Abstract:
The timeline of the book follows a young man's growth as he begins his odyssey of life working for the railroad. He starts the journey by helping his father on the railroad during the Civil War. After seeing the misery of war, he decides to go west and hopes to find a job with the railroad. The main character must overcome lost love, brushes with death, train robberies and the perils of being a train engineer. Even though the problems and challenges he faced happened over 100 years ago, many exemplify the same problems and challenges of today.