The stunning visual history of the rise of the skyscraper in the United States and around the world told with "dramatic paintings and lucid prose" ( School Library Journal ) from award-winning author-illustrator Lynn Curlee--now with a new look! Did you know that it took ten million bricks to build the Empire State Building? Or that residents of the John Hancock Center sometimes have to call down to the doorman to find out the weather on the streets below? Or that a building in Dubai is nearly one half-mile high? First erected in Chicago and New York, skyscrapers can be found all over America and have been expanding skyward all over the globe. From the Empire State Building to the Chrysler Building, to the Sears and Hancock Towers, to the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, to the former World Trade Center, this book captures all the drama, excitement, and tragedy of humanity's attempt to reach ever closer to the clouds.