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History Comics: the Transcontinental Railroad by Andy Hirsch

History Comics: the Transcontinental Railroad

Crossing the Divide

Andy Hirsch

First Second · Print & ebook · October 25, 2022

Turn back the clock with History Comics!

Civil War Era (U.S.)Comics HistoryTrainscivil
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comicsmiddlegrade
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Who it’s for
A railroad race told through engineering feats, immigrant labor, and the question of who belongs.
Themes
Transcontinental railroad construction, Immigrant labor, Belonging and acceptance
Genres
Comics History, Trains, Civil War Era (U.S.)

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Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Comics History.

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  6. History Comics: the National ParksFalynn Koch52% match
  7. History Smashers: the Underground RailroadKate Messner, Gwendolyn Hooks49% matchAlso shares Civil War Era (U.S.)
  8. The Great American Dust BowlDon Brown48% match

For older readers: Displacement, Nothing Like It in the World, The Story of American Railroads

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About this book

Turn back the clock with History Comics! In this graphic novel, experience the great railroad race between Central Pacific and Union Pacific. Wealth and glory await whichever builds the longest track! In 1863, America is divided not just by the civil war but by months of travel over thousands of miles. Two railroad companies, one each from East and West, are given the task of connecting the nation by rail.

Continue reading

Building this railroad will be a monumental undertaking, difficult and dangerous. The work falls to immigrant laborers from the lowest economic classes. They accomplish astounding feats of engineering while waiting for an answer: Will those who connect the country be accepted into it?

Tracks and Belonging

A railroad race told through engineering feats, immigrant labor, and the question of who belongs.

Come here for

  • A graphic-novel view of the transcontinental railroad race
  • Engineering ambition alongside questions of labor and belonging

Expect

  • A dangerous undertaking measured in miles, labor, and engineering
  • The human stakes behind connecting a divided nation

Where it sits

Comics History74%
Trains66%
Civil War Era (U.S.)56%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Trains
  • Technology
  • Comics History
Authors
Andy Hirsch
Publisher
First Second
Published
October 25, 2022
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Transcontinental railroad construction · Immigrant labor · Belonging and acceptance
Reading lane
Trains