The Tale Of The Two Bridges

Illustrated with over 30 maps, diagrams and photos This is a story of war. A parable of men and machines, of friend and foe. A drama of moves and countermoves, played out in the skies over North Vietnam and having for its backdrop two bridges - the majestic Paul Doumer and the infamous bridge at Thanh Hoa. These bridges know well the script of war. The silent contrails high in the blue, the growing dialogue of anti-aircraft fire, the scream of engines, the thunder of bombs, all building to a crescendo. Then subsiding, only to start again in another act on another day. An old play that reopens regularly with new actors - and therein lies our tale. The curtain went up at the Thanh Hoa Bridge in April 1965, and, as the Vietnam drama unfolded, many new players made their acting debut. Fighters named “Thunderchief” and “Phantom,” missiles known as SAMs and SHRIKEs, bombs called “Walleye” and “Smart,” and the credits go on. Wild Weasel, Jolly Green, Young Tiger, and MIG Cap - all starred in our long running play as did such names as Carolina Moon and Flaming Dart. Names that flashed brightly across the stage and then were gone. Actors in a historical play that has now passed into history - leaving us to tell THE TALE OF TWO BRIDGES.

A Tale of Two Bridges is a history of two versions of the San Francisco—Oakland Bay Bridge: the original bridge built in 1936 and a replacement for the eastern half of the bridge finished in 2013. The 1936 bridge revolutionized transportation in the Bay Area and profoundly influenced settlement patterns in the region. It was also a remarkable feat of engineering. In the 1950s the American Society of Civil Engineers adopted a list of the “Seven Engineering Wonders” of the United States. The 1936 structure was the only bridge on the list, besting even the more famous Golden Gate Bridge. One of its greatest achievements was that it was built on time (in less than three years) and came in under budget. Mikesell explores in fascinating detail how the bridge was designed by a collection of the best-known engineers in the country as well as the heroic story of its construction by largely unskilled laborers from California, joined by highly skilled steel workers. By contrast, the East Span replacement, which was planned between 1989 and 1998, and built between 1998 and 2013, fell victim to cost overruns in the billions of dollars, was a decade behind schedule, and suffered from structural problems that has made it a perpetual maintenance nightmare. This is narrative history in its purest form. Mikesell excels at explaining highly technical engineering issues in language that can be understood and appreciated by general readers. Here is the story of two very important bridges, which provides a fair but uncompromising analysis of why one bridge succeeded and the other did not.

This is a personal story of living during a period of history in a New York City neighborhood that witnessed hardship,sacrifice,tragedy,discipline and an abundance of genuine happiness.

In the middle of the 60s, a North American businessman and his Realtor decided to buy the London Bridge that would be auctioned by the City of London, and then they would install it in their Real Estate venture in the middle of the Arizona Desert in the USA. This is a history of Entrepreneurship, romance, and adventure, where they bet all their chips to conclude one of the biggest real estate deals in the history facing several challenges and obstacles to dismantle the Bridge and transport it to Arizona.

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession. Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father’s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know – the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge. Then there is Ian, the family’s next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed—a little, but not enough. These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men—its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.