Bridges: From My Side to Yours

by Jan Adkins

Book Overview

Bridge building is given fascinating life in this accessible, wonderfully illustrated study. Ranging from ancient Rome to the present day, from simple log bridges to marvels of industrial technology, and from well-known landmarks to little-known feats of engineering and art, this book gives readers a new appreciation for that most familiar of structures, the bridge.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761325107
• ISBN13: 9780761325109
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.5" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 9 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 9

Customer Reviews

gorgeously illustrated, easy to read overview of bridge design

The author's approach to bridges is descriptive, easy to read, and gorgeously illustrated. The book includes lush illustrations and diagrams on every page. I particularly liked the later chapters on failure as a tool (Firth of Forth bridge), and the big spans (Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges). Adkins discusses social forces as well as physical forces acting on bridge design and construction, in an engaging manner. I plan to use parts of this book in my high school engineering design class as background reading on bridge design. Chapters: Stone and Wood After the Caesars Figuring Forces Iron and Steel The Big Spans Compression and Tension Glossary

A coverage of bridges around the world

Kids ages 9-13 years will find this accessible and inviting: a coverage of bridges around the world, with a healthy degree of simple engineering basics added to make the history appealing. The lively text and black and white drawings do a fine job of explaining differences between bridge construction and different builder achievements.