Adaptation for young adults of: Eiffel's tower. New York, N.Y. : Viking, 2009. Includes index.
Contents:
Showdown in Paris -- Eiffel under attack -- Troubles on the tower -- Going up! -- A grand opening -- Two triumphs -- Americans meet the world -- Art wars -- The fourth of July -- Monarchs of the world -- Edison's adventure -- Last days -- After the fair.
Summary:
Weaving together the behind-the-scenes history of the Eiffel Tower with an account of the 1889 World's Fair in Paris for which the tower was built, Jonnes creates a vivid, lively pageant of people and cultures meeting -- and competing. The book opens a window into a piece of the past that, in its passions and politics, feels timelessly modern: art, science, business, entertainment, gossip, royalty, and national pride mingle in an unforgettable portrait of a unique moment in history, when Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley became the toasts of Paris and Gustave Eiffel, builder of the tower, rose to the pinnacle of fame, only to suffer a tragic fall from grace. Above all, the 1889 World's Fair revolved around two nations, whose potent symbols were the twin poles of the fair. France, with its long history of sophistication and cultivation, and with a new republican government eager for the country to take its place at the forefront of the modern world, presented the Eiffel Tower -- the world's tallest structure -- as a symbol of national pride and engineering superiority. The United States, with its brash, can-do spirit, full of pride in its frontier and its ingenuity, presented the rollicking Wild West show of Buffalo Bill Cody and the marvelous new phonograph of Thomas Edison. Eiffel, Cody, Oakley, and Edison are just a few of the characters who populate Jonnes' dramatic history. The drama, color, and personalities that made the adult book so fascinating and critically acclaimed, are all here in spades as adapted for middle grade and above by Rebecca Stefoff.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.