Not just the building of the bridge but also the "behind-the-scene" machinations of the people overseeing the project. Both topics covered in plenty of detail. Would have liked to see some diagrams of the engineering. I had to pore over the writing describing air locks, pneumatic caissons, how the wire was strung etc. Think about how difficult it would be to describe (using words) the process of tieing one's shoes. But I slowed down, even to the extent of reading out loud, and I think I understood most of the engineering. Well worth the effort involved.

I am literally minutes from reading the last page of this book and suddenly my cares pale to insignificance compared to what the Bataan Death March (or as the book points out the "hike") survivors endured. Author Sides does a superb job juxtaposing the story of the POWs and their rescuers. One has to constantly remember this is non-fiction, the elements of a novel seem almost in every page-the irony of the American Rangers' fatalities, the poignant "last" POW. Read from page 30 to the end non-stop feeling every emotion imaginable from horror to comedy.

Want the perfect beach book? Take this one then go into the water if you dare. I liked the way the book is laid out, first we are introduced to the likable characters then we learn their fate. The author does a great job evoking the feeling of the pre-World War I era. Follow the shark up the New Jersey coast to include the incongruity of a salt water fish swimming up a fresh water stream wrecking mayhem along the way.

McBain has come down from a higher league of writers and has deigned to give us another book. Flawless as usual. The familiar cast of characters including comic-relief in the character of Ollie. He even manages to include Matthew Hope. Mulitplotted but enough dimension in each plot to allow easy distinction. When Carella and Brown discover who murdered the nightclub owner it is the classic McBain stop-on-a-dime writing.

Ed McBain is an underrated writer and a grandmaster of the police procedural genre. Two murders are investigated and near the end of the book the trail of both lead to the same spot. If you have never experienced an 87th precinct novel you will devour this one and feel good knowing McBain has written about 30 others.

I was jarred everytime I read the word "alright." I don't believe this spelling is acceptable so why was it allowed? It is alwrong. Although the ending is a bit contrived, the rest of the book is fairly predictable. The adulterous affair was only a matter of when not if. Too long, but readable enough for me to want to finish although the writing was pedestrian, needed a bit more Sidney Sheldon and a little less Nicolas Sparks and Robert Waller.

Working in a bookstore and having some sense what makes the NYT bestseller list, I was surprised this one never made it. This is a suspense and Krist keeps you wanting to turn pages and he writes well to boot. Anticipating a airplane ride, then keep this one in mind.

Only a 3 because a book on the bestseller list for over three years had better be great, it wasn't. Every chapter develops a character with a murder "mystery" to keep a thread. Yawn. Do not compare to "In Cold Blood," Capote invented the fiction, non-fiction genre and is still the best.