Empire State Building

There they are--hugging the walls of the hallway, eight silver cases, taller than I am, which open out into triptyches of a reader's delight--so many books. Cartons of books are piled on top of these treasure mines. On my way to work in After School Care, I found a chair, opened nearly all the cartons before I found a book to look at (games, artsy products, science kits were in those boxes). I am the librarian, thus in charge of our semi-annual Book Fair. I wanted just one book to look at for now. Tomorrow I set up this wonderland of books! "Empire State Building" is the book from the carton--and what a great topic. Equal in feat and imagination to anything the ancient world built, this modern Wonder of the World is awesome. Alfred E. Smith, presidential aspirant to the office, and John J. Raskob, a private businessman, pooled sources to build the tallest skyscraper in existence. Filled with all kinds of tidbits of information, this book relates the history of the building of the Empire State Building from inception through completion. After manufacturing made so many men rich, they tried to outdo each other in building the tallest skyscraper. The final competition came down to Walter Chrysler and Smith/Raskob. Who won, why, and how makes a clever little story. What made possible the building of these really tall skyscrapers was steel. The walls of the first multi-storied buildings were weight-bearing and had to be built thicker and thicker at the base. The substitution of steel as the framework made skyscrapers possible. Another tidbit is the work supplied by the Mohawk Indians from New York and Canada. It became a new tribal position: that of future riveter. There were 3500 workers on site every day doing sixty kinds of jobs. Only six people died during construction which began in late 1929. There are a total of 86 floors at 1050 feet. Windows number at 6,500 in the whole building; elevators number 64. Only the Sears Tower in Chicago is taller than the Empire State Building.

Review By Robert Young, Lane ESD www.lane.k12.or.us/bookreview Part of the Wonders of the World Books series, this title tells the story of the creation of one of America's most enduring symbols: the Empire State Building. From the demolition of the Waldorf-Astoria in 1929 to the completion of the Empire State Building that took its place in 1931, the book clearly chronicles the events in the creation of the world's tallest building at the time. Large, color illustrations as well as historical black and white photographs add another dimension to the text. An excellent large-format book could have been made even better by adding interesting details in sidebars along the way. A winner!