Project Gutenberg 2024-07-16 Public domain in the USA. 615 Sparrow, Walter Shaw 1862 1940 Shaw-Sparrow, Walter Sparrow, W. Shaw (Walter Shaw) Brangwyn, Frank 1867 1956 Brangwyn, F. (Frank) 15019320 A book of bridges $aLondon :$bJohn Lane, The Bodley Head, $c1915. On the study of bridges and roads -- Man as the mimic of nature -- A few words on the Roman genius -- Old bridges, European, Persian and Chinese -- On the evolution of unfortified bridges -- Appendix I. Chinese gabled bridges -- Appendix II. Steep Roman bridges. Carol Brown, Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "A Book of Bridges" by Walter Shaw Sparrow is a historical account written in the early 20th century. This work explores the evolution of bridges throughout history, ranging from their ancient origins to their significance in the context of human civilization and conflict. The author aims to blend artistic illustrations with in-depth insights about the cultural, social, and military implications of bridge-building across different societies. The opening of the book presents a detailed examination of the study of bridges, referred to as "pontism," and introduces the complex relationship between bridges and the various phases of humanity's existence. It begins by reflecting on the natural origins of bridges and discusses how humans, in their pursuit of survival and societal advancement, adopted and adapted these natural forms into constructed ones. In particular, Sparrow touches on the historical role that bridges have played in conflicts and military strategies, suggesting that the study of bridges can reveal broader truths about human progress and the ongoing struggle for survival throughout history. The engaging narrative invites readers to ponder the intrinsic link between infrastructure and the evolution of societies over time. (This is an automatically generated summary.) 20240525163457brangwyn 1915 GB Reading ease score: 65.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Bridges TG Text Category: History - Other Category: History - Warfare Category: Art 969169 2025-07-29T09:32:31.799287 text/html 888927 2024-07-16T00:22:49 text/html 9718182 2025-07-29T09:32:53.491220 application/epub+zip 9721803 2025-07-29T09:32:37.227248 application/epub+zip 606302 2025-07-29T09:32:34.089295 application/epub+zip 10955690 2025-07-29T09:33:03.295139 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 10832287 2025-07-29T09:32:50.525195 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 704778 2025-07-29T09:32:28.632372 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 684868 2024-07-16T00:22:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17130 2025-07-29T09:33:03.537103 application/rdf+xml 22162 2025-07-29T09:32:34.633245 image/jpeg 3773 2025-07-29T09:32:34.359261 image/jpeg 11977084 2025-07-29T09:32:32.103297 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia