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Summary
Summary
In 1867, 15-year-old Sean experiences both hardships and rewards when he joins his father in working on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Sean's diary traces the two years he and his father spend working on the Union Pacific Railroad. Before the golden spike is laid in Promontory, Utah, Sean has progressed from water carrier to a member of the spiking crew, with each intervening job providing a different perspective on this historic labor experience. Factual information is well woven into the sometimes moving narrative. Notes, maps, and reproductions are appended. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In the My Name Is America series, Durbin (Wintering, 1999, etc.) offers the story of Sean Sullivan, whose first day in Omaha, Nebraska, brings him face to face with a victim of an Indian attack; the man survived, but carries his bloody scalp in a bucket. It's August 1897, and Sean has just arrived from Chicago, planning to work with his father on the Intercontinental Railroad. Pa, who carries terrible memories of his stint in the Civil War and of the death three years ago of Sean's mother, is already a foreman for the railroad, but Sean must start at the bottom, as a water carrier, toting barrels of it to the thirsty men who are doing the back-breaking work on the line. At night, everyone is usually too tired to do anything but sleep, but Sundays are free, and Sean discovers the rough and rowdy world of the towns that seem to sprout up from nowhere along the railroad's path over the prairie. Through Sean's eyes, the history of this era and the magnitude of his and his fellow workers' achievements come alive; Durbin has no trouble making Sean's world palpable, and readers will slog along with Sean every step of the way on his long and arduous journey to building a railroad and becoming a man. (b&w maps, photos, reproductions) (Fiction. 8-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-12. Though his widowed father thinks Sean may be too young to face the hardships of the West, he invites him to join his work crew building the railroad in 1867. Reserved Sean shares little with the rugged workers, but he observes their labor and roughhousing in a lively journal and letters to his younger brother. Each section takes the men into another state where they find different shades of local color. Meetings with scalp hunters in Nebraska and brawling cowboys in Wyoming pass into an encounter with Brigham Young in Utah and the eventual completion of the railroad. Intentionally sparse on plot, this entry in My Name Is America series focuses on historic details to bring the Old West vibrantly alive. By day, the mostly Irish crew clashes with Native Americans and Chinese slave laborers; in the evenings, they discuss Johnson's impeachment and residual effects of the Civil War. Durbin expertly handles racial issues and also does a good job of being authentic to the time and place, yet sensitive to modern sensibilites. The result is a rollicking, atmospheric journey through a fascinating segment of America's past. --Roger Leslie
Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Sean gets a job with his father at the Union Pacific Railroad. In his journal, he tells of working his way up from the lowest position of "water carrier" to "spiker" and shares plenty of railroad lingo and information about the boomtowns that he observes along the way. In the first few pages, he sees his first scalp and his first dead body in two unrelated incidents. The issue of prejudice is addressed, both in fights among various workers from Ireland, and with the deadly battles between the employees of the U.P. and the Chinese workers from the Central Pacific line. The role of the press in the races between the two railroads to lay the most track in the shortest time and the fact that much of the U.P. track was so poorly set that it was replaced soon after is noted. Sean is a likable protagonist who notices the small details and reacts to things realistically. A section of notes includes history, period photographs, maps, and other information.-Sharon R. Pearce, Geronimo Public School, OK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.