Nothing Like It in the World

Posted on 02 February 2018 by Stephen E. Ambrose

Nothing Like It in the World gives the account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage It is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad the investors who risked their businesses and money the enlightened politicians who understood its importance the engineers and surveyors who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives and the Irish and Chinese immigrants, the defeated Confederate soldiers, and the other laborers who did the backbreaking and dangerous work on the tracks.The U.S government pitted two companies the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads against each other in a race for funding, encouraging speed over caution Locomotives, rails, and spikes were shipped from the East through Panama or around South America to the West or lugged across the country to the Plains In Ambrose s hands, this enterprise, with its huge expenditure of brainpower, muscle, and sweat, comes vibrantly to life. Free Download eBook Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen E. Ambrose – kino-fada.fr There is a vocal contingent of people who like to criticize Stephen Ambrose for his methods and style, who don t consider him a true historian I have an engineering degree and in college took humanities courses kicking and screaming, and as such I don t get the argument against him What I do understand is that Ambrose brings history to life and this book was no exception Before picking up this book, I had no interest in the history of the transcontinental railroad, but after only a couple of There is a vocal contingent of people who like to criticize Stephen Ambrose for his methods and style, who don t consider him a true historian I have an engineering degree and in college took humanities courses kicking and screaming, and as such I don t get the argument against him What I do understand is that Ambrose brings history to life and this book was no exception Before picking up this book, I had no interest in the hist...Subtitled incorrectly The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863 1869 , I knew I was taking a risk reading an Ambrose book, but the subject was compelling to me I like trains, I like history, particularly 19th Century American History, so I figured I would give this a try.Not one of my better plans.It s pretty bad when the 20 minute animated Peanuts special on the same subject iscritical of the subject material than a book for adults But sadly, this was the case Rather than Subtitled incorrectly The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863 1869 , I knew I was taking a risk reading an Ambrose book, but the subject was compelling t...I tend to read others reviews before I write my own, and, as is often the case when I come across a negative review to a book I liked, my first thought is did you actually read it, followed by can you read But, to put things in perspective, I remember going into a classroom a few years ago after having finished this book, and I enthusiastically shared with my high school seniors how great it was One somewhat attentive student asked what it was about to which I replied the building of the I tend to read others reviews before I write my own, and, as is often the case when I come across a negative review to a book I liked, my first thought is did you actually read it, followed by can you read But, to put things in perspective, I remember going into a classroom a few years ago after having finished this book, and I enthusiastically shared with my high school seniors how great it was One somewhat attentive student asked what it was about to which I replied the building of the transcontinental railroad The blank look on the majority of faces cued me in to the fact that, first, most of my students didn t know what the transcontinental railroad was, and, for those that did, it confirmed in their mind that I was crazy That said, Ambrose makes a momentous singular accomplishment in American history come vividly alive The vision of Lincoln...Ambrose makes non fiction history an easy read with a similar writing style as John Grisham The book is a very easy read but is filled with repeated anecdotes between chapters and in some cases missing context The book covers the story of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, the men behind them, and the race to build the transcontinental railroad It focuses on the men who risked their fortunes to make even greater fortunes with the railroad Ambrose does not spend much time on th Ambrose makes non fiction history an easy read with a similar writing style as John Grisham The book is a very easy read but is filled with repeated anecdotes between chapters and in some cases missing context The book covers the story of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, the men behind them, and the race to build the transcontinental railroad It focuses on the men who risked their fortunes to make even greater fortunes with the railroad Ambrose does not spend much time on the Credit Mobilier scandals and the dark side of the financing I usually enjoy histories of engineering projects but Ambrose is a military historian and glosses over the technical aspects He focuses o...A good friend recommended this because he liked it I think the attraction would be the details of the remarkable transcontinental railroad was built No doubt it was an amazing engineering achievement and an audacious idea If you like to know a lot about how a railroad of such magnitude could have been built essentially without power tools, this is the book for you.Frankly, I got a bit bored with all of the details and wantedhuman interest Also, something about Ambrose s writing makes m A good friend recommended this because he liked it I think the attraction would be the details of the remarkable transcontinental railroad was built No doubt it was an amazing engineering achievement and an audacious idea If you like to know a lot about how a railroad of such magnitude could have been built essentially without power tools, this is the book for you.Frankly, I got a bit bored with all of the details and wantedhuman interest Also, something about Ambrose s writing makes me feel like he only wants to focus on the glorious engineering of the American and make light of some of its tragic consequence It is subtle, to be sure Ambrose acknowledges that he wanted to focus on how the railroad was built, rather than the broader issues, but I think that decision made the story bland.It is fair enough to build a story a...Stephen Ambrose leaves no stone unturned in his piece on the building of the transcontinental railroad If you want a comprehensive book on the building of the railroad, this is the book to choose Ambrose covers the politics, the construction, the materials used, the conditions, the strikes, the corruption, the geography, the immigrant workers, the scheduling, the costs, really anything that you want to know about the 6 years of building one of the most important structures of the 19th century Stephen Ambrose leaves no stone unturned in his piece on the building of the transcontinental railroad If you want a comprehensive book on the building of the railroad, this is the book to choose Ambrose covers the politics, the construction, the materials used, the conditions, the strikes, the corrup...Really great story, well told I couldn t put it down.A great antidote for those who believe that our times are uniquely corrupt The engineers and surveyors and foremen and workers are the heroes of this tale The politicians and the businessmen most often the same crew are the villains Even them Ambrose treats mostly with kindness The progess across the Sierra, engineers and chinese laborers against the mountain and the snow, is spectacular The personalities of Dodge and Judah are exp Really great story, well told I couldn t put it down.A great antidote for those who believe that our times are uniquely corrupt The engineers and surveyors and foremen and workers are the heroes of this tale The politicians and the businessmen most often the same crew are the villains Even them Ambrose treats mostly with kindness The progess across the Sierra, engineers and chinese laborers ...The transcontinental railroad is an incredible feat of American ingenuity and engineering This book excellently highlighted the extreme skills of several of the key individuals who made the great iron road possible Throughout the book Ambrose concisely sees the sweeping effects the railroad has on the country He makes you feel proud of the accomplishment for what it is but explains how the big businesses often deceived the people This book gave me a huge appreciation for the ignored Chinese The transcontinental railroad is an incredible feat of American ingenuity and engineering This book excellently highlighted the extreme skills of several of the key individuals who made the great iron road possible Throughout the book Ambrose concisely sees the sweeping effects the railroad has on the country ...My rating 2.75While the subject matter of this book is very interesting, the writing was not Too much repetition and minutia The parts I enjoyed the most were when he talked about the people who were involved in this incredible project While, tedious, I did learn a lot and was glad I plowed through.I think I expectedfrom this book and Ambrose Although was this the book where it was questioned whether he lifted quotes Not sure if it was this book or not.I read a couple of the reviews before picking this back up recently I know, I always say that I never read them And I usually don t But since there was little no suspense to the outcome of the book I thought, what could it hurt The answer is I don t know because I looked.Anyway, I find I have to agree with some of them It w I think I expectedfrom this book and Ambrose Although was this the book where it was questioned whether he lifted quotes Not sure if it was this book or not.I read a couple of the reviews before picking this back up recently I know, I always say that I never re...

English
02 February 2018

Stephen E. Ambrose