Gr 4-6--A colorful, informative introduction to the structure and history of gladiatorial games. The useful text provides fascinating facts about architectural and building innovations utilized in the construction of this arena and an explanation of the ingenious ticketing and numbered entrances that were designed to control the flow of 50,000 spectators. Details about gladiator training, styles of fighting, and the use of wild animals reinforce the author's contention that the Colosseum is both a symbol of Rome's greatness and its brutality. A clear, well-written text and full-color drawings and paintings graphically depict the events held there. Photographs of mosaics, relief carvings, and the site are also included. Richard Watkins's Gladiator (Houghton, 1997) offers more details about the games, the participants, and their social standing in Roman society and Don Nardo's The Roman Colosseum (Lucent, 1998) is hard to beat if additional background on the design and construction of the arena is needed.--Cynthia M. Sturgis, Ledding Library, Milwaukee, OR

%% This is a multi-book review: SEE also the title The Brooklyn Bridge. %% Gr. 47. Both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Great Pyramid inspire viewers to wonder how men could possibly have created such massive, gravity-defying structures, each having been built with a combination of determination, courage, and incredibly hard work. Mann conveys the stories as adventures without ever resorting to melodrama and explores the history and architecture of each structure in highly readable form. Centering on a family in the first book and a society in the second, the stories are told in handsomely designed volumes with an enlivening combination of historical pictures, photographs, and paintings. Each volume, part of the Wonders of the World series, also features a gatefold illustration. (Reviewed February 1, 1997)