Nothing Like It In the World : The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869

As a straight history it probably lacks detail and scholarly detachment, but as a popular history -- a term which does not deserve its recent perjorative inflection -- it is superb. I'm not a railroad buff, and I've never looked into this in detail before. I constantly found myself surprised by Ambrose's insights into the men (and a few women), the geography, the politics, and the geo-political meaning of building a railroad to the Pacific Ocean.

Some of Ambrose's descriptions were very moving. For example, he writes that between Omaha, Nebraska, and the Pacific Ocean along the route of the railroad, the only permanent white settlement was Salt Lake City. They were not only building a railroad, they were building one across a roadless wilderness. I was shocked to learn of the degree and amount of warfare between the plains Indians and the railroad companies (the railroad won the war, but it lost lots of battles). I was stunned, amazed, and moved by the accounts of the Chinese laborers drilling through the granite of the Sierra Nevada with hand-held drills, sledge hammers, and black powder. The hardships, difficulties, and drive of the construction teams is awe-inspiring, and Ambrose makes it very real.

As a survey of the building of the transcontinental railroad, I think this is a superior effort. It has made me want to seek out other sources with more detailed information. What more can you ask of a "popular" history?


Disappointingly superficial   October 4, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I picked this up anticipating as fine a book as "Undaunted Courage," but was seriously disappointed. It is quite superficial; even acknowledging Ambrose's desire to focus on those who actually built the railroad, the business and political aspects are given short shrift. Ambrose (or, rather, his cadre of researchers) has done a pretty good job of digging up information about what it was like to actually be building the railroad, and the various personal anecdotes are the best part of the book. But it suffers from very poor editing (several anecdotes are repeated nearly verbatim, and at least one blatant error exists) and has the feel of something that Ambrose knocked off quickly because his editor wanted him to write it. But it did picque my interest sufficiently to make me want to read a more serious treatment of the subject.


Not his best   October 3, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have read many of Stephen Ambrose's books and have liked them. This one, however, is not his best. He frequently repeats himself. I even found one paragraph repeated verbatim. While he has some interesting insights, the book seemed much more superficial than his others such as Undaunted Courage.


Poor Editing   October 1, 2000
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Anyone who enjoys Stephen Ambrose would be well advised to skip this book. It suffers from terrible editing that produced a very repetive narrative with numerous and inexplicable errors.