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 enlarge | Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Creator: Jeffrey Demunn
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $46.00 (92%)
New (3) Used (11) from $3.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  213 reviews
Sales Rank: 1459738
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 2.7
ISBN: 0736656537
Dewey Decimal Number: 385.0973
EAN: 9780736656535
ASIN: 0743506472
Publication Date: August 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 EXCELLENT READ BUT LACKING A LITTLE DETAIL IN THE BEGINNING April 11, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
As with all the Ambrose books, this is a collaboration of a team of historians led by Ambrose. It is covers in exceptional detail the building of the railroad, explaining little details such as, "Why does the engines on the Union Pacific were so small and the engines on the Central Pacific were so big?" Simple: the Central Pacific burned wood while the Union Pacific burned coal. Ambrose also covers the intrigue behind the politics to win the grants to build the railroad. It is interesting how this sort of graft is involved in nearly every government-run venture. It was necessary though, as Ambrose points out --- only the government could risk money in such a fashion. What Ambrose missed, and this is surprising, is how the Civil War led directly to the building of the railroad. The South did not want it. They controlled the government until the war. A railroad benefited the East, not the South. After the war began, a log-jam of legistlation began to flow through Congress. Acts included: The Homestead Act, and the Land-Grant college act. Interesting how times are paralle. Still, despite that flaw, it is an excellent story about engineers and finance that is well-worth reading.
If this review was helpful, please add your vote -- Thanks.
 Not up to standards of basic scholarship January 6, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is not up to the standards one would expect in a book written by a respected historian. It is obvious that the bulk of the book's research was done by the author's staff and not the writer. The editing is slipshod. The same "notecard" entries, for example, are used word for word in different chapters of the book. I suspect the Ambrose book was rushed to publication in order to appear before the publication of the vastly superior work on the same subject by David Bain, "The Empire Express."
 both a good and bad book. December 17, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
the Bad- it repeated itself too much,and could have benefitted from more depth and detail in both aspects of american history and railroading.
the Good- very easy to read. this is probably a "must-read" book if you want just a good general overview of the genre. however, as both an american history and railroading fan, my expectations were not satisfied.
4 stars for its merit as an overview for the genre; 0 stars for its merit as a "deep" book for the genre, so as an average it gets 2 stars.
Informative, but repetative September 11, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Found this to be an informative read, however, it was very repetative in places. We see the same stories told over in different parts of the book. Could use more editing.
As for the writing itself, I found it a bit bland. Did not have great flow and found myself struggling to finish it.
I am interested in the subject and learned quite a bit, although was frustrated about how much more time he spent chronicling the business end of the building as opposed to the human side.
Not the most gripping of Ambrose' work... September 7, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am a huge fan of Stephen Ambrose and have read 6-7 of his books already w/ another 2-3 lined up and ready to go. This topic interests me greatly, but the book is a bit dry and does not hold my attention like his others...which may stem from the fact that there are so many "players"...it's sometimes tough to keep track of. Maybe I am simple....but I don't think it's his best work but it may also stem from the massive amount of work/effort that went into building the transcntl RR.....it's not a bad read, but just not my favorite. Hope this helps....and I must stress, Ambrose is prob my favorite author of all time.
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