Skip content
Chief Engineer by Erica Wagner
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting South Main Book Company with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and South Main Book Company is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Chief Engineer

Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge

$22.04

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Jo Anna Perrin

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 14 hours 13 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

"I know that nothing can be done perfectly at the first trial; I also know that each day brings its little quota of experiences, which with honest intentions, will lead to perfection after a while." —Washington Roebling

His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but after John Roebling's sudden death, Washington Roebling built what has become one of American's most iconic structures—as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognizable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten—and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, of the frontier, of the greatest crisis in American history, and of the making of the modern world.

Forty years after the publication of The Great Bridge, David McCullough's classic chronicle of how the East River was spanned, Erica Wagner has written a fascinating biography of one of America's most distinguished engineers, a man whose long life was a model of courage in the face of extraordinary adversity. Chief Engineer is enriched by Roebling's own eloquent voice, unveiled in his recently discovered memoir that was previously thought lost to history.

American writer and critic Erica Wagner was the literary editor of the London Times for seventeen years and is now a contributing writer for the New Statesman and consulting literary editor for Harper's Bazaar. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Economist, the Financial Times, and the New York Times, among other publications. She is the author of Ariel's Gift, Seizure, and the short story collection Gravity; she is the editor of First Light: A Celebration of Alan Garner. She was the recipient of the Eccles British Library Writer's Award in 2014, and she is a lecturer in creative writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. She lives in London with her husband and son.

Jo Anna Perrin is a New York-based actor, photographer, and writer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage, in New York, Los Angeles, and regionally. Jo Anna has narrated numerous audiobooks for major publishers, small independent presses, and American and foreign university publishers. Her narrations have received critical praise from AudioFile magazine, Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Jo Anna's voice-over experience includes commercial, documentary, and animation work. As a portrait and headshot photographer, her photos have appeared in magazines and newspapers, online, and in print, including in AudioFile magazine, the Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Publishers Weekly says, "Her delivery is always confident and clear. Listeners will never be bored."

Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting South Main Book Company with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and South Main Book Company is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Reviews

"[An] engaging new biography . . . Washington's dry wit and even tone give life and personality to Wagner's already enjoyable prose." ---New York Times Expand reviews
book-open-1

Want the printed book?

Get the print edition from South Main Book Company.

Get the print edition

Powered by Bookstore Link

South Main Book Company is proud to partner with Libro.fm to give you a great audiobook experience.