Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams

A new perspective on a beloved cultural icon, its place in our history, and its meaning in the American imagination

This elegantly written appreciation of the Empire State Building opens up the building’s richness and importance as an icon of America. The book leads us through the facts surrounding the skyscraper’s conception and construction, then enters into a provocative theoretical discussion of its function as an icon, its representation in pictures, literature, and film, and the impli...