John A. Roebling and His Suspension Bridge on the Ohio River by Don Heinrich Tolzmann (review)

BOOK REVIEWS justly concludes, " Looked at in its entirety, Clark' s life manifests the spirit and actions of a practical, pragmatic,yet occasionally sympathetic American imperialist." ( 28) Warts and all,he was a formidable figure and antebellum America' s most accomplished and respected Indian diplomat and field agent. His views commanded respect in the White House, the halls of Congress, St. Louis mercantile establishments ,and Indian lodges across the West. In the final analysis, Buckley makes a convincing case that Clark' s involvement with American expansionism, the fur trade, and Indian administration between 1807 and 1838 was in truth more consequential to the opening of the Americ·an West than his famed Pacific expedition. Engaging and deftly written, William Clark:Indian Diplomat is a mustread for nineteenth century American specialists and history buffs alike. After years of living in the shadows of his older brother George Rogers Clark and his partner in discovery Meriwether Lewis, William Clark is slowly gaining the recognition he rightly deserves. This impressive book will further that cause. Perhaps a few brave souls may even be emboldened to utter the phrase Clark and Lewis. William E. Foley University of Central Missouri Don Heinrich Tolzmann.Jobn A. Roebling and His Suspension Bridge on tbe Obio River Milford, Oh..Little Miami Publishing Co., 2007.88 pp. ISBN: 9781932250473 ( paper), $ 12.95. Don Heinrich Tolzmann, a nationally respected GermanAmerican Studies scholar, has produced a compact, readable workonJohn August Roebling,the founder of one of the nation' s most innovative and prolific bridgedesign families. It has been a long time since someone has tackled the Roebling family. In 1945, Harcourt,Brace and Company released D. B. Stcinman' s Ibe Builders of tbe Bridge: " Ibe Story ofJobii Roebling and His Son. Although its length ( 457 pages)and its somewhat hagiographic prose are emblematic of its time, the work's bibliography is a timeless testimony to assiduous research. Even older is Hamilton Schuyler's 7be Roeblings:A Century of Engineers, Bridgebuild ers and Industrialish,released bv Princeton University Press in 1931. At 425 pages, Schuyler' s work is a heavy tome, lacking footnotes and a bibliography. Tolzmann' s biography is a breath of fresh air, modern in its approach and afford·able as a souvenir guide to the John A. Roebling Bridge connecting Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio. As Tolzmann notes in his preface, this Ohio River suspension bridge " has become the major landm·ark of the region, as well as the veritable symbol of the Greater Cincinnati area ( vii). Born on June 12, 1806 in Mulhausen in what is today Germany, John A. Roebling studied at the prestigious Royal Polytechnic Institute in Berlin. Besides engineering, he also attended lectures by Georg Wilhelm Hegel, one of history's most prominent philosophers. Sharing in many of Hegel's insights, including his belief that America was the land of tomorrow , Roebling soon became involved in publishing and promoting immigration to the United States. Tolzmann' s discussion of Roebling' s friendship with minister Johann A. Etzler, whose promotional book about the United States Roebling published, is a masterpiece. Tolzmann' s FALL 2008 77 BOOK REVIEWS wideranging understanding of the complexities of German history, German immigration, and GermanAmerican history make Roebling's views understandable to modern readers. Further, unlike that of Steinman or Schuyler, Tolzmanns John Roebling is a realista believer in the order of the world and in man' s ability to make progress, but always a pragmatist . As an example, Roebling, after immigrating to Pennsylvania in 1831, experienced firsthand the challenges and hardships awaiting immigrants, causing him to rethink Etzler's assertions. "'[ T] he hardships that are connected with emigration , especially for one who is taking the first step, wrote Roebling of Etzler's book, are not given enough prominence therein. I blame Etzler's carelessness and bold, unfounded assertions for this"'( 3). In Pennsylvania, the hardwork ing Roebling initially farmed by day and invented in the evenings. He became one of the first engineers to appreciate the inherent weaknesses of wrought iron chains used in suspension bridges and promoted wire cables. He established a factory to manufacture the wire ( later moved to Trenton, New Jersey)and began designing bridges, such as his famous...