Goodreads asked James Dalessandro:

What books are on your summer reading list this year?

James Dalessandro Right now I am reading Stephen Ambrose's NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORD" - the story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. I do history lectures for travel groups in San Francisco, and this is one I have done for years. And already I have learned a few things. I did not now that Abraham Lincoln was the premier railroad lawyer in Illinois and perhaps the entire country, when he won a legal case for the Rock Island Railroad that gave them tax exempt status as a public asset and utility. The invention that transformed the world was the steam engine - it was the dawn of the technological revolution. Before steam engine, everything moved by wind, water, or animal/human muscle. Steam engines liberated and united us - and the Transcontinental Railroad was the single most important and influential event in American history outside of war and independence. A building project that rivals the Great Wall of China. Ambrose is a meticulous researcher and good writer. Love the book, about 1/3rd through it.

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