Full Steam Ahead
Posted: 2018/02/23 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, NonFiction | Tags: 2018, book lust i, book review, february, historical, NonFiction, Rhoda Blumberg, trains, young adult Leave a commentBlumberg, Rhoda. Full Steam Ahead: the Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 1996.
Reason read: February is Train Month.
The greed of gold brought out the best and worst in businessmen. Entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to cash in on the craze. For Theodore Judah he saw the need for a transcontinental railroad, not to transport passengers but supplies to the miners and merchants who supported them. Abraham Lincoln climbed aboard the idea of a transcontinental railroad because he envisioned the transportation of troops and supplies. Central Pacific Railroad started laying tracks west. Union Pacific starting laying tracks west. And the race was on.
Blumberg paints the historical picture of the birth of the transcontinental railroad in broad strokes. Written for young adults, she steamrolls through the Chinese labor used to build the railroad, the blasting of the mountains that stood in their way, conquering the arid desert, the conflict with the “wild” Indians, even the slaughter of buffalo, until she reaches the grand conclusion of the last spike celebration.
Author fact: Blumberg has written several books on historical events, but Full Steam Ahead is the only one I am reading.
Book trivia: Full Steam Ahead is meant for young adults so there are plenty of amazing photographs and illustrations. I appreciated the portraits and the political cartoon.
Nancy said: Pearl said a great way to learn about most things is to “read a really great children’s book on the subject” (p 200) and she listed Blumberg for learning about the transcontinental railroad.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Riding the Rails: Railroad History” (p 200).
February Progress
Posted: 2018/02/02 Filed under: audio book, BookLust I, BookLust II, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: audio book, autobiography, e-book, Ernest Cline, Fiction, Freya Stark, italy, John Berendt, movie, mystery, NonFiction, Rhoda Blumberg, science fiction, series, Sicily, Simon Brett, Simonetta Agnello, theater, trains, travel, Venice, Walter Tevis Leave a commentI have been seeing a chiropractor for over a month and have all but stopped running. At first, I admit, this bothered me to no end. Now, I’m okay with it for all the books I have been reading. And speaking of books, here is February’s plan for The Books:
Fiction:
- The Almond Picker by Simonetta Agnello ~ in honor of Almond Blossom festival in Sicily.
- The Color of Money by Walter Tevis ~ in honor of Tevis’s birth month.
- Dead Room Farce by Simon Brett ~ in honor of February being Theater month.
Nonfiction:
- City of Falling Angels by John Berendt~ in honor of February being the month of the Venice Carnival (AB/print).
- Full Steam Ahead: the Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad by Rhoda Blumberg~ in honor of February being Train Month.
Series continuations:
- Beyond Euphrates by Freya Stark ~ in honor of Freya’s birthday in January.
For fun:
- Ready, Player One by Ernest Cline ~ because a friend recommended it (E-book).
There might be room for more titles, consideringĀ Dead Room Farce andĀ Full Steam Ahead are barely 200 pages apiece. We’ll see…