The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge

Having been over the Golden Gate Bridge only a few times, including running the San Francisco Marathon, and having read this book, I now want to go back and really look at this beautiful bridge with the appreciation it deserves. What a story, what an accomplishment. What a moment in our history. What a collection of talented and determined people, some flawed, but all caught up in this amazing monument. No computers, no automation, just genius and determination.This is a great account of all the characters, the maneuverings, the incredible challenges. The descriptions of the construction, the various materials used, their fabrication, the unbelievable difficulties of construction, all come together and provide what a thousand pictures cannot. The narrative stands on its own and creates the imagery in your mind.To visualize the Gate, the bay opening to the Pacific, before the bridge, I can only think that this is one time that a structure actually improved a natural and beautiful landscape. This book gives you every reason to have confidence in the possibilities of our shared abilities, and in those who push to excel and exceed.

Fascinating story. Reminds me of a similar book on building the interstate highway system. The engineering and construction issues can be solved by intelligent people working together. The political and ego driven issues, exacerbated by the financial demands of such a large project, create the frustration, drama and conflict that seem to plague all ideas for improving our infrastructure even today. The story is strong on the human dynamics, less so on the more interesting technical matters as the explanations do not clarify as effectively as they could. Illustrations and photos also weak in this regard. Still, a great read. Further, the bookseller, in this case Farm_for_ Books, delivered an excellent physical copy that was very well packaged and arrived exactly as ordered. Recommend both the book and the bookseller.

If you want to know the backstabbing, dirty politics and personal ego surrounding the creation of a world icon, this book is for you. For construction specifics, try MacCauley's "Building Big", which has an excellent treatment of the Golden Gate 's construction.

I've worked for the City for over a decade and it's hilarious how the political battles haven't changed in 50 years. This is a great book and provides wonderful insights into how big projects happen. . . how all the personalities, vested interests, hidden agendas, and press coverage conspire to cripple a great idea. I admire the strength and creativity of the people involved and their efforts are simply inspiring.Others have noted that the photo reproduction is pretty marginal, and I agree. I would love to see the book reissued with high quality images but I'm sure it would be prohibitively expensive. Regardless, this is a great book.

I received the book in the time indicated with the original order. The book was in good condition and appeared to have originally been with the Palo Alto Public Library. It had a dust cover with no marks or damage done to the pages or elsewhere. I througly enjoyed reading the book, as I have long had an interest in major bridge projects and other civil type projects.

Good history of the bay area's icon - be prepared for a LOT of politics. It's a wonder it ever got built.

A very detailed, text book like, account of the politics, funding, and construction of the bridge. Found some of it a labor to read but if you want to know all about the bridge this book is a good read.

This is an excellent narrative of the building of the Golden Gate bridge. Unfortunately, the number (few) and quality (poor) of the illustrations do not match the excellent and detailed written descriptions of the technical aspects of the bridge. Since it is a paperback, the type of paper used limits the quality of illustrations and overall, it was somewhat of a disappointment.