Chicago Tribune, December 12, 1999
Sunday
TAKING READERS ON NOSTALGIC TRIPS THROUGH
RAILROADING'S PAST
By Diane Struzzl
EMPIRE EXPRESS: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad
By David Haward Bain
Viking, 797 pages, $34.95
David Haward Bain highlights the bold spirit that built the
mammoth
transcontinental railroad. His book is an epic voyage westward,
creating a
story that interweaves American history with the railroad's progress.
The
effort to build the railroad doesn't stop for war or Lincoln's
assassination and finds opportunity in events such as the Gold Rush,
which
provided a ready workforce of Chinese immigrants. Bain goes beyond
the
fundamental story of a fledgling railroad and recounts the
unrelenting
pursuit of a brash, young country and the desire of the eager men
who
built the railroad.
Diane Struzzi is a Chicago-based freelance
writer.