Bridges

I've been reading Dan Simmons' newest novel, Black Hills. I'm a fan of his work, especially The Terror. Black Hills is historical fiction told by a Lakota Sioux man named Paha Sapa. Some of the backdrops in this story are Custer's Last Stand(1876), the building of the Brooklyn Bridge(finished in 1883), and the Chicago World's Fair (1893), and the blasting of the Black Hills to make Mount Rushmore (first opened in 1916). Without giving too much away, I'll just say that the descriptions are wonderful. This story is rich, amazing, and thought-provoking. I'm sad every time I have to stop reading to do things like work, study, or sleep.

Before reading this, I had never really considered how the Brooklyn Bridge came to be. It's an incredible history filled with machines, hard labor, death, and nearly impossible dreams. And all of it sits on wooden caissons. From what I understand, they sank the caissons and the men worked inside of them. Curious about this? Here's some great places to go to know more:
Ken Burns' Brooklyn Bridge
Great Buildings: The Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge Website
Building Big-PBS databank