Hi family - I know I'm not supposed to add books that I've already read, but I figured you'll allow me a freebie to get started.

Bought this book because of my ongoing love affair with railroads, but to be perfectly honest what kept me interested wasn't the descriptions of working life on the railroads or the railroad's influence on American culture. Instead, this book focused on the important and unique partnership between the Union Pacific, Central Pacific and the United States government under presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant. The relationships between Leland Stanford, Thomas Durant and the elected officials whose approval (and money) were required to build the transcontinental railroad are shown to be closer than I had known, and the book paints a picture of a young country still very much in the early stages of forming its political system and business infrastructure.

For the record, I know Ambrose is the Steven King of historians, but nothing wrong with a little easy-to-read non-fiction once in a while. I read the entire book while commuting on the Long Island Railroad, which made the subject matter that much more interesting. Reading about trains while feeling the tracks roll away underneath was a great experience.