"Nothing Like It In the World" by Stephen E. Ambrose (Second Reading, second book report)
Leland Stanford, President of the Central Pacific Railroad, was highly resistant to associate Charles Crocker's recommendation that Chinese workers be hired as railroad workers. Stanford finally gave in, and railroad executives were well rewarded as the Chinese workers demonstrated remarkable resilience while toiling through harsh working conditions, including extreme temperatures and while fulfilling, skillfully, dangerous tasks like dynamiting rock.
