Nothing Like it In the World, by Stephen E. Ambrose is a look at the creation of the transcontinental railroad. I read Ambrose's book on Lews and Clark and found it both readable and informative, so I've been looking forward to this one.
Started: January 2, 2010
Completed: June 26, 2010
Recommendation: Not recommended
Recommended by: Nobody, I found this book on the community book shelf at the New Deal Cafe.
Review: This book is very interesting. Of particular interest to me was the history behind the phrase "Hell on Wheels" which now makes much more sense to me. It was also interesting to hear about the nature and resolution of the labor disputes. Frankly, the transcontinental railroad never impressed me and, after reading this book, I'm impressed. While the material is interesting, reading it is boring. The writing is good and I enjoy the author, but the material is boring to me. I'm not a railroad guy. I'm not even a big business guy. From a railroad perspective, I think there is not enough information about the tolerances of the curves and the reasons for the grades...why a particular grade was considered maximum or what changes in locomotive technology were caused or influenced the railroad. From a business perspective, this was a huge swindle in many ways, but it wasn't really analyzed. The end of the book has one of the railroad companies in a sort of receivership, but I think the author just assumes that everyone knows what happened to the company or that it doesn't really matter to the reader. In any case, here's the deal: the material is interesting and the presentation is good, but the book is not compelling. You have to work through this book and I think that even if you have a special interest, the book is not going to address your area of interest sufficiently to let that carry you along. You will still have to work. That is why I don't recommend it.
