Men of Steel: The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center

“Building the [World Trade Center] was a project that pushed the limits of human endurance and engineering know-how. This is a curiously engaging story of the family dynasty that took it on.” In the tradition of David McCullough’s The Great Bridge, Men of Steel is a compelling insider’s look at the construction of the Twin Towers and the three generations of men who built them. Written by Karl Koch III, whose grandfather and father founded the Karl Koch Erecting Company in the 1920s, and award-winning author Richard Firstman, this remarkable book is an incredibly detailed first-hand account of how one family turned 20,000 tons of steel and more than 6 million square feet of floor into the world’s two tallest buildings.Men of Steel chronicles the fascinating story of the creation of the World Trade Center: the politics behind its conception, the innovative thinking that went into its design, the drama of its construction, and the truth behind its destruction. It also brings to life the rough-and-tumble iron working culture, a dangerous world where the Koch family established their empire and went on to build many of America’s most important edifices, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Library of Congress buildings. A brilliant evocation of a family dynasty inextricably intertwined with the steel that makes up many of our nation’s most prominent landmarks, Men of Steel is a rich, multilayered narrative that exposes the heart and soul that goes into making these remarkable structures.