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 enlarge | Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Pocket Books
Category: Book
Buy Used: $3.42
Used (10) from $3.42
Avg. Customer Rating:  212 reviews
Sales Rank: 2736423
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 1416511423
EAN: 9781416511427
ASIN: 1416511423
Publication Date: September 5, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New Book Unread May Have Remainder Mark In-Stock NOW FAST Secure Packaging & Delivery
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| Customer Reviews:
 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.
Could be much better August 19, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Did anyone edit this book? There are whole pages that are repeated almost word for word throughout the book! I can't believe no one picked up on this.
Otherwise, the books reads fast and is very informative about the subject.
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