"A fascinating story" of the railways that linked America from the #1 New York Times –bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ( Washington Post ). Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow unspools the history of the beginnings of the American railroad system. By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers in Missouri and California were separated by a vast landscape that dwarfed and isolated them, conquerable only by "the demonic power of the Iron Horse and its bands of iron track." Although the building of the great railroad is commonly known as a story of romance, adventure, and progress, it also has a dark side, as profiteers decimated American Indian tribes, exploited workers, and destroyed ecosystems. Despite this, by the turn of the twentieth century, five major railroads would span the continent. This account vividly illustrates the railroad builders' breathtaking skill, ambition, and ingenuity. Dee Brown compellingly tells a high-stakes tale, an exhilarating history that still holds lessons for today. "Once again Dee Brown is telling us one of the great American stories . . . I can't think of a better way to tell our history than to follow the path of the lonesome whistle." — The New York Times Book Review "This tale of America's Gilded Age is told with a vigor and irony that do full justice to its excesses, energies, venalities, and dreams." — Newsweek This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author's personal collection.