The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869

Another excellent book by Stephen Ambrose. Once again his exhaustive research and writing style have combined to produce a very interesting and readable book! Ambrose's sense of history and the documentation of same meld for a superb and fascinating read. Loved this story and book.

As a history and railroad buff, I found this book very disappointing. Ambrose takes the bombastic approach to history and infers that anything American has to be the best. For example, in the Introduction he says that this project far surpasses the building of the Canadian Pacific and the Trans Siberian. Even though these railways were two and three times the size, through tougher terrain and with climates that make US seem a tropical paradise. Somewhere out there there has to be a book that takes a deeper look at this exciting period of history.

The story of one of America's finest accomplishments. A great study of the strengths and weaknesses of American capitalism. Another example of how it can be corrupted, but still gets great things done.

Too convoluted and confusing. Ambrose states that he was commissioned to write about HOW the transcontinental railroad project was done. He covered much of this but jumped around so much and belabored so many parts of the process it was difficult to follow. The only reason I finished it (with many hours of boredom) was because it was my book club's selection. Most in our group gave it a subpar rating.
Two stars? Because I learned where the term "hell on wheels" originated and I learned why time zones were established.

The beginning of the book was very interesting. Clearly outlined the development of the railroad. Unfortunately as the book went on it mired down in countless quotes and repetition. At that point I couldn't wait to get to the ending when the RR met but that was anti climatic.

Ambrose's topic is interesting, and he certainly brings passion to the subject, but certain passages shade into sentimentality and hyperbole. This is a good book about an important part of American history, but it is not a classic or a must-read.

I really enjoyed this book. It is well written and if you are in interested in American History it gives you insight into the period of history surrounding the building of these two powerful railroads. It also gives you an inside look at the dealings and graft that went into the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. I would recommend this book and actually already have.

My title tells all. You learn much about this remarkable event but it is not a page-turner. What I thought most odd is that he starts off with a liberal bias against big business rather than being apolitical. But his ending he praises big business even though it was pretty corrupt in this instance. It is almost like he went from Democrat to Republican during the time he wrote the book. He quotes a lot of his research rather than integrating those quotes into the fabric of the story. Since there are two railroad companies racing East and West towards Utah, the story switches back and forth by time period and I have no reason to question this technique (but you can put the book down at the end of any chapter/section). Because of his hidden bias, liberals will probably read the book like a novel and enjoy it more. If only David McCullough had got to this topic first!

I usually love Stephen Ambrose's books, but this seemed to drag on more than most. I was reading it on a Kindle so I am not sure if a hardcopy would have had better maps, pictures, etc so you could put some faces with names. It is a pretty amazing story considering it was happening during the Civil War. I live in Seattle where we have been trying to dig a tunnel under the city for almost 3 years now but the tunneling machine breaks about every 10 feet so the book made me think that we would have better luck doing it by hand. Unfortunately I am sure that would fall on deaf ears.

The book was so well researched and documented that it made me feel as though I was there.It is in such detail and still not boring,to the point that I could not put it down until I had read it all, and digested every dedail.I would recomend it as part of "American History" taught in high school.I have bought more than one copy to give to friends and family.Thank you for the chance to express my opinion of the book.

I was very disappointed with this book. While it is most likely historically accurate I found this subject extremely dry. Parts were very intersting but I was expecting more about how the Irish and Chinese actually built the railroad. If you're into trains this book is for you; However, it took me longer to read this book than it took to build the railroad. Sorry Mr. Ambrose I'm a total fan but this just didn't work for me.

Excellent read. It gives a great appreciation for the railroads that we take for granted today. It tells a magnificent story of the complexity of building a railroad where there was nothing to work with or mountains to go over, through or around, and the people who believed in it and worked so hard to accomplish the task.I loved this book!

Excellent read. It gives a great appreciation for the railroads that we take for granted today. It tells a magnificent story of the complexity of building a railroad where there was nothing to work with or mountains to go over, through or around, and the people who believed in it and worked so hard to accomplish the task.I loved this book!

After some research, I discovered this book has at least sixty errors in it, and, although I read it, I would not recommend it to readers. There are simply too many details taken from second and third sources to merit this version believable.