All Consuming : Richard

Consuming "The Canadian Snowbird in America: Professional Tax and Financial Insights into a Temporary U.S. Lifestyle"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:55:46 GMT

The Canadian Snowbird in America: Professional Tax and Financial Insights into a Temporary U.S. Lifestyle

by Terry F. Ritchie

Consuming "Last Chance to See"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:26:35 GMT

Last Chance to See

by Douglas Adams

Consumed "Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:31:42 GMT

Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization

by Jeanna N. Matthews

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Up in Ontario"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:47:35 GMT

Up in Ontario

by James Sherrett

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Oof! EP"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:27:28 GMT

Oof! EP

by Blue Scholars

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Synecdoche, New York"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:55:20 GMT

Synecdoche, New York

by Charlie Kaufman

WORTH IT!

Consumed "As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:08:40 GMT

As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires

by Bruce Weber

WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Fall"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:08:38 GMT

The Fall

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Taking of Pelham One Two Three"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:51:12 GMT

Taking of Pelham One Two Three

by Joseph Sargent

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:58:13 GMT

Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)

by Christopher Nolan

WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Taking of Pelham 123 [Theatrical Release]"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:57:31 GMT

The Taking of Pelham 123 [Theatrical Release]

WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Departed (Widescreen Edition)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:10:42 GMT

The Departed (Widescreen Edition)

by Martin Scorsese

WORTH IT!

A review of "Tragedy at Second Narrows: The Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Richard) — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:01:11 GMT

Tragedy at Second Narrows: The Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge

by Eric Jamieson

(Cross-posted from my blog.)

Browsing the second floor of the Chapters on Granville and Broadway one winter evening, trying out the SnapTell consumer product image recognition iPhone app, I happened upon Tragedy at Second Narrows: The Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge by Eric Jamieson. Having seen it at another branch of the Canadian bookstore conglomerate, and not content to buy a hardcover, I reserved the book at the library then and there. A few weeks later, it arrived. Books borrowed from the local book repository must be more urgently read than those borrowed from friends, so I set about its 300 pages of Jamieson’s history of the Burrard inlet’s second crossing.

The book details the political machinations to sell the idea of the bridge, fund it, select the company to build the bridge, its initial construction and what led to its collapse while only half-built. After explaining the engineering mistakes and subsequent errors that led to 18 deaths of ironworkers, painters, and later, a diver, Jamieson examines the royal commission to investigate the collapse and the ironworkers strike and legal wranglings resulting from that strike. Some details, he concedes, he can only leave to mystery, such as who made a crucial correction to one of the calculation sheets and when.

Books like these I can really dig into. It relates to a subject about which I know very little at the outset, in this case, bridge building, and the author takes the time to detail the context in which a singular event happened. The stories of all involved, from decision-makers to the planners to the engineers to the ironworkers to the rescue teams to the judges and lawyers and union officials, all serve to bundle the entire narrative of why Vancouver landmark fell down. Jamieson never condescends the non-engineers by explaining the physics involved thoroughly yet rewards those who have a technical background by teaching the lessons future generations can learn. Every chapter contains several photos of the bridge and participants in the story of its making and destruction and rebuilding. Especially compelling are the photos of the rescue and recovery operation, which show the massive scale of the destruction and the urgency to find survivors.

I can’t recommend this book enough to fans of Vancouver and its history. The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge figures daily in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Lower Mainlanders who need to cross the Burrard Inlet in their travel mode of choice. Jamieson has done the city and the bridge’s builders a great service in recounting a terrible day for British Columbia in its then-unprecedented period of construction growth.