“Riveting...A great read, full of colorful characters and outrageous confrontations back when the west was still wild.” (George R.R. Martin)
A propulsive and panoramic history of one of the most dramatic stories never told — the greatest railroad war of all time, fought by the daring leaders of the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande to seize, control, and create the American West.
It is difficult to imagine now, but for all its gorgeous scenery, the American West might have been barren tundra as far as most Americans knew well into the 19th century. While the West was advertised as a paradise on earth to citizens in the East and Midwest, many believed the journey too hazardous to be worthwhile — until 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad changed the face of transportation.
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