Rating: 
Summary: More than you would like to know
Review: It would seem that Mr. Ambrose:
1. Needed to satisfy his publisher
2. Needed money (doubtful)
3. Had nothing better to do (could be)
4. Wrote this book on several different occasions, and then quickly compiled it (highly likely)
5. Wanted to bore us and re-bore us as to how many cottonwood ties and spikes could be shipped out and re-shipped out to the end of track.I'm a big railfan, and was expecting to devour this book. As a matter of fact, I read it while traveling on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle and back. While hoping for a good read on my journey, I ended up feeling that I was being subjected to such minutia and endless repetition that I questioned every flip of the page. Should I flip again, I asked myself over and over. Stephen did some great things in his time. This wasn't one of them. Frank
Rating: 
Summary: For a first time transcontinental reader...
Review: This book was the first time I have read something in regards to the building of the trans-continental railroad. I have seen others who are more educated on the topic criticize this work for some inaccuracies. I, as a rookie on the subject, found the overall content very interesting. The contradictions I find others making are minor to the overall story being told. This book satisifies my desire for learning about the building of the railroad. My biggest problem with the book is it's excessive amount of details (quoting telegrams that chased the location of missing spikes) and the author continuously repeating certain points of interest. The maps shown in the book add information for those not familiar the locations of landmarks mentioned and the photos are impressive considering their age. As a whole, I recommend this book for the average person who wants to learn about the railroad without being worried about the minute details.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed in a favorite a favorite writer
Review: Mr. Ambrose - who generally writes as readable a history as anyone - fell way short on this one. At the outset, he admits that his publisher recommended this topic to him. I suspect his publisher needed an Ambrose book on the shelves for the summer of 2000 and magde this suggestion in May of the same year. The book was redundant and disorganized and gave the distinct impression of being thrown together like a midnight term paper. This book ought to be skipped.
Rating:
Summary: Only for railroad buffs. A "sluggish" read.
Review: I purchased this book on a recommendation from a friend. Not
impressed at all. The story itself is interesting, but Ambrose's telling of it was not. Why? - He spent the first 100-200 pages detailing all of the political machinations that were needed to get both railroads
(UP and CP) going. I think 25-50 pages of this would have been fine. - There are many many sections of the book where there is repetitive data: on the tunnels, how they laid the track, how the raw materials were brought up, etc.. I bet I read 200 times how the grading "was 300 miles in advance". Stop it! - I was never able to understand the tricky financing portions of either the CP or UP. If I was able to figure out the financial sleight-of-hand it would have been more fun. - Nice pics, but why not a diagram of the railroad's organization, etc.. that we could refer to? All in all it was interesting but took me months to read. I'd ready 50 pages and put it down in disgust. Read 10-15 other books and then come back to it. It's a book that I would swear was written but 10 different
folks, put together, poorly edited, and sent out into the
world to make money. I will continue to search for a better
work on this subject.
Rating:
Summary: boring unless you are a railroad nutcase
Review: just read my title. it says it all. you have to live, love, and be infatuated with railroads to get through this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Two thumbs down
Review: This book must rank among Ambrose's worst. It is confusing, redundant, overwritten, jingoistic and mind-numbingly dull. If any reader can decipher the Union Pacific Railroad's finances based on Ambrose's exposition, then he or she should get a Nobel Prize in economics.
Rating: 
Summary: good, for a first draft...
Review: While this is a good account of the building of the transcontinental RR, this book is an apparent product of the Stephen Ambrose book factory putting quantity over quality. There are some obvious quote and description repetitions and the organization is a little sloppy. I think some thorough editing could have made this book great. I'm a big fan of Ambrose's previous works and do recommend this book despite these disappointments.
Rating:
Summary: A courageous tale of conquering the elements & politics
Review: The race to build the transcontinental railroad is a story of courage, overwhelming odds and politics. Stephen E. Ambrose is one of America's master storytellers. He reconstructs a critical piece of American history and conveys its enormous importance to the nation's growth. The research in this book is impeccable. Ambrose does a superb job explaining the backbreaking and dangerous work on the railroad. He also does a credible job of explaining the power and greed that contaminated some of railroad men.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Book - Needed Polishing
Review: This was an engaging story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860's. The story is of epic proportions and the reader is immediately drawn into the political, social, and technical aspects of this magnificent engineering feat. While the narrative generally moves quickly, there are times when the writing is inconsistent, as if there were several separate authors (or perhaps a research assistant)with a separate voice (with, on occasion, the author shifting from third person to first person narrative). I imagine that this is typical of a well-established author who has, for all intents and purposes, created a "history factory" where numerous people contribute to the final product. That being said, the book remains both entertaining and educational.
Rating:
Summary: There ARE things like this in the world.
Review: "Nothing Like it in the World" by Stephen Ambrose is an account of the building of the coast-to-coast railroad in America. I devoured this book in a week or so. I thought that it was a very good account of the trials and tribulations that surrounded the building of this railroad. Ambrose does a good job of jumping back and forth between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific and their respective drive to be the first to the meeting point. Some of the things that the workers accomplished with the tools that they had are nothing less than astounding. At points they were knocking out 6 miles a day of track, with grading being done 50 miles ahead! I also especially enjoyed the short profile of Bringham Young and his contribution to this effort. I think he is a figure often overlooked in mainstream American history. Upon the completion of this book, I read of the "plagerism" accusations that are being brought upon Stephen Ambrose. To be honest, I have read a few of his books and a felt a little bit cheated. Plagerism or not, Ambrose crafts many interesting stories and this is near the top. I recommend reading this book for anyone who is a fan of history. Ultimately, I disagree with Ambrose's assertion that there is nothing like this railroad in the world. He bases that claim upon the enormous amount of manpower and engineering creativity that this project demanded. I think that projects like the "Chunnel," the World Trade Center, The Hoover Dam, Panama Canal, The Petronas Towers, Great Wall of China, and the Pyramids of Giza all have claim to this distinction.
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