Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad - Hardcover

Bain, David Haward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067080889X ISBN 13: 9780670808892

Publisher: Viking, 1999

Synopsis

A dramatic history of the construction of America's first transcontinental railroad chronicles three seminal decades in American history, describing the vast enterprise to build a railroad from Missouri to the Pacific in terms of the remarkable expansion of the United States of America. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"Rich with scandal, tragedy, and visionary characters".

-- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

From the Back Cover

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 the Central Pacific's Collis Huntington, to era-defining figures such as President Lincoln, Generals Grant and Sherman, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman, to the thousands of nameless laborers -- especially the Irish and Chines -- whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension, not only to this monumental endeavor, but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 067080889X
• ISBN 13: 9780670808892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 816