The Great Miscalculation: The Race to Save New York City's Citicorp Tower

by Michael M. Greenburg Narrated by Mitch Crawford

Overview

The Citicorp Center, a fifty-nine-story skyscraper built in 1977, immediately became one of the most recognizable features on the New York City skyline with its distinctive inclined roof and oddly placed support columns. Designed by one of the top structural engineers in the field, William LeMessurier, the tower would become the crown jewel of his professional career; In essence, he created a skyscraper on stilts. The building was a modern marvel-until it was revealed that it had a one in sixteen chance of collapse.



The Great Miscalculation tells the riveting story of LeMessurier's discovery of a fatal flaw in his building's design and his decision to blow the whistle on himself, putting his reputation on the line in a race to save this iconic skyscraper. With hurricane season rapidly approaching, the structural design flaws of the Citicorp Tower posed a menacing danger. Meanwhile, the economic hardships and political turmoil of 1970s New York only compounded the obstacles to a massively expensive, never-before-seen structural redesign in the heart of downtown Manhattan.



A fascinating piece of overlooked New York City history, The Great Miscalculation tells the gripping narrative of a catastrophe averted in the nick of time.

Editorial Reviews

New York Post

"Greenburg weaves a compelling, thriller-like narrative."

Judith Dupré

"This riveting whodunit set in the chaos of 1970s Manhattan is also an astonishing meditation on the ethical obligations of those who build our cities….The narrative deftly navigates the crisis, secretive repairs, and subsequent litigation, heroic efforts that were largely concealed from the public. When the story does emerge, fifteen years later, we struggle along with LeMessurier as he decides whether to do the right thing or protect his career and reputation. It’s a compelling story, masterfully told."

Publishers Weekly

"Propulsive... a thrilling saga of a disaster averted by dedicated professionals."

Library Journal

"Greenburg captures the high-stakes drama of a near disaster narrowly avoided in the busiest metropolitan city in the United States."

Architectural Record

"A gripping and fresh account of the would-be crisis... Greenburg is an astute chronicler who vividly evokes the backdrop against which the CitigroupCenter near-catastrophe takes place."

Engineering News Record

"With Greenburg's book, the truths and ironies of LeMessurier's famous confession can be seen, and taught, more completely."

Harper's Magazine

"What a story it is, girded by hubris and hope... I was held in suspense."

Kirkus Reviews

"A compelling tale of professional and business responsibility amid the uncertainties of technological innovation."

Grady Hillhouse

"Brings the full, gripping story of the Citicorp Center to life with a compelling blend of technical insight and drama. Greenburg's writing powerfully conveys the courage and humility required to right a wrong."

Joe Morgenstern

"This masterly account reveals the full scope of a sequence of events that could have ended in catastrophe. It’s a work of scholarship that gives the story its ultimate form, a soaring drama built on a foundation of scrupulously reported facts, and that solves an intriguing mystery in the process."

Carol J. Greenhouse

"This book must be read cover to cover, as it is more than the sum of its parts. The six regulatory projects at its core are arranged biographically, as if one life extending from gametes to execution. The result is a provocative analysis of the ways the U.S. state claims social substance through regulatory scenarios selectively staged on the bodies of individuals. In the aggregate, the asymmetrical contests over those stagings compel a rethinking of liberal assumptions regarding citizenship as promising either legal and political agency or full membership in a national community."

Kirkus Reviews

2025-02-15
A fascinating story of how a potential office tower disaster was averted.

Just after the architecturally renowned and structurally innovative Citicorp Center opened in 1977 with its distinctive 59-story office building, the project’s lead structural engineer, William LeMessurier, discovered a heretofore unrecognized problem that increased the odds of a structural failure. A change from welds to bolts for the connection of certain columns, coupled with the realization that a specific wind load had been inadequately considered, required immediate attention. Greenburg, a practicing attorney and author ofThe Court-Martial of Paul Revere, describes the events that led to this revelation and the highly coordinated efforts that resulted in its quick resolution. Of particular concern was the possibility that a severe storm would cause the office tower to collapse, causing a loss of human life and extensive damage to nearby buildings. Drawing on interviews and documents, Greenburg provides a day-by-day description of the meetings held, the options considered, and the decisions made. He focuses on LeMessurier, who was responsible for the structural design and, with the highly respected structural engineer Leslie Robertson as consultant, led the team that organized the remedial action, interacted with journalists, and liaised with local and state governments, insurance companies, and law firms. For Greenburg, none of this would have happened if LeMessurier had been more diligent in considering the wind loads, more attentive to the change in column connections, and more conscientious about checking on his subordinates’ calculations. The book’s title signals Greenburg’s adversarial stance, and its final sentence accusing LeMessurier of “his willingness to risk all” clearly states the author’s belief that LeMessurier is to blame. The book, though, is better read as a praiseworthy story of how individuals and organizations came together, without rancor, to act responsibly in the face of a potential crisis.

A compelling tale of professional and business responsibility amid the uncertainties of technological innovation.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193836452
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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