Nothing like it in the world : the men who built the transcontinental railroad, 1863-1869

Summary: 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.

Record details

ISBN: 0743203178
ISBN: 9780743203173
Physical Description: print
431 p., [32] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
Edition: 1st Touchstone ed.
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Content descriptions

General Note:	"A Touchstone book" -- T.p.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 407-411) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	ch. 1. Picking the route 1830-1860 -- ch. 2. Getting to California 1848-1859 -- ch. 3. Birth of the Central Pacific 1860-1862 -- ch. 4. Birth of the Union Pacific 1862-1864 -- ch. 5. Judah and the elephant 1862-1864 -- ch. 6. Laying out the Union Pacific line 1864-1865 -- ch. 7. Central Pacific attacks the Sierra Nevada 1865 -- ch. 8. Union Pacific across Nebraska 1866 -- ch. 9. Central Pacific assaults the Sierra 1866 -- ch. 10. Union Pacific to the Rocky Mountains 1867 -- ch. 11. Central Pacific penetrates the summit 1867 -- ch. 12. Union Pacific across Wyoming 1868 -- ch. 13. Brigham Young and the Mormons make the grade 1868 -- ch. 14. Central Pacific goes through Nevada 1868 -- ch. 15. Railroads race into Utah January 1-April 10, 1869 -- ch. 16. To the summit April 11-May 7, 1869 -- Done May 8-10, 1869.