Bridges: From My Side to Yours (Single Titles)
Grade 5-9 Adkins successfully tackles the art and science of 10,000  years of bridge building and imparts a lot of historical drama  along the way. In seven thoroughly engaging chapters, he  explores different types of bridges and the technologies that  produced them. Simple stepping-stone and log bridges, the  influence of the Roman Empire on engineering, the achievements  of the Industrial Revolution, and the challenges faced in modern  bridge design are covered in generally chronological order.  Fascinating human-interest tidbits add historical context:  readers learn how London Bridge served as a display for the  heads of traitors, satisfying Queen Elizabeth I, "a suspicious  queen who-had trouble with plots and conspiracies." While some  landmark structures are included, the emphasis is on explaining  structural principles and describing the methods and materials  of construction of the day. A picture is truly worth a thousand  words when the subjects are trusses, cantilevers, and caissons,  and Adkins's firmly rendered black-and-white sketches, diagrams,  cross-sections, key maps, and portraits will add immeasurably to  readers' understanding of the text. An economical and helpful  glossary and index are included. Bridges complements David  Macaulay's Building Big (Houghton, 2000), and makes a technical  subject readily accessible to a wide audience. -Mary Ann Carcich,  Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NYCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.