An exhaustive account of the building of the Intercontinental Railroad. Ambrose covers the full gamut, from the shady characters that financed the whole venture (including those that rose to prominence as a result) to the suffering of the Chinese-Americans that pounded through the California mountains to make the railroad a reality. Again, Ambrose has a gift for storytelling that is unparalleled. And this time, there is no recycling involved because this is an entirely new subject for him.