Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City

Book Description

The Roaring Twenties in New York was a time of exuberant ambition, free-flowing optimism, an explosion of artistic expression in the age of Prohibition. New York was the city that embodied the spirit and strength of a newly powerful America.

In 1924, in the vibrant heart of Manhattan, a fierce rivalry was born. Two architects, William Van Alen and Craig Severance (former friends and successful partners, but now bitter adversaries), set out to imprint their individual marks on the greatest canvas in the world--the rapidly evolving skyline of New York City. Each man desired to build the city’s tallest building, or ‘skyscraper.’ Each would stop at nothing to outdo his rival.

Van Alen was a creative genius who envisioned a bold, contemporary building that would move beyond the tired architecture of the previous century. By a stroke of good fortune he found a larger-than-life patron in automobile magnate Walter Chrysler, and they set out to build the legendary Chrysler building. Severance, by comparison, was a brilliant businessman, and he tapped his circle of downtown, old-money investors to begin construction on the Manhattan Company Building at 40 Wall Street.

From ground-breaking to bricklaying, Van Alen and Severance fought a cunning duel of wills. Each man was forced to revamp his architectural design in an attempt to push higher, to overcome his rival in mid-construction, as the structures rose, floor by floor, in record time. Yet just as the battle was underway, a third party entered the arena and announced plans to build an even larger building. This project would be overseen by one of Chrysler’s principal rivals--a representative of the General Motors group--and the building ultimately became known as The Empire State Building.
Infused with narrative thrills and perfectly rendered historical and engineering detail, Higher brings to life a sensational episode in American history. Author Neal Bascomb interweaves characters such as Al Smith and Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, leading up to an astonishing climax that illustrates one of the most ingenious (and secret) architectural achievements of all time.

Customer Reviews:

Engaging, but..........2007-08-10

I certainly enjoyed _Higher_, but it could have been a better book. Bascomb needs an editor: usages are awkward, some of the passages read as though they were padding added to a slimmer first version, and when the author steps back to sketch the bigger picture the prose, all too often, turns purple. Not altogether his fault: too many authors today try to write a movie rather than a book. Oddly, for a book about architecture and the construction of specific buildings, there are surprisingly few photos -- not that I expected or wanted a coffee table book, but the very visual story here could have been better illustrated. Those of us who like this sort of book, and I do, despite the quibbling and caviling above, should also read Daniel Okrent's _Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center_, which is every bit as interesting and a better-written book, all in all.

Great Book about Sykscrapers and NYC in the 1920's........2006-10-06

The 1920's was all about reaching new heights in America - the roaring 20's emphasized a fast-paced lifestyle where there were no limits. It was this "anything goes" attitude that led to the construction of skyscrapers in New York City that were just as much a symbol of the times as they were practical business investments. In this book that chronicles the race to be the tallest between 3 New York landmarks - the Chrysler Building, 40 Wall Street, and The Empire State Building - egos collide, markets tumble, and relationship are broken. The author weaves a very readable tale that focuses on both the financial and architectural icons who led to the construction of these buildings. If bricks and mortar also interest you, then this will do the trick as well. Throughout the book you are taken to the construction sites and learn what its like to catch a burning hot rivet a quarter mile up in the air, all while balancing on a single beam and bracing against high winds and frigid temperatures. Overall, a very good book that manages to tell the "story" of these now prominent buildings. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could.

A steal at $14.95!.......2006-07-29

This book, not only glorifies the American spirit, but serves as an excellent reference for what New York was like in the late 1920's. Through architectually acurrate, this book focuses on more that any review can project. This is the best history book I've read since the Guardians by Geoff Kabaservice.

A great story.......2006-01-09

`Higher' is the story about the race for the `highest building in the world', set in New York City in the late 1920's and early 1930's. It portrays the race between the Chrysler Building and the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building (aka 40 Wall Street, current The Trump Building), and when that is settled and done the Empire State Building moves in to beat them all. The book focuses on the architects and their commissioners, who are often self made man not shy of showing their success (which is in fact an American success) powered by the economic boom at the time. The story shows that these kind of skyscrapers really are the product of ego driven characters and economic acceleration. But there really isn't anything wrong with that for as such they are just a symbol of achievement over a rational product of urbanism.

The book is full of quotes and it links the relations between the actors which give the book a lively edge, yet it reads as easily as a novel. There plenty of `gee, I didn't know that' facts and details in it, all adding up to the excitement of the story (for example, the famous Chrysler Building spire was topped out one day before the infamous Wall Street crash). By focussing on a few main characters and the topic of height, the book doesn't dwell in all directions which it could have done so easily for it really is a fascinating story to tell. I wouldn't be surprised if this story will be made into a movie or tv series one day for this story and the way it's being told really deserves that.

Great fun for New Yorkophiles.......2005-11-15

Listened to this one on the daily commute. Not a deep piece of scholarship, but a terrific -- and vividly told -- popular history. Well done!

Higher A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City

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Higher A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City
Neal Bascomb
Manufacturer: Recorded Books, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1402561857

Product Description

This riveting true account of the 1929 race to build New York City's tallest skyscraper evokes the glory of an exciting time long past.

Book Description

From the jungles of Vietnam, where he shot a photo of "the loneliness and desolation of war" that won a Pulitzer Prize, to the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, David Hume Kennerly witnessed and photographed most of the history-making moments of the last third of the twentieth century. As the millennium turned and he set out to cover his eighth presidential campaign, however, the veteran photojournalist sensed something missing. In his words, "I had the uneasy feeling that I couldn't focus only on the story at hand while bypassing the texture of life that surrounds it.... This time I wouldn't speed across that covered bridge to get to the big event on the other side, but instead I would slow down a bit, maybe even pause to take a picture of the bridge."

Photo du Jour is Kennerly's visual diary of "the texture of life" at the start of the twenty-first century. As he traveled more than a quarter of a million miles across thirty-eight states and seven countries, Kennerly took a picture every single day in the year 2000, using just one camera and one lens. Some offer candid, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the men who would be president—John McCain, Al Gore, and George W. Bush. Most of the photographs, though, seek to capture not the big, historic moments but rather the ordinary, even whimsical moments when the essence of a person or a place reveals itself to the observer who takes the time and has the heart to really see. Travel with him from Beijing to Boston, Moose to Miami, and Whynot to Weimea in Photo du Jour, and you'll quickly discover that David Kennerly is just such an observer.

Customer Reviews:

Photo edit of the day.......2007-02-17

Maybe my expectations are over the top, maybe I know more than the average joe/jane when it comes to photography, or maybe I just got the whole idea of this book wrong. Whatever the reason, David Hume Kennerly's Photo du Jour is nothing more than a document of his time and access throughout 2000. For some reason, I got the idea in my head that here was a photojournalist going to lug around an extra Leica and only shoot one image a day with it. How would he choose and at 11:59PM would there be regrets over the shot passed up for the possibility of another later in the day that never presented its self? I really wanted this guy to only have ten rolls of 135-36 for the project- I wanted this to be the photo equivalent to Zen in the Art of Archery. I obviously got it wrong. Another thing that gets me about this book is how it is promoted ie. Rosenthal saying "one camera and one lens". Again, all of the conceptual limitations on this project that never materialized! If you are shooting a 21mm on an M body, setting the hyper focal distance around 5ft. and using f8 you are basically good from 2ft to infinity. Fine, understandable and I love wide angles on 35mm format but then you go a crop the image!!!!! This is my biggest jab at the book, if you are going to say one camera, one lens be photographer enough to print the FULL FRAME! I guess if you spend you life getting paid to "get the shot", you learn to shoot it close and wide and then crop what you want later. Some images in this book look like 6x7, some 135-36, and some 6x9 or even a Panavision 16:9 so again, where is the skill/discipline? The fishing equivalent would be using dynamite. The book is what it is and unfortunately is billed as something else. Howard Fineman states in the introduction that this book shows Kennerly in an "uncharacteristic mode" and says this puts him "effortlessly" in league with the likes of Evans, Smith, and Robert Frank...........Please don't insult my intelligence or these photographers. The sophomoric juxtaposition on pages 142-143 is a Photo 1 shark jump that sounded like "badap bumb". Maybe all the text and praise from a Winogrand, Cartier-Bresson, or a Davidson book got mixed up with the images in this one. More hype than hypo. With all that said, the book is beautifully bound a put together. The reproductions are clear, well printed and maintain an elegance and crispness that is not out there in many books today. If you are interested in a slice of time kind of document and are just plain addicted to looking at images, then you should be happy with this book. If you are at all knowledgeable of the work of Winogrand, Cartier-Bresson, Davidson, Friedlander (there is a lame rip off on Like a One-Eyed Cat in du Jour page 156) or even Eggleston in a color version, you may be disappointed in the cost/benefit analysis as I was. I can't remember his exact words but Duane Michals said it best- (paraphrasing)- many photographers shoot hundreds of shots hoping, amidst all of the confusion, to come up with an interesting image...but the difference between the artist and the photographer, is a sense of control. I will keep this book, shelve it with a ton of Magnum issues, and I am sure pull it down once a year or so and flip though it because that's what I do. This could have been brilliant both conceptually and perceptually but end the end, just another guy with a camera and access.

Exquisite.......2002-11-24

This book is a must have. At the Texas Book Festival (2002) this book caught my eye. Never heard of the photographer before but the book was exquisite: filled with stunning black and white pictures. Pictures of everyday things. Of people laughing, of streets and events - capturing the magic moments without a pose. It was a simple concept: One camera. One lens. One year. The results are photos that also capture the routine, sometimes humorous and often extraordinary moments of everyday life.

Photo Du Jour: A Picture-a-day Journey Through the First Year of the New Millennium

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Photo Du Jour: A Picture-a-day Journey Through the First Year of the New Millennium
David Hume Kennerly
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORBIQE

Book Description

Now you can spend an average Sunday with one of America's funniest new cartoonists as "McPherson Goes to Church."

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Two-Home Families: A Family System's Approach to Divorce Therapy: A Step-By-Step Model for Preserving Parent-Child Relationships After Divorce Strikes
Brenda Dozier Ph D LMFT LPC
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Divorce | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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For The Children's Sake:: Parenting Together after the Marriage Ends

ASIN: 0595317251

Book Description

"Dr. Brenda Dozier has been my number one choice for the referral of my most challenging couples and families. I am so glad she has taken the time to share her wit and wisdom through Two-Home Families."--Peggy Thornton, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist

"Two-Home Families..." provides straight forward, practical strategies that will show counselors of various skill levels how to effectively work with even the most difficult divorcing couple."--William L. Stutts, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist

"Dr. Brenda Dozier shares her passion, intellect, and experience in her Two Home Families... as she walks counselors through the process of helping couples achieve effective co-parenting relationships after the marriage ends."--Deborah L. Moffett, Ph.D., Psy.D.

When divorced parents are hostile with one another, their children suffer long-term negative consequences in all areas of their health--social, mental, physical, and emotional. Two-Home Families: A Family Systems Approach to Divorce Therapy teaches mental health professionals powerful ways top help parents help their children while they reap benefits as well.

Dr. Dozier is a 16 year veteran of family therapy and through hundreds of therapy sessions with parents and children she has developed a model that has helped adults separate their roles as former marital partners from their roles as co-parents. These co-parenting relationships may either be cooperative in nature or take on a parallel style that allows each parent to parent his or her way. Two-Home Families... exemplifies the importance of preserving parent-child relationships and preventing self-centered, vindictive behaviors.

Customer Reviews:

A Fabulous Resource For Civil War/Religious Studies.......2000-05-03

I think that Shattuck's book is great for anyone who is interested in serious scholarship on the religious atmosphere surrounding the American Civil War. Shattuck gives equal treatment to both the North and the South in this book, something that i do not think happens enough. This book has about 130 pages of text, and 20 pages of bibliography. In that bibliography there is a wealth of information on Civil War. Shattuck did some very thoural research, and it is refreshing to read a book where an author is not making empty claims. My only complaint is that there were points with in the book that I thought he focused to much on the religious aspects of both armies. To finish this review, I just want to say that this book is great for anyone wanting to read about the Civil War, for anyone wanting to see how an historian does history, and for anyone looking for a great source on the religious life of the Civil War armies. For professors teaching the art of history in Universities or Colleges really should give this little book a chance as a text to show students how to write and do history. It worked for me.

Shield and a Hiding Place: The Religious Life of the Civil War Armies

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Shield and a Hiding Place: The Religious Life of the Civil War Armies
Gardiner H., Jr. Shattuck
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0788154435

Book Description

Boundaries - whether demarcating physical space, enclosing political entities, distinguishing social groups, and defining ethnic categories - constitute an essential facet of historical investigation. Obscured by the influence upon scholars of a myth of unitarian historical and cultural development, not until recently have questions pertaining to boundaries come to represent a fertile ground in the analysis of Chinese history and society, emerging just as compellingly and insistently for China as they have for many ostensibly more diverse cultural zones.
Discoveries in the form of new artifacts and fresh analyses that incorporate either unknown or neglected textual data now provide scholars with the kinds of evidence that call for a more nuanced approach to the supposed unity of China's history and culture. Drawing from a broad sampling of newly-found materials as well as from the fund of more conventional sources, the essays focus on boundaries from a variety of different perspectives, contributing thus to the establishment and acceptance of boundaries as a profoundly relevant category of inquiry across the whole spectrum of Chinese history.
It is especially with regard to its disciplinary pluralism and historical breadth that thus book most clearly departs and distinguishes itself from the other works on Chinese boundaries and ethnicities that have recently became available. While history - social, institutional, intellectual, etc. - and geography comprise the primary integration of disciplines throughout the book, within each essay a multiplicity of disciplines is typically represented. Among the disciplines and sub- disciplines represented in the essays in this book are anthropology (and, particularly ethnology), religion, art history, and literary studies. Each of the authors focuses on a distinct period, beginning with the early decades of the Zhou dynasty (c. 110 B.C.E.) and ending with the early centuries after the Manchu conquest (c. C.E. 1800) - resulting in a chronological sweep of nearly threemillennia.

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Liquid Rocket Thrust Chambers: Aspects of Modeling, Analysis, and Design (Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics)
Vigor Yang
Manufacturer: AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Ast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Aeronautics & Astronautics | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
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General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Space Propulsion Analysis and Design

Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsion: Principles, Practices, and New Developments (Springer Praxis Books / Astronautical Engineering)

Rocket Propulsion Elements, 7th Edition

ASIN: 1563472236

Book Description

The growing importance of globalization of business in the twentieth century has highlighted the need for a comprehensive set of books which looks at management in a specific regional area, covering not only general themes relevant to its functioning but also vis-à-vis specific countries.An authoritative and comprehensive reference work, the IEBM Regional Encyclopedia of Business and Management, sets out to dispel the confusion as well as provide much needed guidance on the origins, scope and practice of international management.

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Core Concepts of Real Estate Principles and Practices
James E. Larsen
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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The Inside Track to Careers in Real Estate

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ASIN: 0471465453

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Website to Accompany Core Concepts of Real Estate Principles and Practices
Larsen
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471648906

Book Description

An updated edition of Breast, Bottle, Bowl-the only book you'll ever need to ensure your child gets the best start in life-a healthy diet. This invaluable, commonsense guide takes all the anxiety and mystery out of feeding -babies and children by giving parents sound, practical advice in an easy-to-follow form. It shows how a good diet really can take care of itself, providing readers with a -basic understanding of nutrition and a few simple guidelines.

Includes information on successful breast feeding; weaning and bottle feeding; introducing solids; latest recommendations on infant feeding from the World Health Organization; reasonable expectations about quantities; coping with fussy eaters and food -refusal, and preventing obesity.

Authors Anne Hillis and Penelope Stone are both parents and professional dietitians.

Breast, Bottle, Bowl (The Best Fed Baby Book)

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Breast, Bottle, Bowl

Breast, Bottle, Bowl (The Best Fed Baby Book)
Anne Hillis , and Penelope Stone
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0732265770

Customer Reviews:

Breast, Bottle, Bowl.......2000-04-29

I love this book! It's so well put together, and the information is so easy to follow. It's a great guide for any new mother who is unsure at what age to give various foods to give babies. Encourages healthy eating at a young age too!

Book Description

Warfare was an integral part of early medieval life. It had a character of its own and was neither a pale shadow of Roman military practice nor an insignificant precursor to the warfare of the central middle ages. This book recovers its distinctiveness, looking at warfare in a rounded context in the British Isles and Western Europe between the end of the Roman Empire and the break-up of the Carolingian Empire.
In this work, Guy Halsall relates warfare to many aspects of medieval life, economy, society and politics. He examines the raising and organization of early medieval armies and looks at the conduct of campaigns. The survey includes the equipment of warriors and the horrific experience of battle as well as an analysis of medieval fortifications and siege warfare.

Customer Reviews:

The best scholarly treatment ever.......2004-03-15

As a professional historian who has done a lot of work on the 5th and 6th centuries in western Europe, let me say that I am extremely impressed with this work.

This book is the best and most careful survey of the evidence that has ever been written. Because it is about the early Middle Ages, it spends a fair amount of time telling the reader what we don't know and can't know. If that will drive you crazy, save your money. However, it is the only honest approach, and as a result the positive statements and the interpretations offered are worth all that much more.

Small gripe: One paragraph on Offa's dike and other large earthworks of the period?

Small warning: No maritime history.

Those interested in the way the Vikings transformed early medieval warfare will be particularly interested.

A vast and up-to-date bibliography which for a few readers will be worth the price of the book.

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Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900
Guy Halsall
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU8JEW

Book Description

Kenn Kaufman once again breaks new ground with the first-ever Spanish-language field guide to North American birds.

Customer Reviews:

Una excelente guía.......2006-02-17

But beware. This is not just a useful guide for the Southwest. Most of the birds of the Chihuahuan Desert (the largest desert in North America, covering from parts of TX, NM and AZ to Central Mexico) are depicted in this guide.
I would go as far as to say that this guía is the best Spahish guide for North Central Mexico. I live in Torreon (SW Coahuila) and this is much better for this part of the country than Peterson's Aves de México.

¡Por Fin! Las Aves en español.......2005-06-28

Kenn Kaufman has done it again, taking bird guides and birding to new heights by creating a field guide for Spanish-speaking audiences in the United States and abroad. For English speaking birders, having the names of all the birds in Spanish is a great resource, but translations of the introductory material on birding, bird plumage topography, identification, and conservation are also invaluable. Opening this book is like seeing the birds of North America again for the very first time, as I learn to differentiate the Cuitlacoche de Pico Curvo from the Cuitlacoche de Pico Corto. Can you tell the difference between machos y hembras? Have you ever seen a Gorrión Arlequín? Any English birder with even a smidgen of Spanish should get a copy and enjoy their familiar birds in this new cultural world.

Now that Kaufman and translator Fischer have done the hard work of bringing this book to press, the birding community needs to step up and get the book into the hands of people who can most benefit from it. If demographics is destiny, the growing U.S. Spanish-speaking audience for this book will only make this book grow in importance as our Hispanic population expands in size and distribution across the U.S. Thanks to Kaufman and Fischer, the language barrier has been broken. Now it remains for the rest of us to help break down the cultural barriers separating birders and observadores de aves. As we learn to give nombres to our familiar birds, hopefully we can share them with our new amigos de las aves.

Muchas Gracia, Kenn!.......2005-05-12

Kenn Kaufman, along with Patricia Manzano Fischer, have produced an outstanding field guide of North American birds in Spanish. It is a translation of the English field guide, and gives all the names of the birds in Spanish along with the scientific name (as well as the English name in parentheses.) I believe this book will allow many Spanish speaking birders to more fully enjoy birding in the U.S. and Canada, and especially here in the Southwest. This new edition will also help break the language barrier between English and Spanish speaking birders, and should be an important overall enhancement to birders since it is the first of a kind.
Los nombres en Español de las aves son nombres mexicanos. Por ejemplo, en Chile se usa el nombre Jote de Cabeza Colorada (Turkey Vulture) y en este libro se usa Zopilote Aura. Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con esto, porque la guía es para norteamérica!
It is interesting to see the bird calls and songs in Spanish. I do wish that the Pibí Mayor (Greater Pewee) could still whistle Jo-sé Mar-í-a in Spanish instead of uwirí y ti, pi,puríu......but this vocalization makes sense too.
This is a must have book for birders who want to expand their birding horizons. Thanks again, Kenn!

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