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

The subject of railroad construction history cries out for comprehensive, detailed, accurate maps, both current and historical, to illustrate the geography and cultural features of the landscape through which the railroad was built. The paltry few maps included are crudely drawn, with rarely marked elevations and no more than a dozen or so place names each, neglecting the hundreds of locations and terrain features critically important to this epic story. Although the major rivers are fairly carefully traced, we are left to wonder about the size and names of most of them.

Many personal meetings (those involving Abraham Lincoln in particular) are described complete with casual chitchat, behavioral mannerisms, and even the thoughts of the participants -- as if these details could be known even to others living at the time, much less a historian writing more than a hundred years later. The technique of imagining and fabricating details of events, unless carefully acknowledged (as in Safire's brilliant "Freedom"), belongs in historical novels, not in a conscientious history. It casts doubt on the rest of the work, documented or not, because it shows the author has injected his own speculations and assumptions among the confirmable facts.

Lastly, the journalistic mistakes in this book represent a veritable catalogue of errors any self-respecting writer must avoid. They include the duplication of information and chaotic meandering in time and place that many others have noted in detail. Poor choices of wording and vocabulary are legion, to the point that it is hard to believe the manuscript underwent any critical editing. Also distressing to the reader are multitudes of obvious typographical errors.

If the estate of Mr. Ambrose would allow it, the publishers of this book could do their faithful readership, and the railroading enthusiasts of the world, a great service by issuing a second edition of this book with the organization improved, errors corrected, and better maps added. The result could be much more readable than Bain's massive tome on the same subject.


A Readable History of the Transcontinental Railroad   March 9, 2004
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

In this effort, Mr. Ambrose takes up the subject of the transcontinental railroad. First, this story needs to be told. Secondly, it should be told in a fashion that is readable and easy to understand. Ambrose achieves both goals.

Of note is the commentary about the marvel of engineering necessary to cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the quiet dignity of the Chinese immigrants who made it possible. I found the contrast between the work ethic of the Chinese, as compared to the boisterous revelry of the Irish, very interesting.

Lastly, I believe that this history can add to our understanding about how government and private money can be used as a tool to encourage the best of American ingenuity. At the same time, it is also a good lesson in graft and political expediency.

Ambrose can be read by children and adults. His obvious gift of storytelling is more than evident in this history. Pick it up cheap and find out.


MISTAKES   January 31, 2004
 5 out of 10 found this review helpful

THIS IS A SUBJECT I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH AND ALTHOUGH THE AUTHORS INTENT TO PRESENT THE HISTORY OF THE TRANSCONTINTAL RAILROAD FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE WORKING MAN IS GOOD, THE EXTREME NUMBER OF TECHNICAL AND HISTORIC MISTAKES MAKE THIS BOOK ALMOST WORTHLESS.


A great and enduring story, poorly told and misinterpreted   January 21, 2004
 6 out of 11 found this review helpful

This book begins and ends with grand statements about the "vision" of government supremacists like Abraham Lincoln and various members of Congress. Ambrose repeats many of the most enduring myths of the railroad baron era, and tells this story in a very conventional way. The great "foreward-thinking" "leaders" in Washington who planned and commissioned the first transcontinental railroad as a marriage of government and private enterprise are painted as heroes, while those who criticized this monstrous government giveaway are depicted as narrow-minded reactionaries.

In fact, Ambrose ignores a good bit of evidence that suggests that government subsidies of the transcontinental railroads was entirely unnecessary and probably detrimental to the industry. Burton W. Folsom, Jr., in the book "The Myth of the Robber Barons" shows that it was possible to build transcontinental lines without government subsidies. Ambrose deals primarily with the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroades, which were both in bed with Washington policymakers. But Folsom describes how James J. Hill's Great Northern Railroad was able to construct a transcontinental line across worse terrain using land purchased on the open market without any government loans or subsidies--and to make a profit while charging lower faires! Thus much of Ambrose' interpretation--his "moral" as it were--is simply false. Government subsidies of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific produced inefficient, corrupt operations that negatively impacted the U.S. railroad industry for generations afterward.


Error filled and quotes from non-existent people   October 30, 2003
 6 out of 15 found this review helpful

All of Ambrose's works have been severely criticized for their
errors and extensive plagiarisms, but this book may lead all of the rest, according to the Committee for the protection of yWhat is Truey in Railroad History, chaired by G.J. yChrisy Graves, Newcastle, California, which found that Ambrose text contains at least 60 pages that display one or more rather obvious errors, as well as quotes from non-existent people. The test itself (at least that part actually written by Ambrose) has his usual bombastic statements and pedestrian writing. Ambrose never let the facts get in the way of a heroic tale. His books qualify for the fiction shelf. They're certainly not histories.