Reviews

Occupying the delicate intersection between engineering and architecture-i.e., the space between technology and art-bridges represent perhaps the nearest designers come to giving pure form to the built environment. Beginning with the pervasive metaphor of "building bridges," Brown, whose previous Bridges (1993) is essentially the first edition of this title, presents a chronological and handsomely illustrated survey of this type of construction, describing its variations in complexity. Following a time line of developments from the ancient world to 2012 (the projected completion of one budget), the book, with exceptional clarity of form and superb color photographs, illustrates its topic further through historical views, black-and-white diagrams, and color sketches. Of particular note is the attention given to the technological differences among structural typologies. The history of each bridge featured is written in clear, complete, and suitably journalistic prose. Less thematic and conceptual than Lucy Blakstad's Bridge: The Architecture of Connection and ultimately more instructive than Judith Dupre's ambitiously designed Bridges: A History of the World's Most Famous and Important Spans, this book nicely supersedes Wilbur J. Watson's magnum opus, Bridge Architecture, and Elizabeth B. Mock's The Architecture of Bridges. Essential for undergraduate design collections.-Paul Glassman, Hofstra Univ. Lib., Hempstead, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.