A compelling, comprehensive account of one of history’s greatest construction projects. On May 10, 1869, when telegraph lines carried the news that the transcontinental railroad was finally complete, cannons in New York City and San Francisco roared, fire alarms went off in major cities across the country, and tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to celebrate. Similar festivities might well accompany the publication of this remarkable book. Bain (Sitting in Darkness: Americans in the Philippines, 1984, etc.), who spent fourteen years in research, moves with impressive felicity through this complex, fascinating subject. He focuses the light of his considerable intelligence on a vast array of topics, brightly illuminating the daunting construction problems (one tunnel in the High Sierra was 1600 feet long), the alliances (quickly formed, quickly broken) of politicians and entrepreneurs, the pervasive corruption of Gilded Age public officials (a “Babel of special interests,” Bain calls it), the tragic relocations (and eventual decimation) of the Plains Indians, the exploitation of construction workers, the genesis of legendary Western towns (Laramie and Cheyenne among others). With disinterested clarity he portrays rail barons Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and many others—and sketches some supporting actors whose names would later be known in other contexts: Henry M. Stanley (the reporter who found Dr. Livingstone), George A. Custer, Mark Twain. Bain chronicles the egregious excesses of the builders: the acres of prairie set afire for nocturnal entertainment, the carloads of Easterners who wanted to shoot buffalo for sport, the tens of thousands of dollars that changed hands when decisions were made. Humorous and ironic moments abound as well. The friendly Pawnee like to joyride on the roofs of boxcars; “a fresh importation of strumpets” arrive for duty in Julesburg, Colorado; and some Chinese workers are dissuaded from laboring in the desert by tales of 100-foot-long snakes whose meal of preference is Chinese. Empire Express is a brilliant work, a stunning fusion of splendid scholarship and graceful writing. (16 pages of maps and photos, not seen) (Book-of-the-Month Club, History Book Club)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-80889-X
Page Count: 800
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.
Four decades after Watergate shook America, journalist Woodward (The Price of Politics, 2012, etc.) returns to the scandal to profile Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes and effectively toppled the presidency.
Of all the candidates to work in the White House, Butterfield was a bizarre choice. He was an Air Force colonel and wanted to serve in Vietnam. By happenstance, his colleague H.R. Haldeman helped Butterfield land a job in the Nixon administration. For three years, Butterfield worked closely with the president, taking on high-level tasks and even supervising the installation of Nixon’s infamous recording system. The writing here is pure Woodward: a visual, dialogue-heavy, blow-by-blow account of Butterfield’s tenure. The author uses his long interviews with Butterfield to re-create detailed scenes, which reveal the petty power plays of America’s most powerful men. Yet the book is a surprisingly funny read. Butterfield is passive, sensitive, and dutiful, the very opposite of Nixon, who lets loose a constant stream of curses, insults, and nonsensical bluster. Years later, Butterfield seems conflicted about his role in such an eccentric presidency. “I’m not trying to be a Boy Scout and tell you I did it because it was the right thing to do,” Butterfield concedes. It is curious to see Woodward revisit an affair that now feels distantly historical, but the author does his best to make the story feel urgent and suspenseful. When Butterfield admitted to the Senate Select Committee that he knew about the listening devices, he felt its significance. “It seemed to Butterfield there was absolute silence and no one moved,” writes Woodward. “They were still and quiet as if they were witnessing a hinge of history slowly swinging open….It was as if a bare 10,000 volt cable was running through the room, and suddenly everyone touched it at once.”
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1644-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2015
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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