In this account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage, Stephen E. Ambrose offers a historical successor to his universally acclaimed Undaunted Courage, which recounted the explorations of the West by Lewis and Clark. Nothing Like It in the World is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad -- the investors who risked their businesses and money; the enlightened politicians who understood its importance; the...

"Trans-Pecos had been running into unexpected difficulties while trying to complete its line across the Drifting Sands country. Besides the ordinary hazards of laying track across that wild section of West Texas, it had had to contend with Slash Hanlon's outlaw gang. The last two payrolls had been held up, and the workers at Eagle Camp at the end of the tracks had quit work and were threatening to riot if they were not paid. So when Shad Jones arrived...

Historian Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts how he came to discover the real John Henry, an African-American railroad worker who became a legend in the famous song.