Jacquie Sewell
Mighty Mac, The Bridge That Michigan Built tells the story of the Mackinac Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Spanning four miles of open water, it connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. For decades people had rejected the idea of building a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac as impossible. But statesman Prentiss Brown and engineer David Steinman believed it could be done and set about to do the impossible. Mighty Mac explores this feat of engineering in terms kids, and even adults, can understand. Just how do you pour concrete pedestals hundreds of feet below the water's surface? Where can you find a cable strong enough to "carry" the weight of a roadway and the cars and trucks that will travel on it? Who's going to tighten the bolts on a tower that soars 552 feet into the air? And how did it get up there in the first place? All these questions and more are answered in Mighty Mac, The Bridge That Michigan Built. Illustrated with historic photographs taken by Herman Ellis during the bridge construction, Mighty Mac will give readers a new appreciation for Michigan's "Miracle Bridge".