Circles in the sky the life and times of George Ferris
By: Richard G. Weingardt.
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Reston, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 164
ISBN-13: 9780784410103
Subjects: Ferris, George Washington Gale, -- 1859-1896; Structural engineers -- United States -- Biography; Ferris wheels -- History
Genres: Biography
Description: In the summer of 1893, at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, an engineering marvel was unveiled and immediately captured the world's attention. It was a towering, web-like giant wheel, standing upright and rotating high above the city. Several stories taller than any existing American building, the Ferris Wheel carried adventure-seeking passengers to the dizzying height of 264 feet and provided panoramic views never before possible. George W.G. Ferris Jr. and his wheel helped usher America--eager to identify itself with ingenuity, entrepreneurialism, and innovation--into the twentieth century. Yet the very wheel that came to define George Ferris in the end consumed him, leaving him ruined. This book is the first full-length biography of George Ferris. He was a civil engineer, an inventor, and a pioneer for his development of structural steel in bridge building. Circles in the Sky chronicles the life of man responsible for creating, designing, and building the Ferris Wheel, the only structure of its time to rival the Eiffel Tower. It is, at the same time, the story of the Ferris clan, one of the nation's oldest and most fascinating families. The London eye, erected in 1999 to welcome the new millennium, the Star of Nanchang, and, most recently, the Singapore Flyer, have revived our love affair with Ferris wheels. Circles in the Sky will enchant anyone interested in engineering marvels, history, and the Ferris wheel, which reminds us that America was built by dreamers and innovators such as George W.G. Ferris Jr. -- Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Legendary he was; title: Westward to the colonies; title: Taming the prairie; title: Carson Valley to Troy; title: Founding of a firm; title: Building big bridges; title: Piercing challenge; title: Incredible wheel; title: Lawsuits and ruin.