Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen E. Ambrose

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Recommended: Problems of immigration in the mid 1800s

Nothing like it in the Word, by Stephen E. Ambrose

The book, Nothing like It in the Word: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869, by Stephen E. Ambrose, is a concise account of the endeavors of individuals who participated in the construction of the first American transcontinental railroad (1863-1869), such as the immigrant laborers, politicians, and businesspersons and their companies. In his descriptions, Ambrose demonstrates two of the significant themes that dominated the construction activities. These are immigration and race relationship. This paper aims at describing the relationship between the two themes as described in Ambrose’s book and the American history during that time. It also looks into how the themes relate to the modern times.

In the book, immigration is indispensably linked to the construction of the transcontinental railroad. For instance, Ambrose writes that the intense need of manual laborers during the railroad construction attracted immigrants mainly the Chinese and the Irish laborers (12). The Central Pacific Railroad (CPR) brought in Chinese laborers in large numbers, while the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) brought in large number of Irish immigrants. Ambrose also praises the central roles the immigrants played during the building of the transcontinental railroad. For example, he describes that the conclusion of the construction of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit in May 1869 was the utmost national achievement that could not go without giving credit and praise to the immigrant laborers (174). Therefore, he recognized their efforts and determinations, which significantly led to the completion of the construction.

Ambrose’s book also highlights the problems ...

... middle of paper ...

...ork during the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The immigration and race relation were also important themes in relation to the major events during the time such as Civil War and aftermath of Industrial revolution. Up to date immigration is still experienced in America, especially due to its increase in economy. Similarly, there are still various racial discontents among the ethnic groups In United State today.

Work Cited

Ambrose, Stephen. Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.

Bucerius, Sandra and Tonry, Michael. The Oxford Handbook of Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.

Yeng, Sokthan. The Biopolitics of Race: State Racism and U.S. Immigration. USA: Lexington Books, 2013. Print.

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