The Golden Gate, a dazzling feat of engineering completed in 1937, is a counterpart to the Statue of Liberty, pronouncing American achievement in an unmistakably American fashion. This is a passionate telling of the history of the bridge, and the rich and peculiar history of the California experience. The Golden Gate is a grand public work, a symbol and a very real bridge, a magnet for both postcard photographs and suicides. In this compact but comprehensive narrative, historian Kevin Starr unfolds the hidden-in-plain-sight meaning of the Golden Gate, putting it in its place among classic works of art--From publisher description.