Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary and Analysis

"Man of Iron" introduces the roller coaster life of John A. Roebling up to the Bridge Tour. It hints his latter-day obsession with death proves prophetic. "Old Man Roebling" is quiet Trenton's first citizen. Since arriving in 1849, he has built a wire business from nothing, raised seven children, buried two and a wife, and remarried. At 63, he appears indestructible, thanks, he believes, to a regimen of scalding and freezing baths, vile health drinks, and copious fresh water. He regards illness a moral offense. The town knows him as an inventor, artist, writer, and freethinker. Since being widowed, he is said to host syances. Strong-willed, resourceful, stubborn, and self-assured - traits he tries to instill in his children -Roebling never squanders time and has never been known to take a day off throughout his working life.

Born on June 12, 1806 in...