September 29, 2003
The 1920s "race" to build the world's tallest building has been extensively chronicled. A former literary agent and former St. Martin's editor, Bascomb centers his narrative on two architects, William Van Alen and Craig Severance, who schemed to outdo each other in the race to pierce New York City's skies with, respectively, the Manhattan Company Building at 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building on East 42nd Street—only to be beaten by a third team hired to construct the Empire State Building (at Fifth Avenue and 34th). While this story is most often told as a sentimental paean to "progress" rather than a bitter corporate feud, Bascomb gives his tale a fresh sense of capitalist drama in his evocation of the nascent worlds of skyscraper engineering, architecture and construction—and real estate speculation with returns projected at 10%. He imbues the former three with some terrific detail (including a 22-item list of how many trades, including mail chute installers and asbestos insulators, it took to build a skyscraper) that gives context to the players and incidental characters, including the five Starrett brothers (builders raised in Lawrence, Kans., who built 40 Wall Street), General Motors' financier John Jacob Raskob (the man behind the ESB), Walter Chrysler, New Yorker reviewer "T-Square," former governor Al Smith and many others. The occasionally intrusive clichés (the Starrett brothers "had building in their blood"), hyperbole (the '20s were "a decade gone mad") and familiar generalizations (the U.S. "finally came into its own" in that same decade) are excusable in a debut book, especially one chronicling an obsession with height and speed.
May 1, 2003
Architects William Van Alen and Craig Severance duke it out in 1920s Manhattan, competing to build the best skyscrapers (which included the Chrysler and the Empire State buildings).
Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2003
Though the desire to spike the landscape with ever-higher structures dates back millennia, skyscraper one-upmanship accelerated in the twentieth century. And while it continues today, never was the race so neck-and-neck as at the end of the Roaring Twenties in New York. Architect William Van Alen, commissioned by Walter Chrysler, found himself in direct competition with partner-turned-rival Craig Severance, architect for the Manhattan Company Building (now the Trump Building). Though the Chrysler was begun first, the Manhattan moved faster, and both groups soon were secretly revising plans--with construction underway. With its cloud-piercing spire, the Chrysler won the height race (although the Manhattan claimed the highest usable floor). The real winner was a late entrant: the Empire State Building. Bascomb's book is nicely rounded, exploring the finances and logistics of skyscraper building, from acquiring the land to riveting the steel; the benefits and drawbacks of height; and the personalities of the builders--all as he ratchets up the tension of the race.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)
October 1, 2003
It is a pity that this book had to wait till October for publication, as the publishers have missed out on a blockbuster of a summer read. Bascomb, an editor and agent in book publishing, brings a keen eye for fascinating detail to this architectural history and uses an active, engaging writing style to pull the reader along at a rapid pace. The major story is about the battle between two prominent architects, former friends and now professional rivals, Craig Severance and William Van Alen. Severance, a man with "classic" tastes and financed with "old money," draws the plans for the Manhattan Company Building and fights for his formal design to dominate the skyline of New York City. Van Alen, a man with bolder, more "modern" tastes, finds his ideal patron in Walter Chrysler, draws out his plans, and builds a more contemporary, soaring skyscraper. In the background, yet no less important, are the numerous stories of the construction workers, the frenetic press, and major politicians Al Smith and Gov. Franklin Roosevelt, all caught up in the frenzy of this monumental race. While readers will learn much about New York history, skyscraper architecture, and the power and importance of moneyed patronage, this reviewer is not proud to state that the greater joy came from being a witness to a race that determined who will dominate the world's most famous skyline. Recommended for public libraries.-Glenn Masuchika, Rockwell Collins Information Ctr., Cedar Rapids, IA
Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.