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Title details for History Comics by Andy Hirsch - Available

History Comics

The Transcontinental Railroad: Crossing the Divide

by Andy Hirsch
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Turn back the clock with History Comics! In this graphic novel, experience the great railroad race between Central Pacific and Union Pacific. Wealth and glory await whichever builds the longest track!
In 1863, America is divided not just by the civil war but by months of travel over thousands of miles. Two railroad companies, one each from East and West, are given the task of connecting the nation by rail. Building this railroad will be a monumental undertaking, difficult and dangerous. The work falls to immigrant laborers from the lowest economic classes. They accomplish astounding feats of engineering while waiting for an answer: Will those who connect the country be accepted into it?

  • Creators

  • Series

    History Comics

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 25, 2022

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781250905864
    Kindle restrictions

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 3.5
    • Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
    • Text Difficulty: 2

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      October 1, 2022
      The story of one of our country's greatest infrastructure projects, from "mad dream" to golden spike. Hirsch doesn't gloss over the enterprise's rampant financial chicanery, undisguised exploitation of Irish and Chinese immigrants, and environmental damage--even adding an afterword that highlights them--but by and large he plays this account of the rail line's Civil War-era conception and construction as a breathless, epic race between two teams of racially and culturally diverse hired workers, punctuated by fiendish conniving, remarkable feats of engineering, and broad comedy. Hirsch parades a cast of colorfully wrought historical figures ranging from the Union Pacific Railroad's larger than life Chief Engineer Peter Dey ("Shh! He's envisioning!" comments an awed bystander) to the Central Pacific's hard-driving Construction Superintendent J.H. Strobridge, whose "TOOT!"-threaded fulminations evidently signal serious intestinal issues. Through tumultuous cartoon panels, the author/illustrator follows the progress of Irish war veteran Tom coming east and "Gold Mountain" seeker Lim, from China, to stand in for the workers as they face hardships both natural and otherwise on the way to a climactic handshake in the final scene. Exhilarated readers will come away with clear enough pictures of the project's costs and benefits to decide whether the one was worth the other. Suspenseful, grand of scope, and related with cinematic brio. (Graphic nonfiction. 10-13)

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
Kindle restrictions

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:3.5
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:2

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