High Steel: The Daring Men Who Built the World's Greatest Skyline (38 page)

“Facing Death on a Four-inch Beam.”
The Literary Digest.
May 30, 1914.

“The Industrial Daredevil.”
Scientific American.
November 30, 1912.

Johnston, William Allen. “Sky-scrapers While You Wait.”
Harper’s Weekly
. June 11, 1910.

New York Times:

September 30, 1911; “Giant Fears His Wife.”

January 27, 1912; “Hammers Six Men, Gets Back his $28.”

July 2, 1915; “Buried by Steel, Directs Rescue.”

Poole, Ernest. “Cowboys of the Sky.”
Everybody’s Magazine.
November 1908.

“The Tallest Office Building in the World.”
Scientific American
. March 8, 1913.

Golden age:

Davenport, Walter. “High and Mighty.”
Collier’s.
March 1, 1930.

Fistere, John Cushman. “No Timid Man Could Hold This Job.”
The American Magazine
. June 1931.

Hine, Lewis W.
Men at Work: Photographic Studies of Modern Men and Machines
. 1932.

Littell, Edmund. “Men Wanted.”
The American Magazine
. April 1930.

New York Times:

August 25, 1925; “Risks Life for $1; Loses It as a Fine.”

April 9, 1928; “Iron Workers Aloft.”

September 23, 1929; “Subdues Crazed Man High Up on Bridge.”

Norris, Margaret.
Heroes and Hazards
. 1932.

Poore, C. G. “The Riveter’s Panorama of New York.”
The New York Times Magazine
. January 5, 1930.

Saunders, John Monk. “It’s a Tough Job, but Somebody’s Got to Swing It.”
The American Magazine
. May 1925.

“Sky Boys Who ‘Rode the Ball’ on Empire State.”
Literary Digest
. May 23, 1931.

Tauranac, John.
The Empire State Building: the Making of a Landmark
. 1995.

Thomas, Lowell.
Men of Danger
. 1936.

“Why Boys Shun the Building Trades.” From
The Building Age
; reprinted in
Literary Digest
. December 8, 1923.

CHAPTER 8: FISH

Newfoundland history and ironworkers:

Brown, Cassie with Harold Horwood.
Death on the Ice: The Great Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914
. 1972.

Conception Harbour Heritage Committee.
Conception Harbour: Our Story
. 2000.

Kurlansky, Mark.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
. 1997.

New York Times:

May 25, 1974; “Newfoundland, Butt of Canadian Jokes…”

August 3, 1979; “Newfoundland, Long Poor and Laggard…”

July 13, 1980; “Suddenly, Newfoundland…”

O’Driscoll, Richard and Elizabeth Elliot (eds.).
Atlantis Again: the Story of a Family
. 1993.

Thurston, Harry. “The Fish Gang.”
Equinox.
September/October 1985.

CHAPTER 9: THE OLD SCHOOL

Happiness:

Sheldon, Kennon M. et al. “What Is Satisfying About Satisfying Events? Testing 10 Candidate Psychological Needs.”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. February 2001.

Working class:

Zweig, Michael.
The Working Class Majority: America’s Best Kept Secret
. 2000.

Safety standards:

U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Federal Register Vol. 66, No. 12; Safety Standard for Steel Erection; Final Rule
. January 18, 2001.

CHAPTER 10: THE TOWERS

George Washington Bridge:

Ammann, O. H.
Second Progress Report of Hudson River Bridge at New York Between Fort Washington and Fort Lee
. 1929.

Bounden, E. W. and H. R. Seely. “George Washington Bridge: Construction of the Steel Superstructure.”
Transaction of the American Society of Civil Engineers
.

Construction of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River
. Silent film in possession of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Circa 1931.

New York Times:

March 27, 1927; “Huge Hudson Bridge is a Five-year Task.”

March 24, 1929; “Work Is Speeded on Hudson Bridge.”

July 10, 1929; “The Bridge Builders.”

July 14, 1929; “Weaving Bridge Cables High Above….”

September 15, 1929; “A Dizzy Task for Men Without Nerves.”

April 11, 1930; “Describes Hudson Bridge.”

May 14, 1930; “New Hudson Bridge is 55% Complete.”

May 25, 1930; “Weaving a Great Span over the Hudson….”

September 22, 1930; “Dies in Stunt Dive from Ft. Lee Bridge.”

September 6, 1931; “A Span That Symbolizes the Steel Age.”

October 18, 1931; “How the Bridge Was Built.”

December 6, 1959; “The Big Bridge Grows Bigger.”

Norris, Margaret.
Heroes and Hazards
. 1932.

Rastorfer, Darl.
Six Bridges: The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann
2000.

Stearns, Edward W.
Constructing the Hudson River Bridge at Fort Lee
. (Talk delivered to the American Institute of Steel Construction.) Circa 1931.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge:

New York Times:

September 18, 1962; “Towers Topped Out on Narrows Bridge.”

December 6, 1963; “Negotiations Fail in Strike on Bridge”

December 7, 1963; “Bridgemen to Get Nets on Narrows.”

January 23, 1964; “Bridge Delights ‘Seaside Supers.’”

October 24, 1964; “Verrazano Bridge Getting Coat of Gray…”

November 19, 1964; “Bridge Workers Will Boycott Opening…”

November 21, 1964; “Staten Island Link…”

November 22, 1964; “New Landmark Greeted with Fanfare…”

November 22, 1964; “Web Across the Narrows was 5 Years…”

O’Neill, Richard W.
High Steel, Hard Rock, and Deep Water: The Exciting World of Construction
. 1965.

Talese, Gay.
The Bridge
. 1964.

World Trade Center:

Collins, Glenn. “Notes on a Revolutionary Dinosaur.”
The New York Times Magazine
. August 6, 1972.

“The Colossus Nobody Seems to Love.”
Business Week
. April 3, 1971.

Gannon, Robert. “Topping Out the World’s Tallest Building.”
Popular Science.
May 1971.

Gillespie, Angus Kress.
Twin Towers: The Life of New York City’s World Trade Center.
1999.

Koch, Karl with Richard Firstman.
Men of Steel: The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center
. 2002.

New York Times:

October 20, 1970; “World Trade Center Becomes…”

December 24, 1970; “Trade Center ‘Topped Out’ With Steel…”

Hard Hats, race, and Vietnam:

Appy, Christian G.
Working Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam
. 1993.

Linder, Marc.
Wars of Attrition: Vietnam, the Business Roundtable, and the Decline of Construction Unions
. 1999.

New York Post:

May 9, 1970; “They Came at Us Like Animals.”

May 12, 1970; “Hard Hats and Cops.”

May 16, 1970; “Construction Workers—Who They Are…”

New York Times:

September 3, 1964; “Quiet Negro Pioneer…”

April 1, 1965; “Negro Hiring Up in Building Jobs.”

September 28, 1966; “Negroes Get Opening to Building Jobs.”

June 1, 1967; “Trade Union Bias Found Unchecked.”

April 13, 1968; “Ironworkers Union Charged…”

August 28, 1969; “Negro Groups Step Up Militancy…”

May 9, 1970; “War Foes Here Attacked…”

May 16, 1970; “Thousands in City March…”

May 24, 1970; “Workers for Nixon and Flag Come Out…”

February 28, 1971; “Hard Hats Seethe Over Wage Curb.”

CHAPTER 11: BURNING STEEL

Ironworkers as heroes:

Washington Post:
September 15, 2001; “New York’s Men of Steel: Hard Hats, Soft Hearts.”

CHAPTER 12: TOPPING OUT

American steel:

Hoerr, John P.
And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline of the American Steel Industry
. 1988.

Strohmey, John.
Crisis in Bethlehem
. 1986.

Warren, Kenneth.
Big Steel: The First Century of the United States Steel Corporation 1901–2001
. 2001.

Why the towers fell:

The Associated Press:
May 1, 2002; “Report: Fire Brought Down WTC Towers.”

Hamburger, Ronald et al.
World Trade Center Building Performance Study
. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2002.

National Public Radio
. Transcript of interview with Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl. October 16, 2001.

New York Times:

November 11, 2001; “In Collapsing Towers, a Cascade…”

March 29, 2002; “Towers Fell as Intense Fire…”

May 1, 2002; “Report of Towers’ Collapse Ends…”

August 22, 2002; “U.S. Announces New, Tougher Look…”

October 22, 2002; “Expert Report Disputes U.S. on Collapse.”

NOVA
. Transcript of interview with Dr. Thomas Eagar. June 13, 2002.

Concrete:

“Concrete Cores Combat Collapse.”
Construction Industry Times
. November 5, 2001.

New York Post:
October 13, 2001; “‘Tough’ Talk from Trump…”

New York Times:

September 18, 2001; “Defending Skyscrapers Against Terror.”

September 9, 2002; “9/11 Prompts New Caution…”

October 23, 2002; “Comparing 2 Sets of Twin Towers.”

“The Right Stuff.”
Popular Science
. April 9, 2002.

Future of skyscrapers:

New York Times:

November 12, 2001; “Skyscrapers Are Here to Stay…”

December 9, 2001; “The Future of Up.”

USA Today:
September 19, 2001; “Skyscrapers’ Popularity…”

Last column:

New York Daily News:
May 29, 2002; “Final Girder Taken Down.”

T
his book evolved from an article I wrote for the City section of the
New York Times
in the winter of 2001. The editor of that section, Constance Rosenblum, encouraged me to write the article, then edited it superbly. Two and half years later, Connie read this book in manuscript and once again blessed me with her editorial gifts. This book would be far less than what it is—would not exist at all, in fact—were it not for Connie’s support.

Once launched, I depended in large part on the kindness and patience of people who had no particular reason to grant it to me, but did anyway. I’m indebted to every ironworker featured between these covers, and to many who are not, for putting up with my inquisitive intrusions. A special word of thanks to Jack Doyle, Jack and Kitty Costello, J. R. Phillips, Keith McComber, Joe Gaffney, Joe Lewis, and Brett Conklin. The latter three—Joe, Joe, and Brett—were injured as I was writing the book and proved, each of them, as persevering in their recoveries as they’d been brave on the steel.

In researching the historical portions of this book, I relied on the remarkable collections—and staffs—of the New York Historical
Society Library, the New York Public Library, the New York City Municipal Archives, and the Wirtz Labor Library of the U.S. Department of Labor. The librarians at the Kanien’kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Centre at Kahnawake helped me learn more in a concentrated period of time than I thought possible. Constance Nardella of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was good enough to assist me even as her agency struggled back onto its feet after the events of 9/11 (in which much of the Port Authority’s archival material was lost).

My understanding of Newfoundland would be a good deal foggier (make that
mauzier
) were it not for the hospitality and guidance of Marg and Paul O’Driscoll, Tilley Costello, and of many others who welcomed me to Conception Bay. George Cross generously shared with me his research into the early history of the ironworkers’ union. John McMahon, retired executive director of the Institute of the Ironworking Industry—and a former bridgeman—connected some of the dots for me with his wide-ranging knowledge of structural ironwork and his salty eloquence. Bill Liddy of the American Institute of Steel Construction enlightened me on matters pertaining to steel and put me in touch with several fine tutors, including David Rees and Ronald Flucker. I am grateful also to Silvian Marcus, Ysrael Seinuk, David Worsley, Larry Howard, and Dr. Bernard Cohen. And let me not forget Steelcase Inc., for granting me access to its fine balcony with a view.

My friend Deborah Hellman interrupted new motherhood and a sabbatical in Italy to read this book in manuscript and give me the benefit of her keen intelligence and judgment. My father, Ray Rasenberger, also read sections of this book in manuscript and saved me from committing numerous ill-chosen words to print. My mother, Nancy, colored the entire project with her love of history—and was the first person to speak to me, very long ago, about ironworkers. I gained much, meanwhile, from the counsel of Eugene Linden and the support of Jim and Ruth Varney.

I am extraordinarily grateful to Kris Dahl at ICM, who saw the book in the material and supplied many great ideas on how to shape it. She knew just the man to edit it, too—which brings me to Dan Conaway at HarperCollins. Dan belies the notion that book editors don’t edit books anymore. He saw things in mine that eluded me and helped me separate the wheat from the chafe (a cliché he’d never let stand). His scribbles, once deciphered, were illuminating. Dan’s assistant, Jill Schwartzman, made the editing process as delightful as it could possibly be with her enthusiasm, utter competence, and many helpful suggestions.

Though this book deals with some sobering material, delight was never far from me as I wrote it. It was, in fact, just down the hall in the form of Willy and Jack, my sons, whose boundless energy and curiosity inspired me throughout. Ann Varney, my wife, has made this endeavor possible in countless ways, but mainly as my first and most trusted reader, which is about the most important ally a writer can have. I owe her more than I can say.