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It 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 engineers and surveyors who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives; and the Irish and Chinese immigrants, the defeated Confederate soldiers, and the other laborers who did the backbreaking and dangerous work on the tracks. The U.S. government pitted two companies—the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads—against each other in a race for funding, encouraging speed over caution. Locomotives, rails, and spikes were shipped from the East through Panama or around South America to the West or lugged across the country to the Plains. In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise, with its huge expenditure of brainpower, muscle, and sweat, comes vibrantly to life.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780743203173","publication_date":"20011106","publisher":"Simon & Schuster","slug":"nothing-like-it-in-the-world","subtitle":"The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869","title":"Nothing Like It in the World"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"TRA004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Railroad History","score":0.811,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century America","score":0.7836,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRA004020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Railroad Photo Books","score":0.7751,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"TRA004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Railroad History","score":0.811,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century America","score":0.7836,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRA004020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Railroad Photo Books","score":0.7751,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS036040","confidence_band":"high","label":"19th-Century America","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036050","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civil War Era","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TRA004010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Railroad History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Railroad History","score":0.811,"slug":"railroad-history"},{"label":"19th-Century America","score":0.7836,"slug":"19th-century-america"},{"label":"Railroad Photo Books","score":0.7751,"slug":"railroad-photo-books"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in American history and the building of the transcontinental railroad","Those who appreciate detailed accounts of engineering feats and labor history"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Stephen E. 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