School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9-More than the story of Chinese workers' contributions to building the transcontinental railroad, this book is also a brief history of China's contacts with the West, focusing on the financial despair that drove many men to emigrate, beginning in the 1840s. The anti-Chinese sentiment that rose in California after their success in the gold rush is discussed, as is life in the Chinatowns that were established. The chapters devoted to the Central Pacific's construction of the transcontinental railroad stress the dangerous, grueling conditions that the Chinese workers endured and the lack of recognition they received in the celebration at Promontory Summit in Utah when their line joined the Union Pacific. The lives of the workers following the railroad's completion, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, are discussed in the final chapters. There are many black-and-white photographs and reproductions of paintings, but some captions are not sufficiently descriptive. In the photo with the legend "Charles Crocker urged the hiring of Chinese workers by the Central Pacific Railroad. Because of this, they were called `Crocker's Pets,'" it is unclear whether or not one of the men in the foreground is Crocker or if the workers in the background are Chinese. Sources for quotes are listed in a notes section, but none of the page citations correspond with the text. Readers of Laurence Yep's Dragon's Gate (HarperCollins, 1993) or Yin's Coolies (Philomel, 2001) may enjoy this nonfiction account on the same subject.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
[cf2]Golden Mountain[cf1] examines the brutal labor conditions and racism suffered by the Chinese immigrants who helped build the transcontinental railroad; [cf2]Barbed Wire[cf1] discusses the injustices experienced by Japanese Americans interned during World War II. These clearly written series books blend history with intriguing anecdotal material and feature plentiful black-and-white photos and reproductions. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Great Journeys titles: [cf2]Behind Barbed Wire[cf1], and [cf2]To the Golden Mountain[cf1].] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.