This is not my normal type of reading and I’d never have expected to become invested in a story covering the history and establishment of the railways in Canada. It’s not even my own country. It didn’t take long to become familiar with the mostly male characters and assign my loyalty to the more ambitious and innovative plus my derision to the less nobly inclined devious ones. I especially liked the way the nature and energies of the younger chaps were woven through the tale. The picture of the rail side camps and working conditions were painted clear as day. The reader is left in no doubt regarding the scale, ingenuity and adversity of the project at the centre of the book and I was 100% turning the pages fast and egging the characters on, to know the outcome. History has become less dry and more significant in this telling