Ghosts Of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. Chang (PDF)

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“Gripping . . . Chang has accomplished the seemingly impossible . . . He has written a remarkably rich, human, and compelling story of the railroad Chinese.” — Peter Cozzens, Wall Street JournalWINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE WINNER OF THE CHINESE AMERICAN LIBRARIANS ASSOCIATION BEST BOOK AWARDA groundbreaking, breathtaking history of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad, helping to forge modern America only to disappear into the shadows of history until now From across the sea, they came by the thousands, escaping war and poverty in southern China to seek their fortunes in America. Converging on the enormous western worksite of the Transcontinental Railroad, the migrants spent years dynamiting tunnels through the snow-packed cliffs of the Sierra Nevada and laying tracks across the burning Utah desert. Their sweat and blood fueled the ascent of an interlinked, industrial United States. But those of them who survived this perilous effort would suffer a different kind of death: a historical one, as they were pushed first to the margins of American life and then to the fringes of public memory. In this groundbreaking account, award-winning scholar Gordon H. Chang draws on unprecedented research to recover the Chinese railroad workers’ stories and celebrate their role in remaking America. An invaluable correction of a great historical injustice, The Ghosts of Gold Mountain returns these “silent spikes” to their rightful place in our national saga.“The lived experience of the Railroad Chinese has long been elusive . . . Chang’s book is a moving effort to recover their stories and honor their indispensable contribution to the building of modern America.” — New York Times

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐When one thinks about early modern technology of the nineteenth century the railroads came before the automobile and the airplane. It took thousands from west to east and vice versa. And songs of old come to mind that sing of the Atchison Topeka and the Sante Fe. But does anyone stop and think about the thousands that helped to construct the modern marvel of transportation. Historian Gordon H. Chang helps to answer at least two questions of who were involved in the making of such a wonder and what type of geography did they have to sustain that consisted of the rugged terrain of most known mountain ranges in the state of California the Sierra Nevada that bordered and stretched closest to its neighbors in Nevada. “Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad” delves much into the history that is still very little known in the historical narrative of the United States. Through the most intriguing sources that may have been overlooked for over 150 years, Chang takes the pieces of the puzzle of the past and connects each one to form a narrative that intertwines with events that have already been foretold in history books; indeed, some may consider undiscovered or untold histories of the immigrant past as revisionist when they are eventually written. However, that is not true at all. Chang writes of a past that happened and reveals to readers the major sources that he used to research and write the book.”Ghosts of Gold Mountain” was a book that took six years in the making and the efforts by various institutions and fields of study outside of history. One of the most fascinating aspects about the book was how this narrative was constructed. With a careful eye and perspective each and every source that Chang utilized showed a history unraveled. One of the major and well-known photos by Andrew J. Russell “East and West Shake Hands” pictured James Strobridge shaking hands at the site where the last set of rail was laid at Promontory Summit in Utah. Instead of sifting through primary sources that historians usually probe and research such as diaries and letters, he had to look elsewhere due to the lack there of and this where for those that have had exciting ideas and topics and wanted to research the past but had very little to go by, he searched and discovered sources that were used on a daily basis during the period in which the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was built and by which workers; sources that included business reports and payroll records, family collections and memorabilia, government records, archaeological and anthropological remnants, and oral histories that were relevant. And to help to put each and every one into perspective a collaborate team of scholars and students and researchers from all over the world beyond Stanford University tirelessly worked. The result, Chang narrowed his focus to a community of people that emigrated from Guangzhou, China a small population of men of Siyi descendant that lived near the Pearl River, their history alone in China dates back to years after the end of the Han era 226 CE that centered its productivity upon seafaring trade and market economies. In addition, Chang recalls histories that have shared insight to the history of Chinese immigrants such as Huie Kin, a Chinese Minister, and Hun Wah that found their way to the US looking to gain wealth through gold mining and building the railroads, but he also debunks several myths. Many examples and stories are revealed in the book and readers may find quite enlightening, and there are also, the stories that will draw critical discussion.After reading “Ghosts of Gold Mountain” the stories and the most interesting illustrations, maps, and photos and revisiting of the vast landscape and the challenges that one cannot imagine offers a better understanding of what the workers were against, the natural effects of the climate and disease and illness and intolerance. And once again, when reading about their experiences they achieved a tremendous feat that built a major form of transportation that initially stretched from San Francisco of the west coast and eventually to the east coast of Virginia’s Newport News to New York. It was a once in a lifetime and historic event that may never be repeated. In essence, most will live to tell of their contributions thereafter that surpassed the building of the railroad but a melting pot of communities that are still evident today.

⭐I read this book as part of my research for a historical fiction novel I’m writing. I thought it might be a boring slog of a read, but it was exactly the opposite. Starting with China and how immigration to the US happened, then the building of the transcontinental railroad, the subsequent diaspora of the Chinese people all over America, and then the terrible back lash of racism, I was riveted start to finish. The author catalogues history that, sadly has been largely lost. It is a period of history that needs to be acknowledged, grieved, and honored. The Chinese immigrants changed America for the better. The Pacific side of the transcontinental railroad could not have been built without their hard work, skill, and commitment. Thousands of lives were lost in the effort and more needs to be said about this important event in our nation’s history.

⭐They are why Amazon is still the best site for used books! Arrived exactly as described, and even better! They sent an apology for shipping delay that wasn’t even delayed, it actually arrived early! Yes, this is a quality, caring bookseller!

⭐One of the best books I’ve ever read. I’ve already recommended it to my father and father-in law, who are interested in history but are not academics.

⭐The author is correct when he says most Americans know very little about the work crews who built the western leg of the first transcontinental railroad. I read a lot of history, and other than just knowing superficially that Chinese laborers worked on that railroad – I knew nothing else about them. Living in California and visiting places in the Gold Country, and places like the museum in Bisbee. Az I was aware of the prejudice against Chinese during the era, and I did know what the Chinese Exclusion Act was – but had never really thought of these things in the context of the railroad. I was unaware of the magnitude of that accomplishment. Being an engineer, I like numbers and Chang does give enough of them that I could calculate the ones he did not provide. For example, the cut and fill at Clipper Gap required the removal and backfilling of 30,000 tons of earth and rock! The 13 tunnels through the Sierra Nevada mountains required the removal of 267,000 tons of rock! All done with manual labor! The ten miles of track laid in one day required the laying of 36 cross ties per minute, and the rails place required lifting over 2700 lbs of steel per minute – for 12 hours! He did provide one number which is grossly in error and I was surprised his proofreader did not catch it. He said that the railroads were granted 175 million square miles of land! The entire area of the United States is just under 4 million square miles. From the acreage number he provided on page 63, I calculated that the railroads got something less than 11 million acres. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even though it’s subject is not by any means a proud moment in our national history. But we cant change our history. What we can do is learn about it, learn from it, and move forward to become the nation we think we are, and think we always have been. Reading this book should be part of that effort.

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