Union Pacific

Union Pacific #1

by Maury Klein

The Union Pacific Railroad is renowned in history as America’s first transcontinental railroad and is one of the strongest companies in the railroad industry today. Now, in the first of a two-volume work, noted historian Maury Klein thrillingly recreates the powerful personalities and dramatic events that led to the construction of this legendary railroad and ultimately to one of America's largest corporations.

The laying of the first rails in the summer of 1865, from Omaha west, began an audacious and dangerous venture. Finding a route through the unknown and forbidding terrain of the desert and mountains was but one of the overwhelming problems that plagued the progress of the railroad from the start—there was a constant shortage of timber, a constant need for water for the locomotives, a tough, hard-drinking work force that needed to be controlled; and the railroad and its crew required constant vigilance from Indian attacks.

Perhaps even more crucial to the struggle were the colorful wheelings and dealings that were waged in executive boardrooms in New York and Boston and in the chambers of Congress as dreamers and scoundrels, politicians and patriots together forged a pioneering enterprise in transportation. Despite all obstacles, the joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads was accomplished, and the ceremony of the Golden Spike that "linked the continent" triumphantly took place at Promontory Point on May 10, 1869.

Fully illustrated with over one hundred historic photographs and maps, UNION PACIFIC recounts a magnificent human achievement that opened the western United States and helped elevate the American nation into a world power.

Genres: Trains, History

685 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 1987

About the author

Maury Klein is renowned as one of the finest historians of American business and economy. He is the author of many books, including The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America; and Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929. He is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Rhode Island. He lives in Saunderstown, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[John Vandike · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting volume on the first 30 years of the Union Pacific taking the reader from its slow inception through its receivership in 1893.

This is an exceptionally detailed book, but while the beginning has a mixture of surveying, engineering, and finance; once the Golden Spike is hammered in place this really becomes a very business focused book. Almost the entirety of the second half of the book is about stocks, bonds, loans, and the UP's struggle to keep afloat in a West that found itself surrounded by competitors.

So, if you are interested in the railroad/engineering side of things; while this is a great book, it may not be for you. Even the development of the physical road and its branches really are a sideshow relative to the finance. If, on the other hand, you are interested in business in the late nineteenth century: this is the book for you. The cast of financial characters is an impressive one including Jay Gould and JP Morgan.

[M.J. Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was impressed with the drama of the early years of the Union Pacific Railroad, from its conception in 1862 through its construction and completion in 1869. This book ends with the company’s financial collapse in 1893. The scandal of Crédit Mobilier, the company created to buy lands and construction materials necessary to build the UP Railroad, is covered in detail. This book, along with Volume II, is a necessity for anyone interested in Union Pacific Railroad history.

[Mark Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book rides, comprehensive history of the union pacific, but it is a bit too long. The union pacific and central pacific or critical developments in the economic elevation of United States, and it is an important book in that regard.

[Chuck Trimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long read, and quite dry at times, but interesting for those who have an affinity for the early days of rail operations, the towns that sprang up as a result, and the greed and corruption that accompanied the opening of the transcontinental routes.