Across America on an Emigrant Train [SCM]
by Jim Murphy Author
Follows a journey made in 1879 by the young writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Murphy interweaves Stevenson's words with a lively history of the building of the transcontinental railroad. Contains 85 archival photographs and illustrations.
Additional Details
- Resource Type
- Book
- ISBN
- 0395764831
- Print Status
- In Print
- Chapters
- 7
- Pages
- 160
- Suggested Grades
- 7th - 9th
- Geographical Setting
- United States
- Historical Setting
- 1879 - 1879
- Publisher
- Clarion
- Copyright
- 2003
Chapters
- 1 The Journey Begins
- 2 All Aboard!
- 3 Aboard the Emigrant Train
- 4 Into the Wild West
- 5 Across the High Sierras
- 6 In the Good Country
- 7 A Final Word
User Reviews
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Watch for Author's Interpretive Wording
Reviewed by Parent/Teacher
The photos, illustrations, and diary excerpts from Stevenson are wonderful at painting the picture of the west during the late 1800s. One word to the wise, however: the author does include some interesting historical information that adds to the content, but he is not satisfied to simply present the facts and let the reader do the interpreting. Murphy likes to slip in his own interpretive wording that could sway the reader to a preconceived opinion. For example, under an interesting photo of a Union Pacific railroad station, the caption tells us that the clerks in the photo "look downright suspicious as they stare into the camera."
So enjoy the great historical story and living comments from Stevenson, and be ready to use the author's wording as a "side lesson" on persuasion in writing.