Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad

After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century s most transformative event Beginning in 1842 with a visionary s dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity From self made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific s Thomas Durant and era defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history. Free Read [ Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad ] author [ David Haward Bain ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr If readers are interested in how business is conducted in the United States, a capitalist democracy, Empire Express by David Hayward Bain will be instructive Although the business was the construction of the first transcontinental railroad from Sacramento, California in the ancient and long forgotten or unknown American era of 1863, and it was ultimately successful although costly in lives and sweat besides costing millions of nineteenth century public and private dollars , it couldn t have If readers are interested in how business is conducted in the United States, a capitalist democracy, Empire Express by David Hayward Bain will be instructive Although the business was the construction of the first transcontinental railroad from Sacramento, California in the ancient and long forgotten or unknown American era of 1863, and it was ultimately successful although costly in lives and sweat besides costing millions of nineteenth century public and pri...A monumental history of a massive undertaking the joining together of the East and West coasts of the United States via rail Bain is an excellent storyteller and a gifted writer, not to mention a prolific researcher In the latter compartment, he spent a decade researching and then putting into words this incredible tale The research is borne out by the detailed Notes section This is one of those books where at the end of each chapter I would turn to the Notes to read through them for an A monumental history of a massive undertaking the joining together of the East and West coasts of the United States via rail Bain is an excellent storyteller and a gifted writer, not to mention a prolific researcher In the latter compartment, he spent a decade researching and then putting into words this incredible tale The research is borne out by the detailed Notes section This is one of those books where at the end of each chapter I would turn to the Notes to read through them for any additional context or stories that Bain capture...The story of the construction of America s transcontinental railroad is also a tale of corruption, political intrigue, Civil War, appropriation of native lands, slaughter of animals, immigration, and the rise of a powerful nation It was a monumental feat of engineering for its time The Union Pacific began laying track in Omaha, Nebraska The Central Pacific began in Sacramento, California and soon began tunneling through the snow bound peaks...A comprehensive, intricate account about an integral episode of American history The length and detail of the book is overwhelming but this is understandable Bain incorporates history of finance, engineering, immigration, labor, politics and public policy to make the significance of the building of the transcontinental railway relevant today And it brought to life the Cr dit Mobilier scandal, something my high school history teacher succeeded in making as boring and irrelevant as possible.And A comprehensive, intricate account about an integral episode of American history The length and detail of the book is overwhelming but this is understandable Bain incorporates history of finance, engineering, immigration, labor, politics and public policy to make the significance of the building of the transcontinental railway relevant today And it brought to life the Cr dit Mobilier scandal, something my high school history teacher succeeded in making as boring and irrelevant as possible.And, like most good historical works, Bain provides a number of less important, albeit i...This is a fascinating book about the construction of the first railroad across the country, one of the first great accomplishments of the Gilded Age The book book itself is amazingly well referenced, with extensive end notes although I hate end notes Like most Americans of a certain age, I knew the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads linked up Utah in 186...Oh, how it needed a good editor So much potential, so much I had to speedread to keep my sanity.This book entertained me for a really, really long time.Informative, comprehensive, and well told that s all I ask for when I read a book about any event in history But my favorite thing is when I unexpectedly come away with so much , like with David Haward Bain s book about the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads and the strong willed men behind them The glory of ingenuity, a construction that would b...Fascinating What work went into creating this wonderful book for all of us The story is really incredible two companies competing to get as far across the country as possible Central Pacific, coming from the West Coast, wasfocused on actually completing the railroad The Union Pacific gang, from St Louis, was rip roaring, with an incredible cast of characters that did their best to undermine each other Amazing that their part of the railroad actually got built and didn t disintegrat Fascinating What work went into creating this wonderful book for all of us The story is really incredible two companies competing to get as far across the country as possible Central Pacific, coming from the West Coast, wasfocused on actually completing the railroad The Union Pacific gang, from St Louis, was rip roaring, with an incredible cast of characters that did their best to undermine each other Amazing that their part of the railroad actually got built and didn t disintegrate I hadn t thought about the fact that building started during the Civil War, and the completion only a few short years later From America s lowest moment to an ultimately fine achievement Lots of great tidbits The author also tries to weave in the other issues of the time Reconstruction, immigration, Johnson s impeachment and Grant s election My only criticism is that, as I ve read in several popular history books, the author provides biographical d...Empire Express is a quite worthwhile and often fascinating look behind the scenes and on the tracks of America s first transcontinental railroad of course a connecting of several different railroads to form a connecting whole David Haward Bain ...

• English
• 01 October 2018
David Haward Bain
• Paperback
• 848 pages
• 0140084991
• David Haward Bain
• Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad