television shows, songs, novels, countless images, and even PlayStation 2 games have aided the GWB in becoming a part of the global popular culture. This tribute will captivate residents living in the shadow of the GWB, the millions who walk, jog, bike, skate, or drive across it, as well as tourists and those who will visit it someday. .

The Bridge

The Bridge
Author: Bill Konigsberg
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1338325051

Two teenagers, strangers to each other, have decided to jump from the same bridge at the same time. But what results is far from straightforward in this absorbing, honest lifesaver from acclaimed author Bill Konigsberg. Aaron and Tillie don't know each other, but they are both feeling suicidal, and arrive at the George Washington Bridge at the same time, intending to jump. Aaron is a gay misfit struggling with depression and loneliness. Tillie isn't sure what her problem is -- only that she will never be good enough.On the bridge, there are four things that could happen:Aaron jumps and Tillie doesn't.Tillie jumps and Aaron doesn't.They both jump.Neither of them jumps.Or maybe all four things happen, in this astonishing and insightful novel from Bill Konigsberg.

Tar Beach

Tar Beach
Author: Faith Ringgold
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 19
Release: 2020-08-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0593377869

CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD WINNER • CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK Acclaimed artist Faith Ringgold seamless weaves fiction, autobiography, and African American history into a magical story that resonates with the universal wish for freedom, and will be cherished for generations. Cassie Louise Lightfoot has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on “tar beach,” the rooftop of her family’s Harlem apartment building, her dreams come true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city, claiming the buildings and the city as her own. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. “All you need is somewhere to go you can’t get to any other way. The next thing you know, you’re flying among the stars.”

Secret Brooklyn

Secret Brooklyn
Author: Michelle Young
Publisher: Editions Jonglez
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9782361953126

Let Secret Brooklyn guide you around the unusual and unfamiliar. Step off the beaten track with this fascinating Brooklyn guide book and let our local experts show you the well-hidden treasures of an amazing borough. Ideal for local inhabitants and curious travellers alike

Bridges of the World

Bridges of the World
Author: Charles S. Whitney
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780486429953

"A book to delight the heart and eye of a pontist whether he be an admirer and lover of bridges or a designer and builder. . . ."--Saturday Review of LiteratureThis profusely illustrated work describes the fundamental principles involved in the design of bridges, presents the historical background of the modern bridge, and includes a profusion of illustrations documenting bridges of all types. Spans from around the world are depicted, among them Lucerne's medieval Kapellbrücke; the magnificent Maximiliansbrücke in Munich; the unusual "honeycomb" bridge between Orr's Island and Bailey Island off the Maine coast; and the George Washington Bridge, at the time of its construction, the world's longest steel suspension bridge. 401 black-and-white illustrations.

¡Viva George!

¡Viva George!
Author: Elaine A. Peña
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1477321446

Since 1898, residents of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, have reached across the US-Mexico border to celebrate George Washington's birthday. The celebration can last a whole month, with parade goers reveling in American and Mexican symbols; George Washington saluting; and “Pocahontas” riding on horseback. An international bridge ceremony, the heart and soul of the festivities, features children from both sides of the border marching toward each other to link the cities with an embrace. ¡Viva George! offers an ethnography and a history of this celebration, which emerges as both symbol and substance of cross-border community life. Anthropologist and Laredo native Elaine A. Peña shows how generations of border officials, civil society organizers, and everyday people have used the bridge ritual to protect shared economic and security interests as well as negotiate tensions amid natural disasters, drug-war violence, and immigration debates. Drawing on previously unknown sources and extensive fieldwork, Peña finds that border enactments like Washington's birthday are more than goodwill gestures. From the Rio Grande to the 38th Parallel, they do the meaningful political work that partisan polemics cannot.

George Washington's 1791 Southern Tour

George Washington's 1791 Southern Tour
Author: Warren L. Bingham
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2016-02-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1625857535

This account of the first president’s trip to unite a young America “follows Washington’s travels day-by-day with detailed information about each stop” (Daily Herald). Newly elected president George Washington set out to visit the new nation aware that he was the singular unifying figure in America. The journey’s finale was the Southern Tour, begun in March 1791. The long and arduous trek from the capital, Philadelphia, passed through seven states and the future Washington, DC. But the focus was on Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The president kept a rigorous schedule, enduring rugged roads and hazardous water crossings. His highly anticipated arrival in each destination was a community celebration with countless teas, parades, dinners, and dances. Author Warren Bingham reveals the history and lore of the most beloved American president and his survey of the newly formed southern United States. Includes photos

The Roebling Legacy

The Roebling Legacy
Author: Clifford W. Zink
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Wire-rope industry
ISBN: 9780615428055

THE ROEBLING LEGACY portrays the story of the Roeblings, from the great immigrant engineer John A. Roebling and his quest to design the Brooklyn Bridge, to his son Washington A. Roebling, who built the bridge with help from his wife Emily Warren Roebling, and since it opened in 1883 has become became the universal symbol of New York. The story spans four generations of the Roeblings through their bridge building and the family business, the John A. Roebling's Sons Company of Trenton, N.J., that developed and produced innovative wire rope and wire products for many emerging technologies over a 125 year period. The Roeblings built the great cables of many landmark suspension bridges, including the George Washington andGolden Gate Bridges, and they built the town of Roebling, N.J., which David McCullough has called "one of the best planned industrial towns ever built in America, a model in every respect." Today the town is thriving with a new Roebling Museum and Roebling factory buildings in Trenton have been adapted for new a variety of new uses.

Six Bridges

Six Bridges
Author: Darl Rastorfer
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2000-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0300080476

Othmar Ammann created six long-span bridges in New York, as part of the region's interstate highway system. They came to define an epoch and shape the modern New York metropolis. This book shows the physical transformation of the city, the construction and the completed bridges.

American Governor

American Governor
Author: Matt Katz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2016-01-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476782687

The ultimate insider to Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign delivers a definitive biography of the popular and controversial governor of New Jersey—including the true story behind the Bridgegate lane-closure scandal. Journalist Matt Katz has been covering Christie since 2011 and has seen firsthand how the governor appeals to the public through his tactics, rhetoric, and personality. In American Governor, Katz weaves a compelling on-the-ground political narrative that begins with the roots of his family’s journey to America and takes us through his upset victory over Governor Jon Corzine and then along the road to his announcement of his candidacy for the highest office in the country. Packed with exclusive information, interviews, and anecdotes, American Governor illustrates how Christie evolved from an unpopular perennial candidate running for local office to the most watched Republican in the country, a populist with leadership skills, charm, and luck seemingly unparalleled by any other up-and-coming politician. Christie has proven himself a dynamic force of nature by emerging wounded but not unbowed after Bridgegate—a scandal that would have destroyed another politician’s rising star. A political biography by an inside source who’s been on the Chris Christie beat longer than any reporter in New Jersey, American Governor is a thrilling and absorbing look at the modern making of a man and a politician.