{"product_id":"nothing-like-it-in-the-world-the-men-who-built-the-transcontinental-railroad-1863-1869-9780743203173","title":"Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869","description":"\u003ci\u003eNothing Like It in the World\u003c\/i\u003e gives the account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage. It is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad--the investors who risked their businesses and money; the enlightened politicians who understood its importance; the engineers and surveyors who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives; and the Irish and Chinese immigrants, the defeated Confederate soldiers, and the other laborers who did the backbreaking and dangerous work on the tracks. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe U.S. government pitted two companies--the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads--against each other in a race for funding, encouraging speed over caution. Locomotives, rails, and spikes were shipped from the East through Panama or around South America to the West or lugged across the country to the Plains. In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise, with its huge expenditure of brainpower, muscle, and sweat, comes vibrantly to life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmbrose, Stephen E.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \"Stephen E. Ambrose was a renowned historian and acclaimed author of more than thirty books. Among his \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers are \u003ci\u003eNothing Like It in the World, Citizen Soldiers, Band of Brothers, D-Day - June 6, 1944, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eUndaunted Courage\u003c\/i\u003e. Dr. Ambrose was a retired Boyd Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and a contributing editor for the \u003ci\u003eQuarterly Journal of Military History\u003c\/i\u003e.\"","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50604295454994,"sku":"9780743203173","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bae77e11-ad29-4f13-9608-3a40533fdafb.jpg?v=1732258035","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/nothing-like-it-in-the-world-the-men-who-built-the-transcontinental-railroad-1863-1869-9780743203173","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}