The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark

Discuss early Manhattan, the idea of the building, demolition of the old site, planning and construction plus Al Smith who was the promotor of the building and previous Governor of New York. Not a coffee table photo or tourist book but one that discuss the various building designs through the several years and the architects involved.

Excellent read, (almost too) detailed. Good history of the Empire State Building. Well-written and readable.

Well written, great information!

Love it!

I was expecting a book along the lines of  Skyscraper: The Making of a Building  by Karl Sabbagh. It tells the story of the construction of Worldwide Plaza. However, there is really very little in Tauranac's book about actually building, with only one chapter devoted to the actual construction. A shame, really, as some of the techniques used were pioneering at the time.This is not to say that this is not a good book. It does give an overall history of the development of the urban landscape in Manhattan during this period. If you're looking for a book about the era that produced a landmark building, then this is the book to get. However, if you're looking for something about the Empire State Building detailing its actual construction, then you won't find it here.

This is a superb book -- an extremely readable account of the building of America's greatest skyscraper. The only flaw in the book is that in an otherwise crystal-clear book, Tauranac uses too many terms from architecture and construction without explaining them. The book is still perfectly appropriate for a lay audience, but it would have been even better if I had the context that understanding these terms would provide.

Lots of great details about the Empire State Building including the fact that TV wasfirst broadcast from there. I loved it.

I bought this book shortly after a trip to NYC in 2000, and found it to be an excellent history of one of the Big Apple's architectural jewels, the Empire State Building. It is full of intrigue, history, great anecdotes and one-of-a-kind photographs. If you're a visitor to Manhattan or a local resident, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

Très satisfaite !

J'ai acheté ce livre après une visite de l'Empire State Building qui m'avait émerveillée.Le livre retrace la construction du monument et replace tout ceci dans le contexte architectural et socio-économique de NYC à la même époque. J'adore.

Extremely well written and easy to read