The Great Bridge

David McCullough's The Great Bridge is the definitive account of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough, who also narrated Ken Burns's acclaimed 1990 PBS documentary The Civil War, brings to life the Roebling family (father, son, and daughter-in-law) whose vision and sacrifice made the bridge possible. Washington Roebling directed construction from his home at 110 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, watching through a telescope while bedridden with caisson disease. The building has since been demolished.