Connecting the Coasts: The Race to Build the Transcontinental Railroad

By Norma Lewis

Imagine sitting in a basket dangling thousands of feet above the ground drilling a hole into the side of mountain. Then you have to stuff that hole with dynamite and get out of the way before it explodes. This dangerous work was just part of the job for the men who built the Transcontinental Railroad. Lively language, historical photos and illustrations, and primary accounts help readers understand the dangers the workers faced every day while building the Transcontinental Railroad. Meets Common Core critical thinking standards, and provides strong ties to social studies standards on westward expansion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781496659279

Norma Lewis

Norma Lewis has lived in southwest Michigan for about thirty years and is now in Grand Haven. She loves local history and enjoys the thrill of the hunt when doing researching, mainly because she almost always finds something better than what she thought she was looking for. This is her seventeenth book and her ninth with Arcadia Publishing/The History Press. Along with local histories, she writes silly animal books for children.

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