by Globalksp
Asa Whitney, the early dreamer and lobbyist of America's first trans-continental railway (a Pacific RR) seems to fall into the shadows of the men that came after him and made his dream a reality. While it was inevitable that the west would one day be connected to the east by a belt of iron, Whitney saw the light first, a light that would shine on the pages of history that disclose the horror of Native American massacres, some of the first signs of the might of large corporations in government, and eventually the rise of suburbia.
With Theodore "Ted" Judah following in Whitney's benevolent footsteps the Central Pacific struck East and the Union Pacific West with the incorrigible Dr. Durant at the throttle. From then on out it was capitalistic competition, war, and finally, the ties that first binded the right coast with the East.
I'm nearly finished Empire Express, David Haward Bain's massive, in depth, enjoyable work on the building of the transcontinental. I highly recommend it to those wanting a fantastic look into the building of such a massive civil project.
As an aside: Stay away from Stephen J. Ambrose's sister piece on the transcontinental RR; he is to historical nonfiction as CNN is to honest reporting.
With Theodore "Ted" Judah following in Whitney's benevolent footsteps the Central Pacific struck East and the Union Pacific West with the incorrigible Dr. Durant at the throttle. From then on out it was capitalistic competition, war, and finally, the ties that first binded the right coast with the East.
I'm nearly finished Empire Express, David Haward Bain's massive, in depth, enjoyable work on the building of the transcontinental. I highly recommend it to those wanting a fantastic look into the building of such a massive civil project.
As an aside: Stay away from Stephen J. Ambrose's sister piece on the transcontinental RR; he is to historical nonfiction as CNN is to honest reporting.
