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

Despite this, it was a good telling of the facsinating story behind the train that tied together the american continent. T


over rated   September 25, 2003
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

Ambrose has become so popular he thinks he can write anything. The best book on the transcontinental railroad is called 'Empire Express'. This book is just not worth it. Ambrose has produced some valuable scholarship(on Ike and Nixon) but this doesnt pass muster.

Not recommended when equal and better volumes exist that are specialities for the authors involved, not just popular history.


Railroad enthusiasts will enjoy it more than a casual reader   June 13, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Stephen Ambrose, noted author of historical works, sets out to weave a tale of human endeavor and achievement. Given the unprecedented nature of the events and relevance of some of the sub-plots his work falls short of the masterpiece that it could have been.

All of the elements of a great work are there: historical accuracy and depth of research (including notes from rail worker logs/diaries) as well as the workings of cut-throat business competition and national scandals in the making...

There are still many intersting details: the introduction of "modern" advances like nitroglycerine, steam power and electricity; using business competition to increase productivity; the political machinations that should have brought down many members of Congress (but didn't) and the very Enron-like financial frauds.

Railroad enthusiasts will still enjoy the work, but it could have had much broader appeal and present-day relevance with a little more refinement.


The Race Between The Union Pacific And Central Pacific   April 28, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I used to travel in luxury (compared with today's airplanes) to the West Coast on the Union Pacific Railroad's streamliner, the City of San Francisco. A constant source of fascination to me was the ingenious route taken by the builders of our nation's first transcontinental railroad. The Union Pacific built westward from Omaha. The Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento. Since the railroads got money from Congress according to how much track they laid, it was an all-out race. Stephen Ambrose describes how the Union Pacific had an easy time across Nebraska, more difficult across Wyoming, and very difficult through the Wasatch Range in Utah. The Central Pacific performed miracles to build over Donner Pass in the Sierras, but then moved rapidly across Nevada and Utah. They met in Promontory Valley north of Great Salt Lake. Both railroads performed astounding feats of engineering, and Ambrose's story is at its best when describing them. I wish that there were detailed maps of the many regions. The few maps in the book look like they were drawn by a fifth-grader. The story, however, gets bogged down in financial details that detract from the exciting tale of the building and could have been addressed more briefly. This is not as good a book as Band of Brothers or Ambrose's earlier, fine books. I get the feeling that it was put together quickly, but it still has some vintage Ambrose and should keep you interested.


Wonderful story   April 6, 2003
Wow! I had never picked up a book on the Transcontinental Railroad before, and this was very informative & eye-opening. I got the unabridged book on tape from my local library, and really enjoyed listening to this on my daily commute. I'm not sure how it would be to actually read, but this book was perfect for a 30 minute commute for about 2 weeks. I would (& have) recommend this to anyone!