Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge

Although I have not Golden Gate just yet, I am familiar with Mr Starr's work in his series of California and I truly enjoy what I have read so far. I am inspired by his writing and often fall back on his writing when attempting to understand my home city - London and the people.If Mr. Starr ever decides to visit London, he is more than welcome to contact me and I will give him a tour of the city.

The Golden Gate bridge is a work of art; this book isn't. It's a readable account of the bridge and the controversy around its creation. The reality is people of the San Francisco area have far more imagination, talent and sense of the future than some of their civic leaders; which is why San Francisco has "Silicon Valley" and places such as Phoenix have an abundance of empty warehouses. Every city has a choice between mediocrity and dull conformity, or greatness. Creation of a truly iconic work of art, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, is much more than a municipal debate. It defines a community for decades; a bold vision tells everyone that new ideas are welcome. Phoenix is a way station for people who are fleeing California; San Francisco is a city where people "leave their heart" when they leave. Starr does a workable job in describing creation of the bridge; he misses the spark of inspiration that is the creative genius behind its elegant design. Like many works of great art, it looked impossible as a proposal and inevitable once completed. It would help immensely to include pictures of rejected alternatives. Obviously, a copy of the Brooklyn Bridge or the cantilever of the Quebec Bridge would have been far out-of-place in expressing the California spirit. As a Canadian, California is always the "test flight" version of what the future can offer to those with the courage to embrace new ideas. It's not that Starr isn't competent; it's just that his portrayal seems somewhat less than the bridge itself.

Although this book is relatively short at about 200 pages, the author manages to cover the history of the Golden Gate, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge and the people involved in the creation of the bridge.The author begins with the geologic creation of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate itself and progresses through the hunt to find the bay and the opening to the sea that the Spanish had sought for so many decades. He then moves into a brief discussion of the city and the need for a bridge from the city to the Marin Headlands.Once in the twentieth century, the author inter weaves the story of the need and desire for the bridge with the story of it's development, design, and the political fighting that occurred to keep any bridge from being built. It is amazing how many different groups had an interest in keeping a bridge from being built. From the design stage, the author details the actual construction and financing of the bridge and explores how it was built with private money in a time when all such projects were public works projects. As contrast, the author compares it with the Oakland-Bay Bridge which was under construction at about the same time with federal and state monies.The author ends the book with a little of the sociology of the bridge, including the inspiration it provides for artists and the use of the bridge by people wanting to commit suicide.If you are looking for the detailed history of the bridge, then you will be disappointed with this book. If, however, you are interested in more than just the nuts and bolts of the construction of the bridge, you will love this book. It is well written, concise and very enjoyable. In addition, there are about 8 pages of spectacular color photographs includ

I bought this book based on an NPR interview I heard in anticipation of the 75th anniversary of the GG Bridge and found it to be utterly engaging. It is an intimate, poetic and comprehensive accounting of not only the design and development of the bridge, but at least some of the political machinations involved in the creation of it. I would have liked to have seen more photos of the actual construction in its various stages, as outlined in the book----thus, the 4 stars----but I felt I gained a deeper understanding of the impact the Great Depression had on the Bay Area, the social movements of the times, and the parallels between the construction of this and the Bay Bridge, as a result of having read it. If you have an interest in learning more about this iconic structure, I would recommend Mr. Starr's Golden Gate as an easily accessible place to start.

This book is relatively short but is a well written book by a noted California historian. It covers a number of topics outside the actual design and construction of the bridge, the most memorable of which will always (to me) be the chapter on suicides. The details it provides on many suicides by leapers from the bridge railing, are a grim reminder of the opportunity for suicide that the bridge creates and the seemingly impulsive leaps to death that no doubt would not have occurred if there had been some deterrent (eg,screen/nets) to jumping.I also appreciated the chapter on "Art" which closes the book and places in perspective the iconic nature of The Bridge.As it should, the book also gives Charles Ellis his due as the true 'design' architect of the bridge, but this book in no way supplants such books as "The Gate" by John Van Der Zee for those who want more detailed history of design and construction of man's ultimate complementary contribution to the magnificence of nature.