A review by tarocannotread
Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. Chang

4.5

A super informative book about one of the most important figures of American history: the railroad workers from China, without whom the railroad system would not be possible the way we know it today. This book does an excellent job at recounting their history, despite the severe disadvantage of no first-hand sources being found. This is especially puzzling to the historian, who recount from other sources that "“in the single year 1876 alone, its ships carried more than 250,000 letters between China, Japan, and the United States. Yet remarkably, not a single message from or to a Railroad Chinese in this vigorous traffic has been located despite the most strenuous research efforts. Today there is nothing extant in their own words about their experiences.” Not an easy hurdle to overcome, yet the author still somehow manages to paint a very vivid and detailed picture of what the experience might have been like for the Chinese who arrived in Gold Mountain (the Cantonese phrase for America) to bring honor to their families. The reason this is not completely a 5 star read is because I wish the book had a little bit more structure. While it was chaptered, I could not discern a specific topic or theme. It was also not in chronological order, seeming to jump back and forth in time, choosing here and there to "zoom in" as it were, on an individual before moving on. Otherwise, I think this is an excellent introduction into the topic, with an expansive "read more library" at the end. I highly recommend it. 4,5 out of 5 stars.