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London Bridge in America

The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing

Travis Elborough

$19.99

Paperback

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English
Vintage
15 February 2014
A brilliantly entertaining look at just what happened when London Bridge was sold and shipped to America.

In 1968 the world's largest antique went to America.

But how do you transport a 130-year-old bridge 3,000 miles?

And why did Robert P. McCulloch, a multimillionaire oil baron and chainsaw-manufacturing king, buy it?

Why did he ship it to a waterless patch of the Arizonan desert?

Did he even get the right bridge?

To answer these questions, it's necessary to meet a peculiar cast.

Fleet Street shysters

Revolutionary Radicals

Frock-coated industrialists

Disneyland designers

Thames dockers

Guinness Book of Records officials

The odd Lord Mayor

Bridge-building priests

Gun-toting U.S. sheriffs

An Apache Indian or two

And a fraudster whose greatest trick was to convince the world he ever existed

Roll up, then, for the story of one of the strangest events in Anglo-American relations. Curious, clever and sharp, this is history to delight in.
By:  
Imprint:   Vintage
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 130mm,  Spine: 22mm
Weight:   270g
ISBN:   9780099565765
ISBN 10:   0099565765
Pages:   288
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Travis Elborough, described as 'one of Britain's finest pop culture historians' by the Guardian, has been a freelance writer, author, broadcaster and cultural commentator for nearly two decades. His books include The Bus We Loved, London Bridge in America, and A Walk in the Park. Our History of the 20th Century- As Told in Diaries, Journals and Letters was published in 2017.

Reviews for London Bridge in America: The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing

Wonderfully detailed... A fitting testament to the folly and wonder of human endeavour. -- Claire Looby Irish Times Elborough's book is a fascinating mix of social and architectural history, travelogue and pop culture, but it is his ability to bring to life the disparate and often eccentric characters involved in the story that stands out. -- Ian Critchley Sunday Times An entertaining cultural historian of the Bill Bryson school...very interesting, and crammed with historical trivia. -- Helen Brown Daily Telegraph A style perfectly poised between the flourishes of fiction and simple matters of fact... On the evidence of London Bridge in America, it would probably be justifiable now to proclaim Elborough one of Britain's finest pop cultural historians. -- Ian Sansom Guardian Travis Elborough tells this glorious story with warmth and humour and a great wide-open spirit... Delightful. -- Markus Berkmann Daily Mail


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