REACHING ACROSS THE SKY

A world-spanning gallery of bridges—ancient and modern, high and low, plain and architecturally venturesome.

Depicting over 100 examples in her accurately detailed paper collage views, Hale highlights her subjects’ myriad forms, functions, and settings while pointing out their commonalities. Bridges, she writes, not only join cities, states, countries, and even (in the case of one in Iceland that links tectonic plates in Europe and North America) continents, but foster social interactions, tolerance of differences, and a sense of community. They help wild animals, people, trains, trucks, and cars get to where they need or want to be. They can be made of natural materials, like wind-eroded arches and fallen logs, or manufactured components from ropes and boats to stone and steel. Some have a utilitarian look, but others are downright jaw-dropping. Notable among the latter are two in Vietnam—one supported by a pair of giant hands reaching up from the ground and the other by an immense dragon. The author enhances this perceptive, wide-ranging overview with descriptions of seven basic types of bridges and the engineering challenges they solve, along with notes about innovative materials that are being used for recent projects, such as recycled plastic and self-healing concrete.

A soaring mix of visual wonders and thoughtful observations.