A very thorough history of the development of the US railroad system in the 1800’s. It focuses on the outsized personalities and their internecine business battles that comprised two distinct generations. It’s a very solid historical work giving a good sense of the time and the characters. The overall arc is that the founding mavericks of the industry in the earlier part of the century gave way at the end to more mature bankers and syndicates who could better manage and ruthlessly consolidate the industry. It also touches quite a bit on the major economic, social, and political milestones, especially in the latter half as the railroads were a dominant player in the social fabric at the time.

A few years ago there was a middling series called “Hell on Wheels” which had the feel of this time, but this book would form the basis of a much better series, albeit with a resemblance more to “Boardwalk Empire” than Wheels with the personalities involved.