The Ashtabula Bridge disaster was a horrific engineering failure that shocked late 19th century America. But was Amasa Stone's innovative all-iron bridge "an experiment which ought never have been tried," as the foreman of the Coroner's Jury proclaimed? Or was it "an honest effort to improve the bridge practice of the country," as an engineering investigator reported? In this meticulously researched book, Dr. Darius Salter delves deeply into these questions-and many other issues sorrounding the disaster. Through this fascinating story, we can gain important insights about the role of human judgment in engineering and the inherent risk in technological innovation.

-Stephen J. Ressler, P.E., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, U.S. Military Academy at West Point.