Gordon H. Chang has written a fascinating account of the labor and technology involved in building the Transcontinental Railroad. For seven years, two railroad companies raced towards each other across some 1,900 miles of the United States, completing a link between the East and West coasts. It was a monumental task and featured the tireless work of an estimated 20,000 Chinese laborers, 90 percent of Central Pacific’s workforce, who toiled under brutal working conditions, particularly in the Sierra Nevada. Their story is covered extensively in his “Ghosts of Gold Mountain.”

Chang is professor of humanities and history at Stanford University. His work is impeccably researched with extensive notes taken from historical writings, ship manifests, payroll records, and archeological findings. He admits to having little information at his disposal because records were not faithfully maintained which makes his accounting even more remarkable. But it’s all here, the physical and economic struggle of completing over 1900 miles of track between Omaha, Nebraska (the edge of the existing eastern rail network) and San Francisco Bay.

On May 10, 1869, the Central Pacific, and the Union Pacific finally came together at Promontory, Utah. The completed route made the transportation of goods and passengers considerably faster and less expensive. Chang’s book is mainly focused on the efforts of the Chinese workers who, although initially considered unfit for the job due to their small stature and lack of experience, proved to be stalwart builders eventually winning much praise for their attitudes and the splendid results. It’s interesting to note that they were not slave workers but were paid for their labors.

Chang’s efforts here are nearly as herculean as were the Chinese workers and, although somewhat familiar with the conditions under which they struggled, I came away with an even greater sense of admiration for their efforts. Every obstacle they faced was overcome with innovation and determination and it is a fitting tribute to their contribution that the travel time from the east was reduced from about five months to a remarkable single week.

The workers had to blast and dig their way through solid granite, exist in horrendous climatic conditions, endure heat, dirt, choking dust, smoke, fumes, accidental explosions, falling rocks and trees, and freezing snow. Every piece of equipment and all heavy building material had to be manually hauled and installed because of the remote location. At the completion of the remarkable project, the high accolades for their enormous efforts were universal and well deserved.

Be prepared for a couple of weeks to recover after reading this exhausting study of a monumental project.

Schuyler T Wallace
Author of TIN LIZARD TALES

Throughout this work, author Gordon Chang rightfully laments the current lack of firsthand account from any of the Chinese migrants who helped construct the Transcontinental Railroad. However, if he hadn't called attention to this so plainly, I'm genuinely unsure if it's something that I would have been able to pick up on. That's because his drawing upon a diverse and wide range of resources and research, Chang is able to construct an incredibly thorough and detailed picture of who the Chinese workers on the Central Pacific Line were, where they came from, and what kind lives that they lived as they help connect America from coast to coast. "Ghosts of Gold Mountain" is nothing less than a fantastic feat of scholarship that not merely shines a spotlight onto a group that have nearly vanished from America's historical memory, but makes them all come alive again.