Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City

Higher chronicles the dramatic competition to build New York City's tallest skyscraper during the late 1920s. The race centered on three ambitious projects: the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and 40 Wall Street. The book follows rival architects William Van Alen and H. Craig Severance as they push the boundaries of engineering and design. Construction teams worked at unprecedented speeds and heights while navigating complex financial, technical, and logistical challenges in the final years before the Great Depression. Neal Bascomb draws from extensive research and archival materials to reconstruct the day-to-day progress of these revolutionary building projects. The narrative captures the intensity of the competition while documenting the broader cultural and economic forces that drove New York's vertical expansion. The story serves as both an architectural history and a portrait of American ambition during a pivotal era of innovation and growth. Through the lens of these competing skyscrapers, the book examines themes of rivalry, progress, and the human drive to reach ever greater heights.

Readers describe Higher as a fast-paced account that makes architectural history feel like a thriller. They note how the book brings 1920s New York to life through details about the key players and their intense competition. Liked: - Clear explanation of complex engineering concepts - Rich character development of the architects and businessmen - Integration of social/economic context of the era - Photos and illustrations that aid understanding - Focus on human drama behind the construction Disliked: - Some found early chapters slow before the race begins - Technical details occasionally become overwhelming - A few readers wanted more about the actual construction process - Limited coverage of the workers' experiences Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (180+ ratings) "Makes complicated architectural concepts accessible without dumbing them down," wrote one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads user noted: "The personalities and rivalries are as compelling as the buildings themselves."

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🌟 The Chrysler Building's spire was secretly constructed inside the building and hoisted into place in just 90 minutes to secure its position as the world's tallest building, surprising competitors. 🌟 Author Neal Bascomb spent over three years researching the book, accessing previously untapped archives and interviewing descendants of the key players. 🌟 During construction of these early skyscrapers, workers called "skywalkers" balanced on steel beams hundreds of feet in the air without safety equipment, with a mortality rate of one death per story built. 🌟 The Empire State Building was nicknamed the "Empty State Building" during the Depression, as much of it remained unoccupied for years after completion, finally becoming profitable in the 1950s. 🌟 William Van Alen, architect of the Chrysler Building, never received full payment for his work and ended up suing Walter Chrysler, effectively ending his architectural career in New York.