Since I haven’t read the Ambrose book, I can’t comment on comparative balance.
But I will say that I was thoroughly impressed with Bain’s book. I have read it twice, and I feel a third read coming on.
It’s a “five star” book to me!
Ed
Having read both and other histories of the UP, I agree that Bain’s book far outshines Ambrose. Ambrose’s book feels like he phoned it in and is simply repeating all of the popular cliches with no research. Bain brings a level of involvement of the middle and lower level people who did the real work involved.
[quote user=“wanswheel”]
Excerpt from NY Times, May 16, 1976
– methinks Mr. Ambrose has some company in the flawed historian department (or somebody was taking some huge liberties with the Santa Fe between Coolidge, KS and Albuquerque, NM where the 20 mile limit checkerboard does not exist. West of AQ was the joint Frisco/Santa Fe’s Atlantic & Pacific.)
Mudchicken is ‘right again as usual’ about the Santa Fe.
I wonder, then, if White thus felt Abraham Lincoln to be the singularly least important person in American history?
If John H. White even said such a silly thing. Google the quote and you get PDN’s post alone. How about WWII or the Civil War? Unimportant?
White had a BA in history from Miami U (Ohio). No graduate work beyond. His career was strictly in positions at the Smithsonian and his publications are only about rails. Hardly a historian in any position to make such sweeping statements.
Tongue-in-cheek-ism?
I would like to echo the thoughts of JPS1. Ambrose earned his Ph.D. from the Unversity of Wisconsin in 1963. He started his collegiate teaching career at UW, although the longer part of his career was at the University of New Orleans. He died in 2002. Ambrose was a prolific author, and it is the number of books he put out that may have contributed to bits of carlessness and the criticism he received for plagiarism and some factual errors. And while those are trangressions for which he should be, and was, held accountable, he wrote in such a way that his works were understandable by all. He likely reached many folks who otherwise would not have had an interest in American History.
I happen to be one of them. Actually, I’ve always had an interest in history, but not so much about war. About 20 years ago, a local public TV station aired a series of his classroom lectures on WWII, the Vietnam war, and one on the cold war presidents. Probably the most moving book I’ve ever read was his “Citizen Soldiers.”
As for the plagiarism charge, I remember an interview in which he said that the references were in the back of the book, but that he neglected to link to them with footnotes in the text.
I have nearly finished Nothing Like it in the World. I am reading the eBook version on my Nook.
It contains 20 pages of notes, all of which are linked to the text.
The bibliography references 50 books by various authors, including Dr. Klein’s history of the Union Pacific Railroad, which is considered by many to be the definitive history of the UP. Ambrose singles it out for praise.
Other sources include 29 period articles devoted to the building of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific; 18 memoirs or diaries, including those of Dodge, Crocker, etc.; and 25 period newspapers containing background articles.
The book is pitched to a general reader who wants the highlights of the story without being run over by excessive detail. I am sure it has its flaws, as has been noted, but it has been an enjoyable read.
I plan to take up the Bain book as soon as I finish this one.