Rating: 
Summary: over rated
Review: Ambrose has become so popular he thinks he can write anything. The best book on the transcontinental railroad is called 'Empire Express'. This book is just not worth it. Ambrose has produced some valuable scholarship(on Ike and Nixon) but this doesnt pass muster. Not recommended when equal and better volumes exist that are specialities for the authors involved, not just popular history.
Rating: 
Summary: Railroad enthusiasts will enjoy it more than a casual reader
Review: Stephen Ambrose, noted author of historical works, sets out to weave a tale of human endeavor and achievement. Given the unprecedented nature of the events and relevance of some of the sub-plots his work falls short of the masterpiece that it could have been. All of the elements of a great work are there: historical accuracy and depth of research (including notes from rail worker logs/diaries) as well as the workings of cut-throat business competition and national scandals in the making... There are still many intersting details: the introduction of "modern" advances like nitroglycerine, steam power and electricity; using business competition to increase productivity; the political machinations that should have brought down many members of Congress (but didn't) and the very Enron-like financial frauds. Railroad enthusiasts will still enjoy the work, but it could have had much broader appeal and present-day relevance with a little more refinement.
Rating:
Summary: The Race Between The Union Pacific And Central Pacific
Review: I used to travel in luxury (compared with today's airplanes) to the West Coast on the Union Pacific Railroad's streamliner, the City of San Francisco. A constant source of fascination to me was the ingenious route taken by the builders of our nation's first transcontinental railroad. The Union Pacific built westward from Omaha. The Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento. Since the railroads got money from Congress according to how much track they laid, it was an all-out race. Stephen Ambrose describes how the Union Pacific had an easy time across Nebraska, more difficult across Wyoming, and very difficult through the Wasatch Range in Utah. The Central Pacific performed miracles to build over Donner Pass in the Sierras, but then moved rapidly across Nevada and Utah. They met in Promontory Valley north of Great Salt Lake. Both railroads performed astounding feats of engineering, and Ambrose's story is at its best when describing them. I wish that there were detailed maps of the many regions. The few maps in the book look like they were drawn by a fifth-grader. The story, however, gets bogged down in financial details that detract from the exciting tale of the building and could have been addressed more briefly. This is not as good a book as Band of Brothers or Ambrose's earlier, fine books. I get the feeling that it was put together quickly, but it still has some vintage Ambrose and should keep you interested.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful story
Review: Wow! I had never picked up a book on the Transcontinental Railroad before, and this was very informative & eye-opening. I got the unabridged book on tape from my local library, and really enjoyed listening to this on my daily commute. I'm not sure how it would be to actually read, but this book was perfect for a 30 minute commute for about 2 weeks. I would (& have) recommend this to anyone!
Rating: 
Summary: Railroad geography
Review: My personal favorite Ambrose book. He brings alive the troubles with building the railroad and shows the rivalry between the companies in great detail.
Rating:
Summary: Good history
Review: The history of the Transcontinental Railroad has been bound up by various social mythologies for so long that it's tended to be viewed as an example of Manifest Destiny, and consequently the details have been glossed over by writers eager to emphasize the vibrancy of late-19th-century American expansionism. Stephen Ambrose, however, has clearly done his research, for he gets to the facts of the matter. He discusses the factual details....the financiers and shady dealing that paid for the railroad, the difficulties of finding a route and actually building the trackways, the relative heroes and relative villains, the workers, and other facets of the railroad that have become immutable parts of the American perspective. In addition, the narrative is easy to read. It's surprising, because the book is so densely packed with information, to realize just how well-written it is. It's an interesting, non-mythologized view of railroad development and downturn which, upon reflection, highlights parallels with current railroad woes. It's worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Haphazard Writing, Poor Editing, Non-Existent Fact Checking
Review: What a joke! Repetitive writing. I heard this book on tape and thought I must be mistaken when I heard the same sentences as before. Then, I heard that Lee discovered Meade's orders in Civil War. HUH!! It was Meade that saw Lee's orders. I got a copy of the book and started researching what others thought of book. He has the wrong people doing things, places in the wrong direction from each other, rivers in the wrong states, states listed as territories. I doubt if there a single page in this book that doesn't have an error. Inspiring, but complete garbage.
Rating:
Summary: Learn about a forgotten American triumph
Review: Not inclined to read non-fiction, I was caught in a transcontinental move from Arizona to Georgia. When I arrived in the southeast, my daughter tossed this book to me as one recommended by a classmate at Duke. While I found Ambrose repetitive in some areas, I was fascinated by his story that detailed the construction of the transcontinental railroad from concept before the Civil War to completion after the war in 1869. This is an American triumph that, to date, may surpass putting a man on the moon. As I progressed through the story, it occurred to me A)how little I knew about this important accomplishment, and B)what an irreplaceably positive impact the construction of the railroad had on our nation. When I completed the last page, I was convinced that the United States would not be near the nation it is today without the hard work and commitment of thousands of laborers, surveyors, engineers, etc. who were not intimidated by the immense challenge of the task they faced. I recommend this book to anyone with a thirst for historical knowledge about the United States. This story fills a gap that you may not have ever thought existed. Ambrose is not my favorite author, but despite his shortcomings with this book, he has done a fine job detailing the railroad adventure.
Rating:
Summary: What a fascinating story!
Review: I've been out West many times, but had only the haziest view of the transcontinental railroad before reading "Nothing Like It in the World." Stephen Ambrose was such a good writer, and I was quickly caught up in the story of the railroad, although I'm not a railroad buff. And I learned a great deal. Ambrose apparently changed his mind while working on the book from a view that the rich who built the railroad were just robber barons to thinking they actually made a tremendous contribution to America's unity and development. Ambrose appreciated their work and the work of the Chinese who built from the West, the American Civil War veterans and the Irish who built from the East, and the Mormons who built in the middle. Ambrose tells a good story, perhaps better for people like me who don't already know a lot about the transcontinental railroad than for professional historians or railroad buffs. It's not GREAT, like Undaunted Courage, Ambrose's book on Lewis and Clark, but it's a GOOD READ.
Rating:
Summary: A Book Like None Other
Review: Nothink Like it in the World is a book that takes the reader to a true point of realization. Working Conditions of laying out tracks for hundreds and hundreds of miles from Omaha to San Francisco isn't the easiest thing in the world. Stephen E. Ambrose lets you take a close look at the men who built the transcontinental railroad showing both sides of the excruciating work and time in history. Giving different perspectives of people work on this great engineering feat shows how people felt abou this work. Also workers have to overcome extreme weather conditions such as the worst winter in decades and burning high temperatures in the desert. This shows tremendous bravery on the workers' part. Reading this lets people realize that in order to acheive something great you have to take risks. An enjoyable book and a biography of the men who built the transcontinental railroad by Stephen E. Ambrose.
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