Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America by Richard WhiteMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
So happy to have finally finished this long, complicated book. I nearly quit reading several times, and did take a long pause here and there through the months, but glad to have persevered and finished reading it.
My rating reflects the convoluted writing style and poor organization of the book. While the topics and major points are made and deserve a full five stars.
This includes: the railroad building that occurred with a fever in the late 1800's were too soon, ahead of demand, extremely poorly done with extensive corruption, and decimated the environment along with the Native Peoples. The extent of the corruption mixed with politics and the economy is amazing. It brought several economic depressions, wiped out the huge buffalo herds and in the end, actually did some social good as well. Railroads were going to be a necessity, but it could have been done in a wholly different manner and the repercussions of this railroad building is still evident today.
I may write more fully my thoughts on this long book, but for now, my initial thoughts on completion just moments ago, will have to leave it here.
June 1, 2021 – Started Reading
June 2, 2021 –
page 58
8.24% "this will likely take a while....yet not as long as it looks, appendix begins at page 562."
November 11, 2021 – Finished Reading
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