Eiffel's Tower: The Thrilling Story Behind Paris's Beloved Monument and the Extraordinary World's Fair That Introduced It

I have been meaning to read this book for a few years now. I visited Paris several years ago and inside the famous Shakespeare and Co. bookshop and very kind lady enthusiastically recommended that I should read as I would undoubtedly love it, and she was right! Jill Jonnes does a wonderful job illustrating the the planning and building of the tower and all of the events surrounding the world's far that year. She does and excellent job of making the history of the subject lively and entertaining; there are so many other wonderful stories that coincide with all of the drama with the tower that this book is stuffed with really fascinating information. The author seamlessly transistions from tower building, to political theater to anecdotes about Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley to the pomp and circumstances surrounding Edison. I would highly recommend this book who enjoys history and/or the Eiffel tower, it is simply a fun read!

Having visited the Eiffel Tower and being a lover of all things historic, this book was for me. From the first page, I was hooked. I knew that the building of the tower had been somewhat problematic but I had no idea exactly what obstacles were overcome during the construction of this monument. It is part history text, part adventure and suspense potboiler and a how-to book along with a biography of some of the world's most interesting characters. This book kept me coming back for more, I devoured it and found myself reading interesting facts aloud to my spouse.I found this to be both fast paced and exciting, the context and writing transported me to another time and place. The description of Eiffel's apartment atop his tower and his parties were simply fabulous. I could imagine the view, hear the music and taste the champagne. As I finished the book, I knew that I had to return to the Eiffel Tower as I understood so much more regarding the history behind it. I intend to read more now...

A very easy and informative read of the events surrounding the 1889 Paris International Exposition. Althought I thought that this book was about the Eiffel Tower, I was pleasantly surprised that the book was really about all of the interesting characters that made the event such a success. Of course, Gustave Eiffel and his Tower were the main characters, but the stories of Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Thomas Edison, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin, brought the book to life and added real life to these people that you may have only briefly been aware of during our school years.The construction of the Eiffel Tower was an amazing feat, but the vision and drive of Gustave Eiffel is just as impressive. You will enjoy reading about the creation and birth of one of the world's true landmarks.

This is a charming book. The Eiffel Tower in all its context.The tower was an engineering marvel, but it was created to be the big focus of a world exposition in Paris in 1889. So Ms. Jonnes tells us the story of that fair, too. It stars the plainspoken Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley and their troupe of genuine native Americans. There was also an artists’ exposition. So Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh have important roles, together with Theo Van Gogh, who largely supported both of them. Fellow painter James Whistler was a crazy, arrogant Paris-based American.James Gordon Bennett was a very flashy newspaper magnate who started a Parisian edition of his New York Herald. The top brass at the Otis Elevator Company have starring roles as well. Thomas Edison’s new phonograph was a major hit at the fair, and the fair was a major step forward in his own success.These threads are all handled masterfully. Various readers might prefer more of this and less of that. I could have done with more on the finances of the tower and the fair (there’s a long shot if there ever was one); also a soupcon more as to the actual construction. But you certainly get a better idea of the construction than Ambrose gives you in his book about the railroad (but less than Ed Berenson gives you in his fine book about the Statue of Liberty).You’ll probably want to read more about Annie Oakley after this. What a wonderful person. She grew up in Ohio, nothing to do with the wild west. She was just a crack shot. Her ability was highly regarded among the upper classes of the day, and went a long way toward winning Paris over to the whole Wild West show and the fair in general. Cody made gobs of money with his show (which toured all over Europe and America), but blew it all in real estate ventures out west. A true entrepreneur and idealist.

Loved the subject of the book and all the players involved. The cover is fantastic too. But the story lags and circles around and around. Too much info that only Francophobes would like.The best sections are on the Eifel Tower itself while the fair is ho hum. Not as good as Devil in the White City.

I loved this book because I learned so many interesting things in it. Although it is ostensibly about the building of the Eiffel Tower, which is why I bought it, I cannot imagine reading so much about Buffalo Bill or Annie Oakley under any other circumstances.The reason I gave the book four stars instead of five is because the author tries to cover so much ground that there are long swaths of narrative that have nothing to do with the Eiffel Tower. In fact, I'm sure that is why the title is so unwieldly-- nobody could quite figure out what would best describe the contents. I'm not sure how the book would have turned out if she had written just about the Eiffel Tower. Maybe not as interesting.The esthetics of the Eiffel Tower and Buffalo Bill/Annie Oakley are so wildly divergent that one experiences a feeling of whiplash. But it's a good read if you're interested in the artists, writers, politics and manners of the day.Having said all that, I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a good, true yarn about things that happened not all that long ago. My father was born just six years after the tower was completed.

Very interesting book about the Eiffel Tower and the 1889 Worlds Fair in Paris taking place at the same time.

Great book

Brilliant read especially when your work involves the Eiffel Tower.

The background of the Eiffel Tower is very interesting. I think most of us assume that all of Paris wanted it built but the obstacles Gustav Eiffel had to overcome are amazing.This book gives a lot of information and stories from that time period, beyond just facts about the Eiffel Tower. I had heard of Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show, Annie Oakley, Thomas Edison, etc.but learned much more about these interesting characters, and others, from this book.

awesome Christmas present, arrived with in 3 days.