The Book Prize Index

Empire Express: Building the 1st Transcontinental Railroad

David Haward Bain

Bain draws on his historical/political savvy and his ability to breathe life into history in this saga of the building of the transcontinental railroad--a story which reads like a novel: color, lively, and dramatic. 16 photos & maps.

HistoryAmerican History · medium confidenceAmerican History81 signalsLlm Classifier: American History -> American HistoryKeyword Classifier: Arts & Criticism -> Arts & CriticismKeyword Classifier: World History -> World HistoryAfrica & the African DiasporaTravel, Exploration & PlaceAmerican Civil War

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History1999FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    35 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 45%.