Book description
After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century's most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary's dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three…
Why read it?
1 author picked Empire Express as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a big book, more than 700 pages, but it is worth every word. Bain focuses not on the workers who built the railroads, but the machinations, corruption, and political hijinks of those who dreamed up, financed, and managed the companies of the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. It’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys—or even if there are any good guys. Bain manages to make the multiple historical figures in his book memorable and easily identifiable, which not all historians achieve. He also infuses his telling with a sly humor that catches the…
From Laurie's list on why the American West always will be the "Wild West”.
If you love Empire Express...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like Empire Express?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Empire Express.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,300
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Empire Express, you might also like...
Raggedyland
An auctioned storage locker comes with a box of Raggedy Ann books and a dresser drawer stuffed with grisly momentos. A small college town in Georgia is now ground zero for a mind-bending cold case.
Local journalist James Murphy wishes he had never bought the storage unit which either contains…
Selkie Moon
We are all surrounded by darkness. And we are all drawn to the light.
The Orkney Islands north of Scotland are steeped in stories of selkies, seal folk who swim in cold ocean waters and shed their skins to sing and dance on land.
One young girl named Isla uses…
