"Bridges have fascinated humans for centuries: they symbolize cities and represent power, wealth, and grandeur in their strength and soaring forms; they cross barriers--physical, cultural, and spirtual. They are a metaphor for relationships between people. In this absorbing account, David Blockley celebrates the science, art, and craft; the engineering skills and the teamwork involved in building a bridge. Taking us through the flow of forces in structures such as arches and beams, he leaves the reader able to 'read any bridge like a book'." --Page [4] cover.
From the community