Synopsis

According to David McCullough, charting the life of James B. Eads (1820-1887) is akin to tracing the path of one of history's most brilliant engineering minds. Eads conceived, constructed, and funded ironclad river gunboats during the Civil War—contributions credited by some with aiding the Union victory. He also engineered the first steel bridge spanning the Mississippi River, and the jetties at the river's mouth, which stemmed the shifting sands and secured the economic future of New Orleans a