Located on a 12 acre island, the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986. But the story behind the Statue of Liberty is a fascinating one, linked by the involvement of many interesting individuals and a difficult birth. In this book,the Statue comes to life and is born. Filled with period photographs and journal and diary entries, this book shows the dedication many people felt to the project as it often times struggled into being. Even after it was born, the statue was handed off from government agency to government agency, falling more and more into disrepair. In fact, as author Lenore Skomal and her excellent research point out, the Statue was left to the elements alone until a generation or two of immigrants, who remembered the statue as their first memory of the United States, came to her rescue, lead by the famed industrialist Lee Iacocca. A fascinating story.