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Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow: The Epic Story of the Transcontinental Railroads, by Dee Brown
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A fascinating and atmospheric history of the transcontinental railroad—the nineteenth century’s greatest and most relentless feat of national expansion
Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow unspools the history of the beginnings of the American railroad system. By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers in Missouri and California were separated by a vast landscape that dwarfed and isolated them, conquerable only by “the demonic power of the Iron Horse and its bands of iron track.” Although the building of the great railroad is commonly known as a story of romance, adventure, and progress, it also has a dark side, as profiteers decimated American Indian tribes, exploited workers, and destroyed ecosystems. Despite this, by the turn of the twentieth century, five major railroads would span the continent.�This account vividly illustrates the railroad builders’ breathtaking skill, ambition, and ingenuity. . Brown compellingly tells a high-stakes tale, an exhilarating history that still holds lessons for today.�This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.
- Sales Rank: #209011 in eBooks
- Published on: 2012-10-23
- Released on: 2012-10-23
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review
“Once again Dee Brown is telling us one of the great American stories . . . I can’t think of a better way to tell our history than to follow the path of the lonesome whistle.” —The New York Times Book Review�“This tale of America’s Gilded Age is told with a vigor and irony that do full justice to its excesses, energies, venalities, and dreams.” —Newsweek�“A fascinating story.” —The Washington Post
About the Author
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience. Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002. �
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
I'll toot the whistle for this one
By Ian Brodie
I'm contributing this review because I think the existing, single review on Amazon is unfair. I know nothing about the author, but I do know enough from history that he is not completely out of whack to take the view that the railroads were often in the grip of robber barons and that many in Congress had their hands out when it came to making sure the Iron Horses enjoyed lenient legislation that enabled them to cross the continent. Thus, I think the author was entitled to his strong views when it comes to assessing the political and business climate in which the railroads were built. But this book is far more than a polemic. It contains fascinating passages about the "Hell on Wheels" collapsible shanty towns that followed the rail-heads across the prairie with their accompanying cast of gamblers, con artists and prostitutes waiting to prey on the laborers who built the lines. Also, there are memorable descriptions of the hardships endured by the first adventurers to travel from coast to coast behind the Iron Horse, together with quotes from Kipling, Robert Louis Stephenson and others who made the trip. I bought this book because I wanted to know more about the history of the building of the railroads and the opening up of this country. My curiosity was fully satisfied.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Short History of the Western Railroads
By Acute Observer
This short history of western railroads starts with the Rock Island bridge across the Mississippi. Abraham Lincoln's inspection of that accident scene allowed a win (pp.10-12). This resulted in commerce moving from Chicago to New York, and not down the river to New Orleans. It tells about the financial exploitation and scheming that was part of the construction. Towns often took on debt to subsidize railroads even thought their promises often failed (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 tells of the many plans to create a railroad that would reach the Pacific. Politics and self-interest were as common then as today. Various Indian tribes were swindled out of their lands in the 1850s (pp.37-38). Military actions by the Confederates resulted in a northern route (Chapter 3). Brown explains the Credit Mobilier scam which billed for construction at inflated prices. People paid taxes to enrich swindlers (p.71). The newspapers cast the Plains Indians as villains for defending their hunting lands. Brown doesn't mention that the "Wild West Cowboy" was invented or exaggerated by journalists for entertainment and propaganda (pp.84-85). He does describe the lives of the workmen (pp.106-107). Chapter 6 has the Great Race to connect to the Pacific and the use of Federal monies. It appeared to be more popular than the Federal Highway projects in the 1950s. The railroad connection bound the nation together. Traveler had more to fear from train robbers than Indians (p.151). Chapter 8 describes the men who worked on the railroad trains.
Chapter 9 tells of the piracy of the railroad promoters and managers as a rising class (p.183). This must have been the biggest swindle of the century (pp.184-185). Was this the first case of a corporation winning favor from Congress after donating company shares (p.187)? [This seems worse than the "High Tech" stock swindles of the late 1990s.] Chapter 10 explains the Indian Wars cause when the Northern Pacific Railroad invaded unceded Indian lands (p.205). The response from Washington was to threaten annihilation or genocide. Over spending brought down Jay Cooke & Company and led to the worst depression yet experienced (p.217). Fred Harvey's chain of restaurants demonstrated the results of good management (p.225). Chapter 12 discusses the immigrants who came west on the railroads. Land companies learned to transport "entire colonies" of families whose shared language and customs sustained each other (p.241). The advertising used to attract immigrants often promised more than they delivered (pp.244-245). The Mennonites brought their "Turkey Red" wheat to Kansas and created amber waves of grain (p.249). Mechanization created surplus workers in Scandinavia. Germany allowed emigration for fear of a revolution (p.252). Lands settled during rainy years suffered during years of drought or locusts (p.253). James Bryce tells about the wealth and power of the "railway kings". Henry Villard's excursion was counter-productive (p.261). Chapter 13 tells how the railroads were looted. Promotions of railroads swindled money from towns before going bankrupt (p.271).
Chapter 14 analyzes the effects of a railroad: it made towns "totally dependent upon a railroad" and they lost control over their lives to a corrupt monopoly (p.272). Farmers were the principal victims. Railroads seized people's properties (p.273). They paid little or no taxes after being given millions of acres of public lands and forests. Railroads bribed politicians and journalists (p.275). The National Grange was the first popular organization to fight the railroads. The Supreme Court ruled in 1876 that a state had the right to impose restrictions "on public undertakings which were in the nature of monopolies" (p.276). But in 1886 another Supreme Court reversed this decision! Next Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the railroads. Low farm prices and drought in the late 1880s led to the formation of the People's Party (p.278). Kansas took the lead (p.279). William Jennings Bryan won their votes. Over time the railroads, which ran on coal, were killed off by the "international combines of oil and motors" (p.281). Railroads still exist for freight hauling; they do this best.
In 1917 the Federal Government took over the railroads to avoid their chronic mismanagement during the Great War. After this war, Congress decided to build a national road system; this was too important a project to leave to corporations. The Great Depression and WW II halted this project, but later plans were made for the 1956 Interstate Highway System which changed America forever. Private toll roads were then banned. But ever present corruption was able to sneak in toll roads afterwards, forcing people to pay more to benefit these monopolies.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
By Thomas Bengtson
One should not be surprised that railroad companies in a capitalist country are run to produce profits rather than for the good of the country. There is no astonishment that railroads in the United States were seen as money machines, and the natural monopolies of railroading were exploited to the max. However, railroads were widely seen as being good for the United States--and indeed the railroads provided the United States with a heightened sense of national unity as well as great economies in transportation.
Dee Brown does an admirable job of narrating the inherit contradictions involved in the story of the transcontinental railroads--"the good of the country" and "$$ for a few". The story does not stop once the first transcontinental railroad is built, either. Dee Brown describes effects on Native Americans, immigrant populations, tourists, farmers, and others.
The book is readable--good high school students should be able to handle it. There are also lots of vintage photographs, which add to the value. I'm not a professional historian, so I can't judge some things. The book is still in print after twenty-five years, and there's a reason for that: it's good.
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