Union Pacific: A Western Story

by Zane Grey

Here’s something fans of prolific western author Grey, who died nearly 70 years ago, probably weren’t expecting: a new novel. In 1916, Grey decided to write an epic-scale historical novel about the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. It proved a difficult task, and his editor rewrote large chunks of it, eventually publishing the substantially altered book under a different title. Now Grey’s original version is published, in all its sprawling glory. Viewed simply as a novel, it feels clunky and unpolished, although the story—the construction of a railroad and how it affects the lives of the novel’s characters—has a Michener-style grandeur to it, both in its mixture of history and fiction and in its use of individual characters to represent sections of society. Viewed, on the other hand, as a glimpse into the mind of Zane Grey, as a look at the big novel he dreamed of publishing but never really did, it’s downright fascinating. We see an author who, if he possessed a little more self-discipline and a bit more technique, could have extended his range well beyond black hats and white hats.

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Adventure

663 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Pearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.

Reviews

[Charlie Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Union pacific -El Caballo de hierro

Vaya novelón que escribió Zane Grey hace ahora poco más de cien años en memoria de la construcción del ferrocarril Unión Pacific en la década de los años sesenta del siglo XIX.
Un homenaje a los hombres que lo construyeron y a todo lo que se perdió; el fin de las grandes praderas llenas de caza, el fin de los Sioux, el fin de las tierras libres y los tramperos.

La historia de la construcción de este ferrocarril que unía el Este con el Oeste, a parte de la importancia que tenía ya esto, estuvo marcada por el gran coste que supuso. En la preparación del tendido y posterior construcción de la vía férrea se desató una corrupción por parte de los adjudicatarios de la obra que pudo dar al traste con el U.P.

Trazados mal calculados a propósito que luego se caían, lo cual suponía más y más dinero. La dificultad de atravesar las Montañas Rocosas era propicio para hacer trampas. Las obras se hacían dos o tres veces con la consiguiente ganancia para el contratista.

Esta obra se inició en 1865 y su fin era unirse al Central Pacific que dos años antes había iniciado su construcción desde San Francisco consiguiendo por fin la ruta del este al oeste. La obra se culminó en 1869 al unirse las dos vías en el Promontory Point.



Con la base del U.P. Zane Grey arma una historia extraordinaria con un protagonista superlativo en la figura de un topógrafo que trabaja en la construcción del mismo, Warren Neale, este será la figura máxima de la novela (clave en ver la corrupción de los constructores). Con él estará su amigo, un misterioso texano, Larry "Red" King, rápido con el revolver, poco hablador y con oscuro pasado. Allie Lee, una joven rescatada de los Sioux que encima huye de su padre adoptivo. Slingerland, un trampero que será clave en la historia. El general Lodge, jefe de Neale, Casey, irlandés amigo de Neale, Hough, jugador de póker profesional, Beauty Stanton dueña del club de alterne y Durade, el malo de la historia entre otros muchos.

En la ruta de esta obra se construyeron ciudades provisionales para acoger a miles de trabajadores. Estas poblaciones atraían a gente de todo tipo, forajidos, aventureros, jugadores, etc.

También había que contar con los indios Sioux que atacaron sin cesar las obras de construcción viendo avanzar sin remedio al caballo de hierro que partía en dos su territorio.


Momento de la unión de las dos vías en el Promontory Point.

La novela es un constate subir y bajar. Tanto te hace pasar momentos de asueto como mantenerte en vilo varias páginas. Es un caerse y volver a levantarse. Es un sin fin de situaciones de peligro, es un: ¿pero otra vez?

La única pega que se puede decir de esta novela es su traducción que no acierto a localizar entre las formas del español que hay en Hispanoamérica. Está llena de palabras que no había visto nunca, muchas con su nota para saber lo que significa, pero otras no, y tienes que intuir lo que quieren decir. Así como frases mal construidas, como si fuesen una traducción literal del inglés. Esto es una constante en novelas del Oeste del siglo pasado. Difícil que se vuelvan a traducir en estos tiempos del thriller y fantasía.



Con todo, vale la pena hacer el esfuerzo por novelas como esta de Zane Grey.

[Hartungt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Western novels have always been like comfort food to me. Familiar and satisfying. Grey’s epic makes the grade in both respects. It is familiar in that it is the standard morality play and follows a predictable plot. The hero prevails and weds the heroine after many travails. Satisfying in that the story telling is rich in details and it flows along nicely. It does not rise quite to the level of a historical novel but it does follow the building of the Union Pacific railroad across the west and action in the novel follows the UP construction timeline. The camps and towns are people by nicely drawn characters that are plausible in their roles. Unfortunately, Grey doesn’t have the ear for dialogue that Twain does (who does?) and a few of the character’s voices are a bit stilted. The main characters’ voices are clear and realistic and the goofy vernacular rarely detracts from the story. There is one thing that does bother me and that is an inconsistency in character in both the hero and heroine. Our hero, Warren Neale, is a super competent surveyor/engineer that blazes the way for the railroad through or over any obstacle. He is a stalwart in every sense of the word. But should his girlfriend get kidnapped, as she does regularly, he plunges into the depths of self-destructive despair. Better to drink and gamble your blues away rather than actually look for her! Our heroine survives a wagon train massacre, kidnapping by Indians and various bad guys, survives a trek across the plains with out food and water and yet she swoons every time she is near a strong man none of whom could carry her petticoat in terms of strength and endurance. Not fatal but it is perplexing in a novel of such grand scope. Finally, the obligatory nod to political correctness is in order. The novel was first published in the early 20th Century and predictably contains language and characterizations the are stereotypical and racist. This did not affect my rating at all but it I realize that some might find it offensive and so may want to avoid this book.

[Richard Lear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't read the version shown here though. I'm reading a paperback edition that was taken from Zane Grey's own manuscript, not the version that was mostly re-written by his editor which apparently is the most prevalent one in print today.
This is my favorite Zane Grey book that I've read so far, maybe just inching out The Mysterious Rider. While many think that Riders Of The Purple Sage remains his finest novel, it was written in a far too archaic style for me. This novel, publi8shed in 1918, is far more contemporary in construction and in its dialogue. He spent a lot more time on building believable, realistic characters. And as always his descriptions of mountains, valleys, deserts and railroad towns remains unmatched by other Westerns writers. It's clear that he did a huge amount of research on the building of the UP railroad because of the authoritative way he writes of the actual building of the railroad along with the corporate and political graft and corruption. A unique characteristic of Grey's writing which I'm sure was heavily edited out of many of his earlier novels was the psychoanalytic way he delved into characters' minds.He could spend pages in different chapters examining motives and states of mind. This was heavily in evidence in the later chapters of this novel.
Reading Zane Grey novels like this one is like taking a master class in how to write classic Westerns.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't believe I'd never picked up a Zane Grey western before. But there it was, the large print copy sitting on the "new books" shelf at my library. After checking it out, I showed Larry, "look, I found a railroad buildin' book" He said, "I think I read that in high school"(re: 1958). So I looked at the copywright & sure enough, the original was 1918! My grandma probably read this book! Hence followed some research on Zane Grey and all the versions and revisions of this wonderful tale of adventure and the history of building the railroad connecting the country. I completely loved the characters dialects, the complicated twists & turns in the making. Epic!

[Ladislau Nagy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carte primită de cumnatul meu cu ocazia majoratului acum 32 de ani și-a găsit drumul și spre mine. Un western clasic, simplu si fără pretenții.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Golden Spike National Historic Park sits just north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah commemorating the completion of the transcontinental railroad. You have to go out of your way to get there as there is nothing there but the park, even the railroad that passed that spot is long gone. As you drive there, though, you can still see the remains of the road bed that now looks like a grass covered berm. Ten miles from the park is the turnoff across the road from the facility that manufactured the boosters for the Space Shuttle. The contrast is striking.

This book is a love story of sorts set during the construction of the Union Pacific railroad that ran west from Omaha to meet the Central Pacific railroad in Utah. The book does not capture the full scope of the endeavor to link the nation by rail, I am not sure any one book can. Some aspects are captured very well, namely, the description of the railroad towns that sprang up to support the workers. The town of Benton in Wyoming (now just a ghost town) was one of the worst and is featured from when the town was "founded" through it being abandoned only months later as the work moved on. The worst of society is described in the tame language of the time this book was written but the brutality is still there along with the alcohol, gambling and prostitution that the railroad towns were known for.

The love story aspect is a little clunky, I don't view that as a strength of this book. The part of the book I found most interesting is that it did touch on the many aspects of the construction, although not always to the detail I wanted. The surveyors worked in the untouched wilderness trying to find the routes that could be built. These were followed by the graders and those tasked with building the bridges and tunnels. Only then would the railroad itself arrive. The task was monumental to say the least.

The main character starts as a surveyor and is mostly involved as an engineer (of the construction sort, not the train driving sort) through to the end, even working for a time on the actual laying of the ties and rails and driving the spikes. Overall, there are better histories out there but this is a worthy bit of historical fiction.

Here's one observation for those inclined to trivia. The first chapter is one sentence of about 250 words. I had to read it several times to be sure I didn't miss a period in there somewhere but I did not dare attempt to parse it.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides some insight in the construction of the United States transcontinental railroad built in the 1860s. It follows a young engineer who believe whole heartedly in the possibilities a transcontinental railroad could provide the country. He also believed that it could be built, while others doubted the feasibility of the project. It shows the closeness of partnerships in the old west, that wouldn't exist anywhere else (except on the battlefield).

Meanwhile there were the gold diggers, only seeking their fortune in the construction, either as sleezy contractors and politicians or as gambling and whore houses focused on fleecing the railroad crews. In spite of their crude language and lifestyle, we see the work crew’s sacrifice (even willing to die) in order to finish the project.

Throw in an orphan girl who is rescued by the engineer, eventually falling in love with him. Then a separation, not of their choosing, that torments both of them and causes the engineer to hit rock bottom before turning his life around, in spite of his lost love.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an epic western that incorporates the building of the transcontinental railroad into a tale of the old west and of an unrequited love. The main character is Warren Neale, who is an engineer who works for the Union Pacific Railroad. Warren lays out the path the train will cut through the plains and the Rockies in its effort to meet the Western terminus of the railroad coming from California. Along the way he’ll encounter danger and adventure with Texas gunmen, trappers, gamblers, bandits and Indians. But his most interesting encounter is with the lone survivor of a wagon train that was attacked by Indians. The lone survivor is Allie Lee, a 16-year old girl that Neale falls in love with. However, due to her age and his job, he must leave her with a trapper friend until he finishes the current building season for the Union Pacific. Before he gets back to Allie, she is abducted by bandits, then Indians and then gamblers. The meat of the story is how Neale strives to find Allie, while trying to keep his job with the Union Pacific, and Allie’s attempt to free herself from her various captures and seek out Neale. It is an excellent tale of the old west filled with adventure, danger, suspense and an undying love.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Union Pacific: A Western Story could have used an editor. This book was much longer than it should have been, and suffered from the "will they/won't they" love trope that I detest. The rambling on of unnecessary romance drama really sunk this for me, which is a shame because this could have been a solid book.

The building of the Union Pacific railroad as a story backdrop was awesome. I do love trains so it was neat to imagine the contrived scenarios of how the rail was built. I like how Zane added the embezzlement aspect to the plot and I wish it had been a larger part of the overall story.

Overall it was okay. Definitely a read once. Glad it only cost me $1.99 on Kindle.

[M.J. Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought to me the flavourful ant the spirit of the Wild West. I enjoyed reading about the long trek of a lady named Allie, who overcame adversity just to survive and, in the end, marry Neale! As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed west to Promontory, the workers surveying and laying the track were demonized by Sioux warriors. The construction town of Benton, Wyoming, went from a boomtown to a ghost town as the track workers moved west. Several men sacrificed their lives so Allie could live and find her happiness.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Zane Grey title and I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of his thoughtful descriptions concerning time and place. ZG's plots tend to get dismissed as juvenile, and granted, there is it's share of hocum in this story, but I really came away with a sense (and sentiment) for the historic events. And the final chapter delivers a powerful sensitive eulogy to the transition.

[Steve George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through a forest of words...

...Zane Grey’s portrayal of the light and dark sides of the building of the transcontinental comes the heroine, Allie Lee, to meet, lose, recover, and lose again her love, Warren Neale. Read all the words. It’s in their entirety the the true story arises.

[Rob Neely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book on the history of laying the Union Pacific railroad, wrapped around a love story. My main beef with the book was that it read like a romance novel in places - with long drawn out descriptions of the love the main characters had. But other than that, the characters were well developed, interesting, and it's not a bad read if you can plow through the excessive schmaltz

[Jason R. Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a good western

A little of a love story with Allie and neale, a little about the construction of the railroad and all the many people good and bad. The town of Benton where gambling happens and where the shootout happen in the old west. A definite read if you like westerns

[Lincoln · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had trouble finishing it - there were way too many random obstacles, and the writing was too florid for my taste. I think the author was trying to emphasize the rowdiness of the old west at the expense of the story line.

[James Pepin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you expect in an old western novel; no foul language, respectful of women, tough good guys and bad guys. You would have to remember when this was written to understand the ethnic labeling. Only real complaint was sometimes it dragged on by being overly descriptive or repetitive.

[David Fairbanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was extremely well written. Unfortunately, most of the book was boy finds girl, loses girl. Boy finds girl, loses girl. This goes on and on throughout the book.

[Amos Ponder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skip



Skip I don't remember. It has been some time since reading it. I need to read it one time to see if I like it

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book

I love books written at the turn of the century 1900s. Good story about the building of the Union Pacific Railroad.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, simple, love story, simply written.

[Frank Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

Of you like westerns, you will love this novel. Give yourself time. You will find the book difficult to put down

[PAUL M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful old-school western

Great characters and lots of twists and turns. Not for those who want a quick shoot-em-up. Well worth the time to read.

[Elisabeth Enssle · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT western. I don't know why anyone thought Grey was a bad western author who's flow was awkward. His writing always gets to me.

[Directfitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Survival of the railroad

A great tale of the building of the railroad. The characters are complete and tragic. The railroad rolls right over them.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really my genre, but worth a read.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

RAILROADING ADVENTURE
This Is a classic book about building the first railroad across the north American continent... Which turns out to be a love story on the frontier.

[Tom]

Parts were great fun, but parts reminded me of lengthy scenes in old movies when characters die in slow drama. Enjoyed it overall.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the American Civil War there is a race to build a transcontinental railroad. Engineer William Neale and gunfighter Larry King compete for the affections of Allie Lee who is the only survivor of an Indian attack in the Black Hills.

[David Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps this would be better termed a "historical romance"! Boy meets girl under trying circumstances. Boy and girl are infatuated with each other. More intense circumstances separate the boy and girl for an extended period. More and more intense circumstances threaten. Finally all is reconciled and the fine young couple live happily ever after. Wonderful! And it all happens about 1860 in the territory of the Sioux while the white guys are trying to build a railroad.

[Marie]

I like historical fiction and had always heard of the wonderful Zane Gray novels. I wanted to see what they were like. At first the description of the scenery was a little too much for me, but once the story got going and the characters developed, I really liked "Union Pacific" and will read another by Zane Grey in the future.